Is This Room Free?
Welcome to Is This Room Free? In this podcast I will be talking to HR professionals and listening to the stories of their careers. I will be finding out about the journeys they have taken and what they learnt along the way. The purpose is to help others in the profession identify and understand the various paths available and take inspiration from my guest speakers. Whether you are someone who is looking to get that first step on the HR career ladder or an aspiring HR Director, I hope you get value from these conversations.
Is This Room Free?
Beth Orford - Head of People (Learning to find what roles work best for you and have we evolved from People functions to Capability ones?)
Joining me on this episode is Beth Orford who is the Head of People for a FinTech business called Everything Financial.
Beth is an incredible guest as she changes the perspective on how we should look at not only our careers but HR as a function. She is someone who has learnt to understand what type of work she is suited to and therefore, just as importantly, what types of roles and environments she wouldn't be a good fit for. This has been something she has discovered over time but now she has clarity it is the lynchpin to how she determines if a role will be suitable or not, and she explains how this impacts her reading of an advert, and the questions she asks through an interview process.
Beth also challenges the evolution of HR beyond the current notion of becoming 'People' functions to something even broader and presents the concept of 'Capability' being what her purpose and remit is all about.
Beth began her career in L&D but realised to have a greater impact she needed to broaden her own toolkit and, working for Virgin Money, had the opportunity to move across a few different areas within HR to develop her knowledge.
Whilst she has remained within the Financial Services sector in various guises this is just an incredibly fascinating conversation to hear how someone has found what works best for them and then the ripple effect of understanding what type of roles and environments she suits and can deliver the most value in.
It's a great listen so I hope you enjoy it.