‘I joined the Barratt Group in November 2005 as one of five Regional HR and Training Managers. My background is HR in the food retail industry, and I could see that the HR challenges in housebuilding are very similar. It’s fast-paced and full of opportunities to make your own decisions. At Barratt, there was also the chance to be part of a brand new HR team.
‘My job involved day-to-day HR advice and support to employees, managers and directors – so my phone never stopped ringing! I also supported five divisions within my region with advice on recruitment and HR best practice, as well as conducting various training and development sessions with managers. As part of the HR Team for the Barratt Group, we’ve recently successfully developed and launched our new graduate development programme.
‘As well as the graduate programme I was also involved in the design and implementation of a new HR IT system as well as implementing and maintaining this website! However with the success and growth of our graduate development programme I’ve moved into a new role of Graduate Recruitment and Development Manager and this year will be focused on continuing to build our graduate recruitment profile within this market. But the most satisfying aspect is being part of a team helping employees benefit from the many changes happening in our organisation currently. I’ll be proud to look back in five years’ time and say “I did that! And that! And that!’