What was your first role at CCHA?
I joined CCHA as a HR advisor. This was my first HR role and my background was previously in learning and development management. I was really keen to take the step over to HR and completed my CIPD Level 7 in Human Resource Management before joining CCHA so this was the perfect opportunity to bring the experience I had gained as a manager and my qualification together at a great company.
How long have you been working at CCHA?
I joined in March 2021, so just over two years.
What training have you done so far?
My whole time here has been one big learning journey! Within six months of joining, I became the longest serving member of our team along with Angharad our People Assistant, so the learning curve was steep! Me and my team have been involved in so many different projects that have expanded our knowledge and experience in so many areas from working on TUPE transfers, supporting the set-up of new structures, introducing placement schemes, launching a new HR system embedding our training matrices, and soon we will be launching a new leadership development program for our current and aspiring leaders.
I am a bit of a learning fanatic, but like most people sometimes put this to the bottom of my to do list, so bite size learning is key. I have taken advantage of the talks and mini training sessions CCHA and the Wellness at Work group have put on. I am part of a HR leadership group with CHC who also offer lots of mini training courses. CCHA is the first time I have worked in housing so doing some of the essential training like Safeguarding has really helped me understand the challenges we face and the value we can add. The one bit of training I have done that I’m really proud of since being at CCHA is the I-act Managing Mental Wellbeing course as part of our new Wellbeing Champions role.
Before joining CCHA I’d done quite a few different courses and qualifications such as ILM in Coaching and in Action Learning, CIPD in Human Resource Management and Agile Project Manager. The interesting thing about HR and People is you don’t always need to have a qualification to do the roles. The knowledge and experience can be built up over time too.
What job changes have you made since you started working at CCHA?
There was an opportunity to manage the People Team as an interim manager in November 2021. I really wanted to have a go at doing this as I could bring my previous leadership experience and also lead a team I think are awesome and genuinely love working with. I was really pleased to be offered the role and made it my goal to show the business what I could do and hopefully be a great candidate to take on the role permanently in the future. In July 2022 I had the opportunity to apply for the role permanently and was thrilled to be offered it.
What’s the best bit about your job?
My team are so dedicated and live our values. We all have quite different strengths but come together to support each other and our colleagues. I’d also add in the variety and being able to introduce things that hopefully make our colleagues time at work more fulfilling.
How has CCHA supported your career development?
They have trusted the decisions I have made and listened to the advice I give, which has helped me to really bring value to the role and develop myself as a Head of Service. My manager, Liz Evans, is great at coaching me and helping me reflect on the progress we are making as a team too.
Finish the sentence: I am CCHA because . . .
I care about making a difference for the better of our people, our customers and our business. CCHA is a great place to work because if you care it is recognised across our business.