What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career so far?
Take an 80/20 approach to what you’re trying to achieve – you’ll never please everyone all of the time, so aim for 80% and you’ll have a good outcome most of the time. This is particularly important in my role when we roll out a change to practice. If I can bring 80% of the business along the journey with me and my team, then I’m very happy!
What is your favourite part about your role?
Seeing what a difference my team and I can have on our colleagues professional life at Portland. Being part of a People Team means that we get involved in all sorts of activities that help our people (often in more ways than an employee will ever know!) but I suppose my favourite part is seeing someone grow in their career and be able to look back and say “I helped them get there!”. Its hugely rewarding, even if that person doesn’t truly knows what involvement you might have had.
What has been your favourite experience at Portland so far?
I honestly can’t pick one. I’ve had 7 great years at Portland so far. Probably the most recent one is my return from maternity leave. I’ve had such a warm welcome from all my colleagues across the business which has made me so much more relaxed in the return to work. I’m not surprised in the slightest as all Portlanders I’ve worked with are incredibly wonderful people, but as a returning parent you are nervous about what it will actually be like. And I can say hand on heart – Brilliant!
What advice would you give your 20-year-old self-starting out in this field of work?
Challenges are not a bad thing! They are often hard work and sometimes will push you into uncomfortable decisions and may have some difficult outcomes, but ultimately it will allow you (and your career) to continue to grow. Working in a People Team for a dynamic and fast paced organisation like Portland has also taught me the importance of building and nurturing relationships, so I would encourage my 20 year self to make sure that I invested time in developing networking skills.
What do you do to switch off from work?
This is an easy one! Having just returned from maternity leave anything I do with my son automatically gets me to switch off from work. But otherwise, I catch up with friends/ go for a run/ hit the gym or go for a walk (without my son!)