#HRUprising, Culture, Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, Employee Engagement, Management & Leadership, Organisational Development, Talent Management & Succession Planning, The Career Journey of a CPO Series

Podcast Episode 251: CPO Careers- with Kate Hughes

2 days ago

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4 min read

This Episode: `CPO Careers- with Kate Hughes`

Lucinda is joined by Kate Hughes, the Chief People Officer at Seven Investment Management (7IM), for the second episode in the short series, ‘The Career Journey of a CPO’. Kate shares her journey over the past decade at 7IM, detailing the company’s significant growth from 170 to over 600 employees and the evolution of its culture. She discusses the importance of establishing a strong organisational culture, engaging with employees to align values, and fostering an inclusive environment.

Kate also talks about her approach to HR, which combines strategic thinking with a focus on commercial acumen, and highlights the challenges and successes she has encountered, particularly in promoting gender equality within a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Key Takeaways

Open communication and transparency within the organisation foster trust and collaboration. Ensuring that all team members, regardless of their position, have access to the same information and opportunities is vital for a cohesive work environment.
Understanding the business’s commercial aspects is critical for HR professionals. Decisions should align with business outcomes, and HR should be seen as a valuable partner in achieving organisational goals rather than just a support function.
Balancing emotion and logic is important in leadership roles. Knowing when to express emotions and when to remain composed can enhance decision-making and team dynamics. Preparation and clarity on desired outcomes are key to effective communication in challenging situations.
Individuals should take ownership of their career paths by setting goals and seeking guidance from experienced colleagues. Proactively engaging in career development can lead to faster growth and a clearer understanding of personal aspirations.

Best Moments

“When I joined, as a small company… there aren’t always the processes and systems in place. So that was really the first task was sort of managing that with the team.”

“We realised that the culture that we had… we needed to put more attention on that, is what were the aspects of the culture we wanted to retain?”

“What we like is enthusiasm. I don’t think you can teach or recreate… there has to be that sort of passion for what they do.”

Valuable Resources

Find out more about Actus solutions:

Actus solutions

The HR Uprising Podcast | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher

www.hruprising.com
The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group
HR Uprising Mastermind – https://hruprising.com/mastermind/
New Info-book: Rethinking Performance Appraisals

Additional free HR Resources

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About The Guest, Kate Hughes

Kate’s journey at 7IM began as a Consultant in late 2014 before joining the firm in a permanent capacity in June 2015. As Chief People Officer, Kate has brought to 7IM her vast experience of HR gathered from over 20 years of working in a variety of industries and from owning her own successful HR consultancy.

Kate’s natural flare for people related matters alongside her LLB Law Degree with Honours and Chartered Membership status of the CIPD sees Kate contribute to the overall success of the business objectives through driving the people & culture strategy. The scope of her role extends to change management initiatives, reward & talent management, employee relations & commercially focussed activities for the People & Culture team to translate business goals into people centric objectives and deliver significant impact and results.

Connect with Kate…

Her page – https://www.7im.co.uk/7im-management-team/kate-hughes

Her LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-hughes-2b0b4811/

About The Host

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles. Lucinda, for over 10 years as CEO of Actus Software has worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. Certainly, it was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

How To Be A Change Superhero – by Lucinda Carney