As part of our How Did I Get Here? series, Joanne Darling, Senior HR Consultant at Cooper Parry, outlines her career path with roles including Personnel Officer and Employee Resourcing and Overseas Liaison Manager within the car industry (Peugeot).
Current job title
Senior HR Consultant
Describe your initial training within the profession
- Human Resource Management was a core element of my Business Degree course.
- Two industrial placements lasting six months integral to my degree within the car industry, this gave me grounding in industrial relations, young person training and recruitment and general HR practice.
- Watching and learning with other professionals.
What positions have you held?
Personnel Officer, Personnel Coordinator, Compensation and Benefits Manager, Employee Resourcing and Overseas Liaison Manager within the car industry (Peugeot), HR Director – Supply Chain Europe within the telecommunications industry (Marconi communications), HR Director (Jabil Circuit Inc).
Is there a significant event you can tell us about which had an impact on your career?
Too many to mention! Following a dismissal of an individual I witnessed all employees within a factory walk out, making me very aware of the importance of handling situations correctly and, in particular, always thinking about communication to employees. This was the result of assumptions from gossip due to lack of communication.
I negotiated a Friday nightshift into a distribution warehouse, the first change I handled alone and not easy to get people to work a Friday night.
What has been your greatest achievement?
The successful project management of all HR-related issues with regards to the TUPE transfer of 1500 people to another company including the trade union negotiations, establishing a new payroll system, HR database and pension scheme.
Which of your colleagues played the biggest role in you getting where you are today?
My manager within the car industry when I first started out was a superb mentor and taught me the rough and smooth of HR – in particular dealing with trade unions and difficult people.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of entering the profession?
Never assume you know what or how people are thinking; never assume they understand what you have said.
Don’t choose HR as a profession because you like people, choose HR because you want to use your skills to ensure people are an asset to the business and the business is successful because of this. You need to influence people and be commercially aware.
There are often some tough decisions to be made and discussions to have, many of which you may not agree with.
Always keep your sense of humour.
Previous How Did I Get Here? features:
Susan Stevens, Toshiba Information Systems
Irene Burwin, HMG Paint
Trevor Lakin, IPPM
Alison Clarke, Quantica
Laurence Collins, Ceridian HR Consulting
Paul Kearns, PWL
Fiona Knight, KPMG
Adrian Glynn, Wilkins Kennedy
Joanne Darling, Cooper Parry
Sue Matthews, Coventry City Council
Nichola Nair, European HR Strategic Programmes Manager for Xerox
Alison Lewis, Corporate Learning & Development Manager, Oxfam
Jessica Diggins, HR Manager, Chartered Management Institute
Linda Klassen-Brown, Group HR Manager, The Logic Group
Keith Hanlon, HR Manager, Quantum Business Media
Andrew Mayo, frequent speaker and writer on HR issues
Jim Brooks, HR Manager for ServiRail Ltd
Jean-Bertrand de Lartigue, Chairman of HR2all
Karen Caddick, Head of HR, Channel Five
Madeleine Tate
Keith Luxon, HR Policy and Reward Director, The Laurel Pub Company
Jeremy Thorn, Chairman and Director of QED Consulting
Roger Pattison, HR – Training & Management Development Consultant
Verity McVarish, HR Manager for Sift Media
Rus Slater
David Kelly, Head of Development and Training for Aventis
Jenny Kevan, UK HR Manager for Abbott Laboratories
William Martin, HR Manager, Telewest Broadband
Craig Truter, HR Manager, The Body Shop
Martin Stockton, HR Transformation Leader, Towers Perrin
Nick Heap, Consultant, New Directions
Crispin Garden-Webster, HR Specialist, Asian Development Bank
Sandra Walsh, HR Delivers
Carole Leslie, Director, IT Learning Ltd
Shaun Dunphy, Project and Process Manager, EMEA HR Service Centre for MCI
Debra Artlett, HR Officer, NGJ
Dianne Miles, HR Manager, Rollalong Ltd
Jacqui Mann, HR Manager, Integra NeuroSciences
Isabella Montgomery, Human Resources Officer at The new Housing Association
Iain Young, Head of HR for Cofathec Heatsave
Have you got any useful insights or cautionary tales regarding your career? If you would like to contribute to the ‘How Did I Get Here’ feature please email our employment correspondent: Dawn-Marie Dart
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