Medievalism and Music to People Management
I have always had a passion for learning, research, and communication, so as I came to the end of my undergraduate degree in History at the University of Birmingham, it felt natural to continue my studies and complete a Research Masters in Medieval History. It was during these 18 months that I really honed not only my research and written communication skills, but my wider organisational skills as well; I coordinated conferences, liaised with stakeholders, mentored younger students, as well as managing a large workload and balancing extra-curricular commitments. The decision to move from academia into the corporate world came as a surprise to many of my peers, and indeed myself, however I knew that I wanted to use these skills to drive positive change and development in the workplace, and be a source of support. I wanted to find a profession which allowed me to help people be their best selves, and when a family member suggested I looked into HR, it was a career move that really resonated with me. As I went through the assessment and hiring process for the LBG HR graduate scheme, I became even more confident that I was making the right choice - everyone I communicated with at Lloyds was genuine and supportive, and now that I have started my journey here, it's evident that the positive attitude I experienced during the hiring process was sincere. I'm part of a superb team, and am so glad that I reflected on how my skills could be transferred outwith the academic environment, while still staying true to my values and what is important to me.
I work in Reward looking after colleagues and recognising their work
As an HR graduate, I work in different parts of HR, and have various placements in a range of teams. My first placement is in Total Reward, specifically within the Rewarding Partnering Team in IP&I. My day-to-day can consist of anything from putting together non-standard award offers and pension engagement presentations, to salary benchmarking. One of our biggest projects each year is preparing for year end. This has been a superb opportunity for me to develop new skills in internal communication and working with a range of stakeholders - building SharePoint sites, and finding ways to share important, and often complex information with our colleagues in an engaging and concise way. As we go into year end, I'll be supporting people partners and their business areas in answering queries about GPS and bonus plans, as well as making sure that there is a fair distribution of bonuses. I really enjoy this aspect of HR because it's all about rewarding and recognising our colleagues' hard work throughout the year.
Empowering colleagues to feel like their best selves at work
Work is a massive part of your life, you spend a lot of time there, and I truly believe that HR should be there to help people grow and feel empowered and happy in their jobs. Whether it be from a learning and development perspective, through recognition and reward, or through grievance processes - the pastoral aspect of work is all too easily forgotten about in the midst of deadlines and deliverables, but it is so important to have a positive work environment whereby people feel supported, and wake up wanting to come to work. I am passionate about making that tangible different to colleagues' day-to-day lives, and fostering an environment whereby they feel that they can bring their whole selves to t, heir job and in turn be their best selves, with the opportunity to grow and learn new things, and make the most of their skills and strengths.
There is always a learning point to be found in any situation
Even when it feels like you have a setback, there are always opportunities to learn, and having that mindset makes those setbacks so much more manageable and surmountable. If something hasn't gone to plan, rather than feeling too badly about it and beating yourself up, asking yourself what the greatest learning points were makes sure you can gain from the experience. One of the most important things I've realised is that I can also ask others what they think the main take aways are too - and that fresh perspective can really drive your own motivation and help approach new situations from a different angle going forward! Even in circumstances where things have gone really well, it's always worth reflecting why it went well in the first place, and what can be taken away from this and applied to other problems and situations. Your colleagues are some of your greatest learning resources, and no question is ever silly, so don't be afraid just to ask!
Built a site delivering training and resources to >60k colleagues
I helped build a microsite on SharePoint which delivered training, resources, and communication about the year end process and GPS to our colleagues. This required working on core skillsets of prioritisation and organisation, managing stakeholders, and communication - both written and verbal. I also had the fantastic opportunity to develop more technical skills relating to SharePoint and PowerPoint. This project has had a tangible impact, helping line managers understand the year end process and allocation of GPS, and was the first big step in the year end process, which was incredibly exciting. There were tight deadlines, and challenging situations to navigate, but I learnt so much in the process both about GPS and my own working style.
