Mark's CV
Team Leader, Homelet Insurance
Training Manager, Homelet Insurance
Learning and Development Manager, Residential Management Group (RMG)
What is your current role and how long have you held that position?
I am currently Learning & Development Manager for the Residential Management Group (RMG) and have been with the company now for 4 years.
How did you get into HR?
After university I started my career working in a small call centre for HomeLet Insurance where I progressed to the role of team leader. During that time I was volunteered to look after all the induction training for new staff and the role soon developed into full-time trainer for the call centre. Over the next 6 years I progressed to become the Training Manager for the business, managing a small team of trainers. In that time the business had relocated from Croydon to Lincoln. I decided to move back to London which is when I applied for the role with RMG.
My current role centres entirely around L&D so that is my specialism, however having worked for various departments I have had some involvement and experience in recruitment, finance (budgets) and sales. I am currently working on the content of our new website so I guess you could say Marketing and I.T. as well!
Did you know anything about HR before?
I knew a little bit about it but not much. Even though Learning and Development comes under the HR umbrella, in my time at HomeLet I never actually worked as part of the HR team – I had always reported into Customer Service or Sales Managers. Luckily I had a friend who worked in HR so through her I got to know a bit more about it. It was only when I moved to RMG that I worked as part of the HR team. I guess my initial perceptions were that HR were always the bad-news merchants who made all the decisions to hire and fire. When I started working in HR I quickly learnt that that this was not the case – far from it!
Did you make the choice to enter into HR or did it happen more by chance?
It was by complete chance. I was never really sure what I wanted to do as a career. When my colleagues first suggested I take over the induction training ‘because I would be good at it’, I reluctantly agreed. I actually really enjoyed it and started to develop more training material and run more courses. The role developed and now I work as part of a fully functioning HR team.
What have been your career highlights so far?
I have been involved in the planning and delivery of training programmes for staff during the set up of two brand new call centres. Both were huge challenges and involved a lot of training but it’s very rewarding when you see the teams grow to become key assets of the business. More recently I worked with De Montfort University to create a unique Masters Degree for our employees which launched earlier this year – it has been great to see our students progressing well and enjoying their studies. The other was achieving my CTP qualification last year!
Do you think the role and value of HR is growing, and how?
Definitely – employees are becoming more clued up about employment legislation and their rights which means employers have make sure they are working within the law and that they are following their HR related processes to a tee. In my view Senior Management teams are increasingly turning to their HR professionals for advice and guidance in order to minimise the risk of being taken to an Employment Tribunal.
What would you say to encourage someone to consider a career in HR?
Try to get a foot in the door, take an active interest and get qualified through the CIPD!
What are the key qualities and skills you need as a person to succeed in HR?
In L&D you definitely have to be a people person with excellent communication skills and lots of patience. You get to meet people from all walks of life, from different backgrounds who have different attitudes and approaches to learning. You must do your very best to try and accommodate everyone so flexibility and a willingness to try out new things are also key qualities.
What are the worst elements and key challenges of being an HR professional?
From a L&D perspective one of the biggest challenges I face is trying to get some Managers to buy into the importance of the training you are providing for their benefit. There is nothing worse when a Manager tells you how much they support the L&D of their team, only to pull someone out of a training course the next day because they have to attend a ‘more important’ meeting. That really cheeses me off!
What are your ambitions for your HR career?
I would love to stay in L&D because I love the people side of the job - the skills are so transferable regardless of the industry you are in. I have always fancied working for/heading up an education team for a museum/gallery in an area that I have a real passion for. I would jump at the opportunity to get paid to train others in a subject that I really enjoyed.