Hunter Adams Founder, Dean Hunter spoke to Laura Anderson, Head of Human Resources at the People’s Postcode Lottery, to discuss how our consulting services helped them to engage more with their team. Laura explains how Hunter Adams has benefitted the People’s Postcode Lottery during a time of fast growth.
Watch the video here, or read the transcript below.
Dean Hunter (DH):
What made you reach out to us in the first place?
Laura Anderson (LA):
We’ve grown quite a lot over recent years, particularly since I started with People’s Postcode Lottery. We’re nearly at 300 team members now, and it was important for us to get a gauge on what we were doing well, what we could do a little bit better, what we could change for people and make it the best place to work. So, what we wanted to do was find out whether our thoughts matched the rest of the team and make sure we were on the right path.
DH:
It’s very clear that your team are very passionate about what they do. Where does that passion come from?
LA:
I think ultimately the passion comes from what it is we’re trying to achieve as an organization. I think we get to see firsthand, what is the charities and good causes across the UK are managing to achieve as a result of the money raised by our players.
DH:
So, the Hunter Adams consulting team came in and met with the staff and really asked, “What worked well and what could be improved.” And, what was the impact of that with the team?
LA:
I think everyone was really pleased that we’d made an effort to connect with the team and to ask them, “How are we getting on?” I think they appreciated it being an independent company too. Because with all the best will in the world, if we were to conduct it as internal HR team, we might not get the same responses. They liked having someone independent coming in, and they liked that you were knowledgeable, and you could ask follow-up questions. I think that was the key thing. You understood what they were saying.
DH:
So we talk about redefining HR at Hunter Adams, and it’s quite a bold statement. But what that means to us is that, everything we do is really focused on helping a company grow or improve their bottom line profitability. It’s very early days, have engaged the culture with you. What’s your initial signs that you’re seeing from that in terms of benefits?
LA:
I would say one of the biggest benefits is that the team really feel that we are looking to how we can work better going forward. We feel that we are truly engaging with them. We’ve already taken out a lot of what we heard from them as to what we could try to put in place going forward. And, one of the key thing is communication and how we communicate with the wider team and that’s something we’ve already actioned. It is a journey that we’re on, but I think we’ve made some good starting point. Whatever we choose to do next and we have our people plan in place is based very much on the fact that we’ve had that feedback from the team, and they’ve told us that these are the key themes that they want to look at going forward.
DH:
And for you personally, as the head of HR, what’s your biggest learning out of the whole engagement and strategy that you’ve set.
LA:
I think one of the biggest things that we’ve learned as a company really is that growth is exciting. We’re fast paced. We’re energetic, and that has so many benefits. But, it is really important to stop a minute and make sure that we’re all on the same path together, and we all feel comfortable, and we all feel that we’re being communicated with.
DH:
And of course, as you and I both know, Laura, because we both work in HR, as soon as the plan is delivered and all the projects are done, the process starts all over again.
LA:
Of course, but that’s why we’re here.
DH:
Absolutely.
