Getting To Know You: By Holly Wells

I landed my first ‘proper’ job at Focus DYI in customer service, whilst still at school, I then went on to work at Sainsbury’s for 3 years whilst at Sixth Form and College, furthering my experience in a customer service role. Post-college I then went into full-time work, at Oxford University’s Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust. I started my journey on a children’s ward in and administrative role, it was such fun working alongside some amazing Nurses, it gave me so much admiration for our NHS and those working within it! I moved to the recruitment team which I loved as I had the opportunity to recruit for the Children’s and Women’s division.

This is where I got my taste for HR and where I wanted to go in my career. From my 3 years at OUH, I left with a strong passion to ensure clear and engaging processes are in place and I was fortunate to be head hunted and become part of the You HR Team!

When I joined You HR back in June 2017, as a Consultancy Practice HR Administrator, I was encouraged from the outset to explore my future ambitions… This enabled me to openly discuss my keenness to travel and see the world. As a result, I was given a great opportunity to take a short career break in my first year of employment at You HR and travel around South Africa and Thailand before returning to complete an Apprenticeship and my CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualification. This demonstrated to me the flexibility and support to employees that You HR offers, it really is “all about the people”.

The You HR team feels like a family, we relentlessly work to a high performing standard as ‘one’, being very supportive and caring for each other. We recognise the importance of having a bit of downtime, whether our fun Friday’s, wild Wednesday’s, other Team socials (boating, paddle boarding, panic room, quizzes, cocktail making, meals out – I’m a big foodie!). We really keep a close eye on being inclusive and striking a balance to nurture our wellbeing; areas that are vital to look after for a high performing team. The social side is personally important to me also, given I love spending time with friends and family, and simply just being in the office together with my team and the rest of the You HR Fam, means so much 💚.

Fast forward 5 years and I have progressed through the career pathway to be a Senior HR Consultant, now leading a Hub Team of 4 within client delivery. It’s been an amazing journey with so much growth which I love, and seeing my team progress and achieve all they do is very fulfilling for me. Watching the Consultancy evolve and develop over the years and being able to play a big role in its development has been incredible, particularly with regard to our You HR Academy – this is where I got my nickname of the ‘Prodigy’ as I have led the way in transforming how our services can be delivered to our clients through this easy to use online platform. Whether our clients are looking for core HR content from our e-library which hosts more than 800 documents, spanning our 4 service lines; or if clients are looking to enhance best practice people management in their organisation through accessing our standard or bespoke e-learning solutions, it truly provides so much that organisations want and need to truly be an employer of choice. We’ve gone from strength to strength with our practices and processes, ensuring our clients’ experience the highest possible standards and quality Human Resource and Organisational Development (OD) services we can provide.

We have accomplished so much this last year or so, whilst coming out of lockdown and still contending with the ongoing aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic too. Despite such challenges that has driven so much change within itself, it’s been a triumphant year! It’s a real testament to You HR’s philosophy (achieving organisational change, growth and development through it’s most invaluable asset – it’s people!). I’m super excited for forthcoming months to further my ambition by continuing to evolve our You HR Academy and to offer more to our clients via this platform. We are on a growth journey at You HR in what we offer to our clients and also ensuring the progress on their development and growth trajectory’s too – it’s so exciting and I can wait to embark on this journey across the next year.

In any organisation looking to grow, change is required, even if there is a desire to maintain a ‘steady state’, this would still involve an element of change as nothing in the world of work can stay the same, not nowadays anyway. So when I look back and my career and the knowledge I’ve gained in leading change, I wanted to share a few principles and key steps that will help any organisation in preparing to successfully achieve change in their organisation. Change is continual and involves transitioning from one place to another. In order for change to be successful and sustainably embedded, true transformation is the key; with all involved physically and mentally embracing, positively, the future desired state and demonstrating the differences achieved:

Knowledge is power as they say and this has certainly helped me in understanding the concepts of good change management and how; whether line managing in an engaging and involving way, progressing my career, leading on projects and guiding clients through their journey of success, it’s an essential for any organisation.

If you would like to find out how we can help you – book a FREE no obligation confidential consultation meeting with one of our expert HR Consultants by clicking here or emailing alice@youhr.co.uk. To find out more information about the Growth, Change and Development services that we offer, click here.

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