Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

- Partnering with business units in a strategic capacity in the areas of HR planning and operations.
- Coaching managers and employees on their effectiveness and performance.
- Along with the company’s strategic imperatives and values, ensuring a collaborative workforce, based on shared goals and accountability.
- Serving as primary point of contact for managers and associates in actively responding to and addressing employee relations issues in a timely, cost efficient manner. Conducting complete investigations and making recommendations based on findings/facts.

- Partnering with Recruiting to ensure a conscious, deliberate approach to attracting and retaining top talent from both inside and outside the organisation.
- Provision of guidance on the business unit's current organisational state and future requirements and take the lead in ensuring organisation changes are implemented in a timely and accurate manner.
- Supporting leadership preparation for annual talent review sessions. Making recommendation and implementation of retention strategies to minimise unwanted attrition, particularly in BU critical roles, specialty skill sets, and in highly competitive critical market places.
- Participation in leading annual salary, bonus/commission, and equity planning process with BU leadership, ensuring highest performers are compensated in line with their business impact and contributions.
- Managing change in Business Units to influence organisational culture.

There is no typical day in HR!

The work is varied and will depend on the needs of the organisation and Managers that I support. I will coach and mentor managers on a wide range of activities, from holding performance conversations with under performers in their teams to planning future successors to their roles and identifying top talent in their business areas.

Looking at the bigger picture from an organisational perspective and really thinking about how people initiatives can drive and support organisational performance.

Working on a global scale and building my personal understanding and appreciation for cultural differences in approach to managing and supporting people.

In a complex matrix organisation with reporting lines across the globe, it is important to ensure that you involve the right people in decisions in order to get buy in and agreement.

It can be very challenging when handling employee relations issues to ensure that all parties treat the situation in a sensitive and fair manner. Part of the challenge is coaching Managers to be able to identify and remedy issues before they get to a formal stage.

The regular dialogue with a range of different people in an organisation. In HR you get involved with almost all business departments from Operations and Finance through to Compliance and IT.

People are the key asset in any organisation and if Managers can drive motivation and engagement in their team members it really makes a difference to the performance of an organisation.

I use my Masters in Human Resource Management which gave me the foundations of HR and Management theory but this is built upon when you're in the role and you're able to apply the theory in practice.

I also use skills from my French degree in terms of my cultural awareness, written communication and analytical skills to be able to effectively problem solve and come up with innovative solutions.

Jan 2017 - Current employer

June 2012 - Jan 2017 - I worked for Elliott Group, an organisation in the Engineering sector. Here I started as an HR Specialist and progressed to a Regional HR Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa managing a team of 5 people to support the whole region from an HR perspective.

Oct 2010 - June 2012 - I worked for Logic Group in the IT industry. I started Logic on a graduate programme within HR which gave me great visibility into the organisation. I supported Manager and Employees over the UK and Spain and ran the company Graduate programme after being on it myself.

I undertook a Masters in Human Resource Management from Sept 2012 – September 2013 at Oxford Brookes University whilst working full time. I managed to achieve a Distinction grade.

Prince 2: Project Management Foundation Level Qualification

Psychological Profiling: Trained Thomas International PPA Assessor

Train the Trainer Course: accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management

Management Development Programme & Leadership Development Programme: Elliott Turbomachinery

I authored an academic paper based on my Master’s thesis to the Journal of Global Mobility which was published in 2015 whilst working full time. The paper, ‘Keeping the Family Side Ticking Along’ is an exploratory study of the work-family interface in the experiences of rotational assignees and frequent business travellers

I have only just started with my current employer so I plan to get to know the business and it's challenges and opportunities for improvement from an HR perspective over the next year.

At some point in the future I would like to undertake a PhD.

A role in HR is great if you would like to get involved in different areas of a business and truly understand the impact that an engaged and high performing workforce can make to business results.

You need to be a strong collaborator and able to influence people through coaching and advising.