HR manager at warranty provider Domestic & General
The fast-paced working environment in this business was a complete culture change from my previous role in the public sector, but a perfect opportunity for me to develop and enhance my HR skills. I am the HR manager for two sites; a 24-hour call centre in Nottingham, where we are currently at our seasonal peak of around 980 employees, and Bedwood, the administration hub of D&G. They are two very different working environments in terms of activity but we try hard to replicate similar methods and processes.
People sometimes view the call centre as a stopgap in their career but we are very keen for them to join us for the long term. We look for people who can empathise with our customers, and who want to be successful in their roles. There is an element of selling involved, but it really comes down to great customer service skills. We actively promote from all age groups and this year have recruited a development team tasked with attracting those people who don’t have the experience or confidence to get through a recruitment process. Older recruits in particular sometimes feel their skills won’t transfer into a contact centre role, but actually they can empathise more readily with our customers. D&G is growing as an organisation and we’re providing a lot of employment opportunities to the local community. We have recruited for more than 250 roles so far this year, and our UK employees are increasingly developing their own skills to progress through the organisation.
We want people to want to come to work, so a fun and healthy working environment is essential. Every month we run Wellness Wednesday where we promote a well-being initiative. This year we’ve held healthy breakfast sessions, team competitions on the Nintendo Wii, a weight-loss campaign and smoking support classes. One of the things we do very well is communication, keeping employees informed on changes in the business and to their processes. We use our company intranet, poster displays and a group forum that feeds messages straight to the CEO.
HR is valued for the support we provide across the whole company. We are very much part of the business, providing a vital link between the employees on the call centre floor and the management team, and are consulted in any decision-making process. We are not just seen as a support function, which makes me feel very proud.
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