Director, people and change, PhotoBox (owner of Moonpig)
Our products make people smile. They are celebrations of life. Our customers have a high degree of emotional investment in our products and that needs to be replicated in the business. We need to hire people who believe in what we believe, who find purpose in being “merchants of joy”. That’s true no matter what role you are doing in the business.
Academic qualifications and credentials are not something I focus on – I tend to disregard job descriptions. What’s most important is: do people bring energy and passion and have an understanding of how we like to work? The nature of digital business is incredibly dynamic. There’s no room for complacency and we look to stay in start-up mode [revenue growth was 22 per cent in 2012]. There is a pace that hits you here from day one and a spirit and attitude that I really value, but if you aren’t wired that way you will struggle.
Curiosity is important to me. I am really keen to employ people who take an interest in our business, what our teams are doing and what’s going on in our market. They think about what they are doing and ask how they can help. However long you spend here, you’ll acquire relevant skills, while learning how to bring your personal strengths to your work.
Personalisation matters in the business, too. Trying to mould people into something they are not is a waste of time and we look for people who are open about who they are and the different qualities they bring and who appreciate that in others.
The focus on analytics at PhotoBox is something that attracted me. We fixate on data-driven decision-making and, as an HR team, we need to mirror that. I am very interested in people metrics and the way they drive how you get the best out of people. We’ve applied that in improving our levels of employee engagement and advocacy.
I really value people who own and champion what they do. We have an ambition to be the best contributing team in the business and we are well on the way. The perception of HR has certainly changed in the last year. In that time we have helped individuals and teams to recognise and play to their strengths and, in the process, renewed our company-wide passion for innovating.
Potted CV: HR director, CareerBuilder Europe; various HR BP and manager roles, Yahoo!; HR generalist, Iona Technologies; Exec MBA, Cass Business School