How did you come to be a Chief People Officer at Laurence Simons?
After graduating with a law degree, I was unsure what I wanted from my career. I spent a year in Australia, working to fund my travels, and decided to go into recruitment when I returned to the UK, already knowing I wanted to live in New Zealand and that UK-trained recruiters were in high demand. I also trained as a life coach. In New Zealand I had my first exposure to HR working as legal & HR project support on a major rail project. When I returned to the UK I joined a music industry start-up as EA to the COO and went for an internal promotion when their newly-appointed HR Manager left. It felt like a great fit to be in a role where I could draw on my legal background and coaching skills. I loved being in a role where I could influence the culture and transform the employee experience. I then worked with Laurence Simons when I joined FiveTen Group as Global Head of HR, and continued to provide HR Consulting services post-MBO. I joined as CPO in October 2021, at an exciting time of change for Laurence Simons, inspired by their vision, growth strategy and values, their championing of diversity and inclusion and their focus on employee wellbeing.
What does your role encompass?
My role has a broad strategic remit centred around culture and engagement, equity, diversity and inclusion, reward and recognition, resourcing, and learning and development. I lead the HR function to drive Laurence Simons’ commercial success by providing a first-class employee experience.
What projects are you currently working on?
Current projects include the rollout of a new appraisal system, competency framework and career paths, building on the work our culture project team delivered last year to embed our newly-defined behaviours and values, and reviewing our Management training.
Who do you work most closely with?
Emma Cox, our brilliant HR Consultant. Also, Clare, our CEO and Carrie, our consultant CFO. We’ve also recently brought Natalia onboard as PA/Office Manager, which is a fantastic support to my role.