I am currently the Human Resources Manager for Welcomm Communications Ltd, I am accountable for designing, implementing and delivering all HR policies and procedures across the company. I deliver a comprehensive HR service to an ever growing business, utilising my communication skills and HR know how.I have put an evolving programme of work into the business to ensure we establish all of the required policies within the correct timescales, the programme is inclusive of an absence policy, complaints procedure, development programme, boot camp to enhance leaderships skills at all levels of the business, introduction of a health care package, new terms and conditions, review process, performance management process, training plan, recruitment process, new starters process etc.I have successfully managed the acquisition of a small business from a people point of view. Utilising my TUPE and harmonisation experience. One of the biggest impacts I have had on the business is the Talent plan, this plan brings together an annual graduate plan, a development programme that delivers continued talent in house and the removal of outsourcing recruitment which allows the business to get really close to each candidate throughout the recruitment cycle.

Human Resource Manager for a Tesco Distribution, looking after non food and on line, my role is a National role; I am responsible for 15 Distribution centres and on line in our head office. There are a total of 5,000 staff and 80 senior managers working in these sites and I am accountable for the overall development of talent, culture and performance.My main focus since joining the Distribution network has been the integration of our on line business, I have had a responsibility for repurposing a number of sites, opening a world class site that have housed our interim plans whilst focusing on the long term plan.I also have accountability for our non food site in Middlesbrough that has been through a very testing time with pay negotiations and union relationships, this site is now recognised as a site of excellence and houses our graduate recruits. Each Stream Personnel manager was responsible for a stream of work for the network, the stream I looked after was talent, this included refresher workshops on the in house development programme, talent target setting by manager, grade governance, virtual workplace, graduate and A level programme, levelling by depot, external recruitment plan, sign on and off panels and planned experiences across the wider business.My stream has been through a huge change programme with a number of different leaders yet has remained with few management vacancies, great structures a consistent stream of talent and remains a great place to work.

I held the role of a Regional Human Resource Manager for a Tesco Extra Group in the West Midlands; I am responsible for 20 stores. There are a total of 9,000 staff and 80 senior managers working in these stores and I am accountable for the overall development of talent, culture and performance. In an automation project I had to ensure the displacement of 60 staff was handled in a way that balanced the needs of the individuals with those of the business. After coaching, supporting and working with the store Personnel Managers my group was the only one to have all staff moved into other roles with no-one leaving. It was recognised across the business and store managers commented on how minimal the disruption was to their staff and the business. Within 4 months of joining the group I had successfully filled all management vacancies. I implemented a substantial talent succession plan which has since been mirrored on other groups. I have had no vacancies on my group in almost 2 years I successfully challenged store managers with high labour turnover and ensure they had a realistic plan in place which was aligned to the store’s employment plan. Exit interviews for Senior Managers and Store Managers are conducted quickly and learning’s shared as appropriate. The labour turnover is well below target for the Group. I lead and communicate the Human Resource section of the “UK Business Plan Change” every quarter. This involves co-ordinating and reviewing the progression of the change plan, supporting stores where necessary to implement and sustain. This has been instrumental to the recent success in managing structure changes within my group.

I was asked to move to this flagship Hypermarket due to major issues it was facing. One of the main issues was the breakdown of trust between the shop floor staff and the management team. I was accountable for the development and learning of 700 staff and 35 managers and ensuring they saw it as a ‘Great Place to Work’. I was responsible for developing a plan that would create a new relationship between the staff and the management team. This was achieved mainly by developing a new culture which was an open and honest approach to communication at and between all levels. Key achievements included building learning and development culture for the shop floor staff, creating a structure and transparent performance management process, recruiting the best, re training and up-skilling of the entire management team. I was also responsible for reducing absence levels from 6.5% to 3.5%. This was achieved through ensuring staff wanted to come to work along with effective and consistent management of staff returning to work. I worked very closely with the store manager and his senior team and the results were seen company wide. After a year my store became a centre of excellence for the human resource function with directors regularly commenting of the results of ‘Viewpoint’ our internally measured staff satisfaction survey. This store is recognised by the Board of Directors as one of the most challenging stores in the UK due to staff absence and management capability driven by local demographics. Staff loyalty was improved and in the 2 years in this store I had 12 staff start on the management training scheme. All of whom have since been promoted to section managers. Two are now senior managers.

I was selected to go and turn the HR function around in a store that was under performing in many areas. I became a key player in the new team that re-shaped the store; reducing absence and labour turnover. Increasing staff morale and getting the financial targets back on track. My main areas of focus were a 12 month plan to retrain and validate of most of the 500 staff and 30 managers in order to rebuild capability. Following an internal audit when I arrived, I set out to ensure a consistent management approach, recruit the right people into the right roles and improve general communication. I worked with the senior management team to ensure staff were retrained and we introduced routines to their day to day work so they could deliver for the customer and were happy in their roles. I Introduced a number of new company initiatives.

As a personnel manager, I spent between 12 and 18 months in each of these stores. In each store I collaborated with the other senior managers to; ensure there we no vacancies; build the talent within the store (at all levels); and reduce the absence rate. I worked with the store manager in each store to increase the capability of the management team. This included using a performance management process which was unsuccessful in up-skilling the capability of the managers.

After a 3 month induction I was selected to set up and run a new Home Shopping department. This was new to the company and high profile. I recruited a new team and trained them. I also successfully achieved buy-in from the rest of the store and they helped make the Home Shopping department successful.