1. APPOINTBUSINESS SUPPORT AND HR
THE SPRING/SUMMER 2015 EDITION
HIRING THE
RIGHT PEOPLE
TO MANAGE
reedglobal.com/business-support
2. 2 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupport&HR
Inside this issue
3-4 How to: Conversations need to be
constructive, or relationships between
managers and employees will suffer. How do
you set the tone?
5-7 Need to know: 10 strategies of world class HR
organisations; law changes; 6 tips for winning
at job interviews.
8 Supplying the best:
How do you build a highly successful team?
New videos by REED highlight our thought
leadership.
9 Market overview:
What do employers gain from graduate
talent? Tom Lovell, REED Specialist
Recruitment UK Managing Director, explains.
10-14 Revolving doors: The markets for temporary
and graduate recruitment can often provide
a barometer for the overall condition of
UK jobs.
15-17 Hiring the right people to manage:
Whether promoted internally or hired
externally, hiring managers should be a
strategic activity.
18-19 A day in the life:
Rebekah Saunders is head of resourcing for
Europe, Asia and Latin America at Walgreens
Boots Alliance.
NEWS VIEWS FEATURES
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
The jobs market has shifted for all types
of candidate – temporary, permanent
and graduate.
For employers needing the right mix of skills
and experience to strengthen and grow their
organisations, adopting a strategic approach
to workforce planning, hiring and managing
will be critical.
Progressive employers will seek to develop
an understanding of where skills – whether
graduate or not – are needed within the
organisation and take planned and measured
steps, with the help of a recruitment agency,
to fill the vacancies most appropriately.
Time to prioritise
relationships
welcome p2
3. 3
If workplace discussions
are not constructive,
relationships between
managers and employees
are ineffective and can
damage the organisation.
How to…
have
constructive
conversations
Communication
'We want any criticism
we give to lead to change'
Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
p3
4. 4 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
1: UNDERSTAND WHAT
YOUR GOALS ARE
Constructive conversations are
typically associated with negative
appraisals. We want any criticism we
give to lead to change. But positive
conversations should have a specific
goal too. Before sitting down with
the person, consider what it is you
want to get out of the conversation
– do you want them to improve their
performance, or show them how much
you appreciate their work? Often it
may be a combination of both.
2: ADDRESS PERSONAL
FEELINGS BEFORE
THE CONVERSATION
Going into a conversation angry,
disappointed or distressed is unlikely to
achieve much and could make matters
worse. Go for a walk, have a cup of tea,
sleep on it, do what you know will help
to calm you down first. If you can’t delay
the conversation, and still feel angry, try
to prepare what you will say in advance
using the most objective language possible.
3: LEAD FROM THE TOP
Senior leaders need to set the tone
in the conversations they have. This
includes adopting a particular approach
to addressing all-staff meetings,
or building conversations into the
daily functioning of the company –
encouraging face-to-face meetings
rather than emails, and proposing
weekly one-to-one discussions.
4: SET OUT CLEARLY,
OPENLY AND
OBJECTIVELY WHAT
YOU NEED TO SAY
Whether you have called a meeting to ask
your manager for a pay rise, or need to
discuss performance management with
an employee, be clear and open about
why you are having the conversation. Be
specific about your achievements. Show
you’ve done your research with what your
peers are earning elsewhere, for example.
5: BE EMPATHETIC
We are still human beings, and
sometimes emotions take over. But,
particularly if you are a manager,
showing empathy for a person’s
situation and trying to understand the
reasons for their behaviour is vital.
Take the time to try and understand
what pressures they are under or what
they are feeling. This can make a big
difference.
he calibre of conversations that take place at work has a big impact on hiring the right
employees, the kind of leadership style deployed by managers and the success of the
corporate culture. Unhelpful conversations can result in the wrong person being hired or the
right person thinking they are the wrong fit for the organisation. How do you set the tone?
How to have constructive conversations p4
5. 5 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Need to know
THE LEADERSHIP
SKILLS A MANAGER
SHOULD DISPLAY:
Inspires and motivates
others
Displays strong integrity
and honesty
Solves problems and
analyses issues
Drives for results
Communicates powerfully
and prolifically
Collaborates and
promotes teamwork
Builds relationships
Displays technical or
professional expertise
Displays a strategic
perspective
Develops others
Takes initiative
Innovates
Champions change
Connects the group to
the outside world
Establishes stretch goals
Practices self-
development
Source: Jack Zenger and Joseph
Folkam, Harvard Business Review
£88 billion the
annual contribution of soft
skills to the UK economy
£9,069 the average
annual pay gap between
professional men and women
86% the difference between retention
rates for managers at world-class HR
organisations and typical organisations.
6 TIPS FOR WINNING
AT JOB INTERVIEWS
From Laszlo Bock, Google’s senior vice
president, people operations
1Generate a list of 20 questions you are likely
to be asked: “Why do you want this job?”,
“What is a tough problem you’ve solved?”
2For each of the 20 questions, write down
your answer. This process makes it stick
in your brain and you can answer the question
automatically.
3Have a backup plan and write three equally
good answers for every question for when
you have more than one interview for a job.
4Answer every question with a story,
example or facts that proves you can
do what you have been asked about.
5Focus on the interviewer – what can you
see about them in their office, what is their
demeanour like? Do they like your questions or
do you need to veer in another direction?
6Practice your answers out loud until you
can tell each story smoothly without
thinking about it.
p5
6. 6
Need to know
1 Have a greater focus on
strategic workforce planning,
with an understanding of what
skills need to be developed or
acquired for their business to
succeed.
2 Operate at 23% lower cost
per employee than typical
companies.
3 Function with 32% fewer staff
than typical companies.
4 Use analytics to provide
better data on the company’s
human capital and quantify
the value of HR to the
business.
5 Achieve higher levels of
self-service and automation
across a wide array
of administrative and
transactional activities, in
part by spending 8% more on
technology.
6 Operate with far fewer job
grades, health and welfare
administration plans and
compensation plans, in order
to reduce complexity.
7 Be significantly flatter, with
22% fewer managers, 23%
fewer clerical staff and 26%
more professionals.
8 Reconfigure internal staff and
retain fewer employees in
house when outsourcing.
9 Place 61% more staff per
full-time equivalent internally,
reducing the cost
of hiring.
10Show 82% better
development of managers
so they can move into
leadership roles, through
improved succession
planning, better retention
plans and enhanced
organisational and
leadership development.
Source: The Hackett Group, How leading HR organisations outperform their peersSpring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
10 strategies of
world class HR
organisations
p6
7. 7 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Law changes
Biological and adoptive parents of children
due on or after 5 April 2015 can request to
share parental leave. In addition, the husband,
civil partner or partner of a pregnant woman
is allowed the right to unpaid time off for up to
two antenatal appointments.
The health and work assessment and
advisory service will be introduced, offering
free occupational health assistance for
employers, employees and GPs. It can
provide an occupational health assessment
after four weeks of sickness absence.
Parents of children under 18 will now be
able to request unpaid parental leave.
Employees looking to adopt children now no
longer need a minimum of 26 weeks’ service
with the employer, and adoption pay will
be 90% of normal earnings for the first six
weeks, in line with statutory maternity pay.
Statutory pay for maternity, paternity,
adoption and shared parental leave has
increased to £139.58 per week.
Statutory sick pay will increase
to £88.45 per week.
Parents who have a child through surrogacy
will be permitted to take ordinary paternity,
adoption and shared parental leave and pay.
Both parents will also be entitled to take
unpaid time off to attend antenatal appointments
with the woman carrying the child.
The limit for a week’s pay when calculating
redundancy pay will rise to £475.
The limit for a week’s pay will increase to
£475 when calculating unfair dismissal.
The maximum compensation amount will
rise to £78,355.
“Soft skills like communication and
teamwork are incredibly important to
our business because of the impact
they can have on our customers’
experience. As integral as they are to
the performance and progression of
our employees, I know that we can do
more to recognise their importance.”
Jez Langhorn, chief people officer, McDonald’s UK Northern
Europe.
“The most dangerous leadership myth
is that leaders are born – that there is
a genetic factor to leadership. That’s
nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true.
Leaders are made rather than born.”
Warren Bennis, management writer.
“Without the capacity to work with others, to
communicate effectively and appropriately, to
manage their emotions and channel their energy,
to problem solve and perhaps most importantly
to have resilience so when things go wrong they
can learn from it and pick themselves up and
carry on, young people struggle to secure work
and be proactive members of their communities.”
Fiona Blacke, outgoing CEO, National Youth Agency.
Soundbites
Employment law changes since 1st
April you need to know:
Need to know
Source: Acas
p7
NEW REGULATIONS ON
SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE
Click here to read the full article
8. 8 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Career tips
How do you build a highly successful team?
What’s the best way to advance your career? Three
procurement directors have outlined their tips and
advice in best practice videos by REED
Supplying
the
Best
T
hree procurement industry leaders have taken part in the first set of
videos by REED as part of the recruitment consultancy’s new approach
to thought-leadership.
ChiefpurchasingofficeratBritvic
SoftDrinksandwinneroftheCIPS
ProcurementandSupplyChain
ProfessionaloftheYearawardin2014,
FabienneLesbros,AndrewNewnham,
chiefpurchasingofficeratITV,andChris
Ayscough,purchasingdirectoratSITA,
haveallstarredinthenewvideos.
Thethreeprofessionalsdiscuss
topicsincludingsupplierrelationship
management,buildinganeffective
procurementteamandhow
organisationscangoaboutchanging
theirprocurementstrategy.Theyalso
discusstheall-importantcareertips
forprofessionalshopingtoclimbthe
procurementandmanagementcareer
ladders.
Theirinsighthasbeencapturedinpart
animated/partinterview-styleshortvideos
inwhichfinely-tunedquestionsimmediately
gettotheheartofwhatachievingsuccess
inthesectorreallytakes.
Withaheritagestretchingbackover50
years,ReedProcurementSupplyChain
isattheforefrontoftheUK’sprocurement
andsupplychainrecruitmentmarket.
Fivedecadesofexperiencehave
facilitatedthedevelopmentofunrivalled
expertise,andwithclientsacrosstheUK
andindustry-leadinglevelsofintegrity
andprofessionalism,combinedwith
pioneeringusesoftechnology.
REEDseesitsenviablepositionasa
leadingconsultancyasanopportunity
topromotebestpracticeforthewider
goodoftheindustry.Video,withits
unparalleledvalueasacontentmedium,
istheobviouschannelthroughwhichto
conveythebestpracticemessage,and
directcommunicationwithkeyplayers
inthesectorwaschosenasameansof
generatingastuteandengagingcontent
onthesubject.
Todate,threevideoshavebeenproduced,
whichwillbeavailableonreedglobal.com,
LinkedInandTwitter,andwillappear
onrecruiter.co.ukand
supplymanagement.com.
p8
Fabienne Lesbros
CPO, Britvic Soft Drinks
Andrew Newnham
CPO, ITV
Chris Ayscough
purchasing director, SITA
9. 9 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Market overview
Employers are taking on
graduates again. This is a
positive sign for the jobs
market as a whole, says
Tom Lovell, UK Managing
Director of REED Specialist
Recruitment
G
raduateshavenotbeenimmunetotheeffects
oftherecession.Justastheoveralljobsmarket
wasdealtaknock,sotooweregraduateswhen
employersreducedtheirintakeastheysought
tokeeptheirstaffingcoststoaminimum.
Arguablythegraduaterecruitmentmarkethaspickedup
fasterthanthegeneraljobsmarket.Therearenowmuchhigher
numbersofpeoplerecruitedontograduateprogrammes,and
fromeverythingIhaveseenthatwillcontinue.
Alongsideformalgraduaterecruitmentprogrammes,more
organisationsarehiringgraduatesintodirectentryrolesinorder
tofillthepositionswithpeoplewhomaynothavetheexperience,
butofferthepotentialtogrowquicklyintotherolesavailable.
Thebenefitsofrecruitinggraduatesontoaformalprogramme
arenumerous.Organisationscanintroducedifferentskillsets
andinjecttalentintothebusiness.Suchprogrammesaid
successionplanningandhelpkeeptheorganisationuptodate
byofferingtalentpipelines,whilstalsoprovidingrealinsightinto
thedesiresandworkingstylesofthedifferentgenerationsthat
wenowhaveintheworkforce.
Buttherearechallengestoaddressinordertogetitright.
Organisationsneedtobeclearonwhattheyaretryingto
achieve–dotheywanttoimprovetheirorganisationalgenepool,
hiretheirfutureleadersorsimplyrecruitthebesttalentavailable
fortheircurrentvacancies?Differentapproachestograduate
recruitmentshouldbeconsideredcarefully,dependentonthe
desiredoutcomes.
Businessesmustalsobeflexibleabouthowtheyachieve
theiraims.Theyneedtoconsiderwhatishappeninginterms
ofchangingmethodsofcommunication–andhowtheyreach
outtotheirdesiredaudiencesinordertogettheirmessages
across.Intelligentandmarketablegraduatesaremorelikelyto
undertakeconsiderableamountsofdesk-basedresearchinto
companies.Theyarelookingforhowthatcompanyscoresas
anemployer,andwhatothergraduatesalreadyworkingthere
sayabouttheirexperiences.Therearenownumerouswaysthat
organisations’employerbrands,whetherpositiveornegative,
areimmediatelyavailabletocandidates.
Inaddition,employersneedtoensurethatcareerdevelopment
opportunitiesexistforall,andnotjustanelitefew,suchthatthey
avoidcreatingatwo-tierworkforce.Investmentingraduate
developmentattheexpenseoftherestoftheworkforcecan
bedivisive.Thismustbeaboutgettingthebestoutofeveryone,
makingsureeveryoneissuitablyengaged,incentivisedand
managed.
Gettingtherecruitmentrightinthefirstplace–hiringthose
whoaretherightfitfortheorganisation–isvital.Acultural
mismatchcanbeacostlymistake.Ensuringlinemanagersare
uptospeedonthebenefitsofgraduaterecruitmentwillbean
importantwaytosellanyprogrammeacrosstheorganisation.
Goodrecruiterstoocanprovidenotjustawiderrecruitmentpool
butexpertiseinselectionandassessmenttoensureyousecure
thebesttalentavailable.
Iforganisationsrecruittherightgraduateswiththeright
aptitudesthatalignwiththeircorporateculture,thentheyhave
agreatopportunitytodevelopaveryloyalandappropriately-
skilledworkforce.Itcanbeaveryeconomicalwaytoensurean
organisation gainsthetalentsrequiredforasuccessfulfuture.
p9
10. 10 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Temps and graduates
Graduates and temporary workers give
employers a talent pipeline and the flexibility
to grow. How do these job markets look?
p10
12. 12 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Temps and graduates
Temporaryworkers
Movement across the temporary and interim workers
market in the UK has been reasonably fluid over the last
year. Employers have continued to turn to temporary
workers to fill skills shortages, particularly if they are
expanding, and hourly rates of pay for temporary and
contract workers has increased at the fastest pace since
July 2007, according to the most recent REC and KPMG
Report on Jobs.
However, the sector has experienced a slight
slowdown more recently as employers look to recruit
permanently again. The most recent REC and KPMG
Report on Jobs shows that temporary billings have risen
at theirslowestrateforsixmonths.Inaddition,temporary
andcontractstaffavailabilityhasdeclinedatamarked
pace.Thesectorsshowingthegreatestriseindemandfor
temporaryworkersarenursing,medicalandcare,followed
bysecretarialandclericalworkers,accordingtotheREC.
Acrossallofthe21specialismsinwhichREEDrecruits
temporaryworkers,lastyearsawa32%increasein
temporaryjobvacancies,comparedtoa30%increasein
permanentvacancies.WhilepayratesforREEDinterim
candidateshavesteadilyrisen,forlessexperienced
temporaryworkers,rateshavebeensqueezedandthere
isatendencyforemployerstousetempsforadhocwork,
ratherthanmoresystematicrecruitment.
Despitethis,therangeoflegislativemeasuresthatthe
temporaryworkersjobmarkethasbeensubjectto,means
employersmustunderstandwhatisrequiredofthem
whenhiringtempsforadhocwork.
Thecomplexrulesregardingtemporaryworkers
‘employed’byon-andoffshoreumbrellacompanieshave
resultedinagenciesbeingauditedeverymonthonhow
theylabeltemporarycandidates –whetherascontractors
underumbrellacompaniesoraslimitedcompanies.
Anytaxliabilitiesfortemporaryworkersarenowheldby
recruitmentagencies,andiftheyareconsideredbyHMRC
tohavecontractorsontheirbookswhocouldbeclassified
asemployees,theycouldbeviabletoheavyfines.
OtherHMTreasurychangeswillaffectorganisations
employingtemporaryworkers.Alongwiththeriseofthe
nationalminimumwageto£6.50perhourforover21
yearolds, under21snownolongerhavetopaynational
insurancecontributions.Employersandagenciesmust
ensuretheyknowwhatproportionoftheirworkforceis
undertheageof21,andwhethertheyaretemporaryor
permanent.
Gettingtogripswiththemakeupoftheworkforcewill
bevitalforHRdepartmentsascontractorsoftencomeout
ofanorganisation’soperationalbudget,ratherthananHR
budget.Theriskisthatcontractorsareoverlookedwith
regardstobothhealthandsafetyandrelevantemployment
legislation,whichcouldputemployersatrisk.
Asorganisationslooktogrowintheeconomy,theywill
needtodeveloparealunderstandingofthegapsintheir
workforceandhowtheycanbestbefilled,whetherwith
permanent,temporaryorgraduateemployees.
‘The range of legislative
measures that the temporary
workers job market has been
subject to, means employers
must understand what is
required of them’
p12
13. TEMPORARY
WORKERS
T E M P O R A R Y W O R K E R S
G R O W T H B I G G E S T
I N T H E F O L L O W I N G
S E C T O R S :
increase in temporary job vacancies compared
with 30% increase in permanent vacancies in
2014
£500 per day
starting day rate for interims
£4,000 per day
potential interim day rate for leadership and board-level positions
+135%
+95%
+91%
+61%
Retail
Security
Energy
Strategy and
consultancy
N U M B E R O F T E M P O R A R Y
E M P L O Y E E S I N T H E U K
Oct – Dec 2012
Oct – Dec 2013
Jan – Mar 2014
Apr – Jun 2014
Jul – Sept 2014
Oct – Dec 2014
1.69m
1.66m
1.60m
1.63m
1.74m
1.75m
N U M B E R S O F T E M P O R A R Y
E M P L OY E E S I N T H E U K BY
P O S I T I O N ( O C T – D E C 2 0 14 )
371,000 Professional occupations
350,000 Elementary occupations
211,000 Associate professional and technical
211,000 Caring, leisure and other services
178,000 Administrative and secretarial
174,000 Sales and customer services
122,000 Process, plant and machine operatives
85,000 Skilled trades
40,000 Managers, directors and senior officials
Temps and graduates
13 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
32%
p13
14. GRADUATES
Temps and graduates
14 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
of the UK’s leading graduate employers are offering paid work
experience programmes for students and recent graduates during
the 2014-2015 academic year – an unprecedented 13,049 paid
work placements are available.
of UK organisations are
employing more 16-24
year olds
25%
over four-fifths
UK UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE FOR 16-24
YEAR OLDS
16.6%
18.5%
21%
from May to July 2014
from February to April 2014
from July 2013
M O S T G E N E R O U S G R A D U AT E S A L A R I E S I N 2 0 1 5 ( M E D I A N )
Public sector Accounting
Professional
Services firms
Banking
Finance
Retail Armed
Forces
Law firms
Banking and
finance
Oil and
energy
£45,000
£40,000
£36,500
£32,500
S E C T O R S W I T H M O S T VA C A N C I E S :
Investment
banks
700number of graduate positions
left unfilled last year due
to last minute increases in
vacancies
8.1%
increase in
the entry level
vacancies in
the last year
median starting salary
for graduates at leading
UK employers
£30,000
p14
15. Management skills
15 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Hiring
the right
people
to manage
Whether promoted internally or recruited
externally, hiring managers should be a
strategic activity for organisations
Images:Alamy
p15
16. Management skills
16 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
E
stimating how many
managers operate in the
UK is no mean feat. The
CIPD cites proportions
ranging from 30 to 45%
of employees with responsibility
for the supervision of people, in
its report Megatrends: Are UK
organisations getting better at
managing their people. But these
estimates are liable to differ as
individuals’ job responsibilities and
lines of reporting change.
Managers’ role in ensuring
employees understand their roles,
are engaged, inspired, work well in
their teams and are able to innovate
contributes to overall profitability.
“Eighty per cent of the value of
an organisation lies within ‘human
capital’,” says Patrick Woodman,
head of research at the Chartered
Management Institute.
Yet in many cases, management
in the UK is not up to scratch. The
CIPD’s research into leadership
finds that about two-thirds of
employees are “satisfied” with the
relationship with their line manager
but there are much lower levels of
satisfaction with senior management
and those responsible for running
the organisation. In addition, CMI
research has revealed that 43%
of workers rate their managers as
‘ineffective’.
One problem is that employees
often end up in management
positions by default. High
performers are frequently promoted
to management positions with
mixed success. Being exceptional
in one role does not automatically
make an employee an exceptional
manager. “Management is a skill,
a profession, in itself,” says the
CMI’s Woodman. “Remarkably,
just one in five managers in the
UK actually holds management
qualifications. Organisations
looking to recruit or promote should
take qualifications into account.
Professional accreditations also
mark out those managers who have
committed themselves to continuing
professional development.”
But can exceptional managers be
created, or should we just accept
that some people are not meant
to lead? Patrick Woodward says
another way to consider it is that
there are some people who are
not comfortable with becoming
managers, and organisations
must take this into account
when investing in their career
development. “The most important
thing is for organisations to avoid
creating the ‘accidental manager’
– one promoted because of their
technical skills alone, and left
without the support needed to
learn the skills involved,” he says.
“Management is a skill like any
other; people can be trained to lead
teams and lead them well.”
10 character traits of great
managers
1 Trustworthy and transparent
2 A positive attitude
3 Approachable and communicative, but able to regulate emotions
4 Decisive but a team-player
5 Knowledgeable about the job that needs to get done
6 Models the behaviour they want to see in their reports
7 Directly addresses under-performing employees by offering
solutions and guidance
8 Shows flexibility in how roles are fulfilled
9 Demonstrates accountability for themselves and others
10 Nurtures others to develop their talents
Management is a
skill like any other;
people can be
trained to lead teams
and lead them well.
p16
17. p17
17 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Top interview
questions to
ask aspiring
managers
1 How would you discipline
an employee?
2 How would you manage an
under-performing employee?
3 How do you nurture teams?
4 How would you deal with a
team member who disagreed
with you?
5 How do you handle pressure?
6 How would you motivate your
team?
7 How would you deliver bad
news to your team?
8 What is your management
style?
9 How would previous team
members describe your
weaknesses as a manager?
10If you disagreed with your
own manager on something,
how would you handle it?
Equally, organisations need to be
wary of exhibiting unconscious bias
towards certain groups of people at
the expense of other groups. “They
should challenge fixed ideas about
where leaders come from and what
they look like,” Woodward says.
“Managers must deliver long-
term, sustainable success, not just
short-term wins, so organisations
should look for employees who are
roles models and who embody their
values. They get the results without
compromising on ethical standards.”
Taking a systematic approach to
assessing current management
layers is very important. It enables
decisions to be made about
employees already in the organisation
who might be suitable management
candidates or whether there is a
need to recruit externally. Whatever
decisions are made, organisations
must take a sensible and clearly
thought out approach to recruiting
managers and ensure once they
are in position, they are sufficiently
supported and developed.
How to recruit managers
An ad hoc strategy won’t work. Consistent and
strategic hiring is crucial
Work out where you need managers
Find out more
Write appropriate job descriptions with
appropriate reward packages
Find out more
Develop a recruitment strategy
Find out more
Thoroughly plan the interview process
Find out more
Develop a sufficient onboarding strategy
make sure the organisation sticks to it
Find out more
Ensure development is ongoing
Find out more
1
3
5
2
4
6
18. Professional practice
18 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
Rebekah Saunders is head of
resourcing for Europe, Asia and Latin
America at Walgreens Boots Alliance,
owner of UK high street health and
beauty chain, Boot's
“I really enjoy the
pace of the business”
p18
19. 19 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
I
work in a global role and it
is important to ensure that
our countries feel supported
at all times. While I do plan
carefully for each week, it
is often necessary to change the
focus and react quickly to a business
requirement. Staying calm and being
flexible enough to shift from one task
to another very quickly is important.
Understanding how to prioritise is
also key. I’ve found that taking a step
back from a pressured situation and
evaluating how to deliver quick wins
really helps solve urgent issues. I’m
lucky to have a strong trusted team
around me which helps in a fast
moving business.
Checking in and communicating
well with my team are my must-
dos. We are a small and lean yet
highly efficient team that works well
together in a dynamic environment.
A large part of my role involves
interviewing candidates for global
roles. Add this to general business
meetings, and it’s about 75%
of the working day. I’ve had to
improve my efficiency fitting in the
‘normal workload’, including my
team’s development which is really
important. Working in a continuously
evolving and growing business
makes this an ongoing challenge,
one that pushes me to keep an eye
on smarter, innovative methods of
working.
I’ve found technology innovation
for communication a godsend. As my
role covers multiple countries I spend
a huge amount of time on either
video conference, Skype, FaceTime
or conference calls. Face to face
meetings are preferable, but often
not time-efficient.
Parts of my role requires me to work
alone – partnering with the business
to discuss the future of their teams,
and recruiting the right people.
Finding time to ‘think creatively’
is something I’m very passionate
about. I ensure both my team and
I fit it into our busy schedules. We
usually choose a strategic/priority
focus topic once a month and go to a
nearby café to discuss it. In addition,
I hold monthly cross-group calls with
international counterparts to share
ideas. Through these meetings we
have discovered opportunities to
collaborate on various initiatives that
add real value to the business.
I always try to acknowledge the
work that I have done at the end of
the day. In a business where there is
so much to do, continuously, it can
easily feel like the work never ends.
This helps me recognise that I’m
achieving a lot very quickly.
Often I will work with my global
business stakeholders outside of
UK business hours. The odd evening
event or weekend work is something
I am comfortable with, although I
make it clear to my team that this is
not expected of them.
I ‘love’ the people I work with: for
me, this is what gets me out of bed
every morning. I also really enjoy the
dynamic pace of the business and
being part of a growing organisation.
In addition to strategic leadership,
there is a lot of hands on ‘building’
type work: challenging yet rewarding.
It’s so important to get the culture
fit right for the business you work in.
The only thing I ‘hate’ is not having
enough time in the day when I
commute to certain offices!
'I've found technological
innovation to be a godsend
for my role, as it covers
multiple countries'
C V
Rebekah Saunders
February 2015 – present
Walgreens Boots Alliance – head of
resourcing
March 2014 – February 2015
Alliance Boots – head of resourcing
for global wholesale and international
retail
October 2011 – March 2014
Alliance Boots – HR senior resourcing
organisational development
manager
January 2008 – October 2011
Barclays Bank – global sourcing/
procurement manager
May 2008 – March 2009
Barclays Bank – resourcing manager
January 2008 – May 2008
Barclays Bank – supplier relationship/
recruitment manager
Professional practice p19
20. 20 Spring/Summer2015 | BusinessSupportHR
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