How does it feel to win the award?
It’s fantastic to have been recognised in this way. I think it’s amazing that Deloitte has been recognised for the real focus it places on its people. I’m sure everyone says this but this award is not about me, it’s about Deloitte and the people and performance team more widely.
And the fact they have faith in us as HR professionals to really do what we’re good at and give us the opportunity to be a little creative and try different things.
I think working in HR is a very exciting place to be at the moment, it’s such a wide field. With technology, social media and a challenging environment, things will change and so will the way people work in the next five to 10 years. It’s going to be a very different workforce of the future and a very non-traditional work environment.
How important is it that HR is recognised as such a vital part of the business at Deloitte?
National partner – people and performance Alec Bashinsky really leads the team visibly, and from the front, so we get a lot of time as HR professionals with him to learn from him and his leadership team.
He drives the belief that HR should be a partner with the business. I think it’s our role as HR professionals to challenge the business and to challenge the business leaders and their thinking. It’s also our role to drive change when it’s needed, not back away from doing the tough stuff, and make sure that our staff and our people are well equipped to face the future.
Alec expects us to demonstrate a strong business acumen and he wants us to understand the business and the environment that we work in so we’re able to partner with the business effectively.
How do you think you have contributed to Deloitte’s vision to be the most inspiring firm to work with?
My current role is really focused on the development of our people and making sure we build in them the skills they need to be able to excel in the future and be able to deliver our strategy – to be the most inspiring firm to work with and to redefine the way that professional services are experienced.
So I think we contribute to talent development in that way to really future-proof our people to make sure they’re able to demonstrate the skills that will be needed in the future, such as agility, innovation and leadership through change.
We’ve got a really distributed workforce based around Australia, so that’s been a key thing to make sure they’re able to access the learning and development, to be able to future proof for people wherever they are and be able to enjoy it from any location.
How important is your team’s contribution to help you achieve the goals of the business?
I think it’s vital. I think HR and our team plays a really key point in that. The goals of the business and the Deloitte strategy are absolutely at the heart of what we do. And our role is to make sure that our current and future leaders are able to meet those goals of the business.
It’s key that we keep that strategy and those goals in mind with whatever we’re doing so we make sure that we will meet the goals and strategy of Deloitte.