“Understand your colleagues and their individual motivations. Take the time to get to know them and how they react and that will help you in motivating them too,” advises Nicholas Connell, commercial manager at the Antique Wine Company.
Connell, who qualified and began working as a commercial property lawyer five years ago, took on his current role in 2008. While the job entails looking after commercial operations as well as all things property and legal, he also assumed responsibility for HR about 18 months ago and “loves it”.
Connell explains the rationale behind the move: “I was interested in HR and the people side of things and so discussed it with the managing director after being with the company for about six months. HR has a large employment law element, but it also involves coming up with policies and dealing with issues such as immigration compliance, all of which I was quite comfortable with.”
The company, which was set up 25 years ago to sell fine wines to the premium buyer market, employs 25 staff, including Connell. Its headquarters are based in in London, but it also has offices in France and Hong Kong, the latter of which will be used to spearhead growth in fast-growing Asian markets.
While only three employees are currently based overseas, the aim is to double that number in the near future, a situation that will require managing in HR terms.
An interest in learning
On the one hand, Connell says, international recruitment activity is more tricky than domestic as the process inevitably requires more planning – although the company interviews in London wherever possible.
But he also acknowledges that reporting and accountability are likely to become more of a challenge as the Asian office grows, although he believes that the careful recruitment of self-motivated workers combined with the oversight of an experienced director should make the situation manageable.
“I’ll also visit Hong Kong myself from time-to-time and make sure processes and procedures are being followed and improve them where needed,” Connell says.
His decision to join the company himself, however, was at least partially based on a passion for fine wine. Connell had already studied for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s professional qualifications for two years before joining his current employer, but an interest in learning has not stopped there.
He has since gained a certificate in HR from Reed Learning and also plans to undertake an Institute of Leadership & Management training course in the autumn in order to boost his skills in this area too.
“Getting qualifications helps to bolster your experience and make things concrete. It’s like an affirmation that what you’re doing is right,” Connell says, adding that the company has been supportive of his stance as it is “very keen” on training and education.
A cool head
While he believes that his legal, business and admin qualifications have been valuable in helping him with his day-to-day tasks and getting to grips with legislation, the value of HR certification has been less certain. “While HR qualifications also helped to a certain extent, there’s a lot of stuff online to help these days,” Connell says.
Instead, for such a broad-based role as his, Connell believes that the secret to success is “having a good all-round capability, being able to multi-task and speak with confidence”.
Even though the people-based nature of his role means that he is party to all kinds of information, he warns against getting too involved in office gossip and politics, however, intimating that it is helpful to neither him nor for the staff he looks after to get involved at that level.
Instead Connell believes that remaining objective and impartial is far more beneficial to everyone.
And the same applies to managing upwards. When making suggestions to the managing director, for example, Connell takes a logical approach. He drafts proposals after having discussed the matter with colleagues in advance and likes to give practical examples of how a given idea might work in reality.
“It’s important to always be calm, even if you end up being criticised, and not to get too wound up if things don’t go your way. Getting too heated can affect your decision-making and that doesn’t help anybody,” Connell concludes.
And finally….
Who do you most admire?
My father for working in secondary education for 40 years and still working there one day a week, even though he’s 66. It shows that steady hard work pays off in the long-run.
What’s your most hated buzzword?
Ability to think outside the box. Why not just say original thinker?
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
How do you relax?
Holidays in the sun, especially in the south of Spain. Enjoying good wine and cooking. Running – I did a marathon earlier this year – tennis and going to the gym. And playing the guitar from time to time – when I have time.
