From Process improvement to HR: a passion for values, culture and team-building
Jenn joined Malin Group in 2021 and within a short space of time, she has evolved and widened her set of skills, progressing to our Group HR Manager 7 months ago. She has already made a real impact on the wellbeing and development of employees across our Group! Her story is one of growth and delivering results, moving from Process Improvement into HR, where her passion for overseeing employee relations, benefits, compensation and learning and development has shone through. Jenn is an advocate for mental health and implemented first aid mental health training across our organisation last year, with training offered to all staff members. With a number of trained mental health first aiders now on board, her initiative has highlighted the importance of being open and sharing any worries or concerns that staff may have within their day to day working hours, that may be impacting their personal lives too.
Jenn shares her journey below on how and why she decided that HR was the right role for her, the key attributes that she displays as a leader, and how along with her team, she will work to promote and embed a healthy valued driven culture across the organisation, delivering support to colleagues and creating an all-round positive working environment.
My career path into HR has not necessarily been conventional, however I wouldn’t change anything. It has enabled me to develop my skills, gain a passion for all things within people and culture and shaped me as a person professionally.
After gaining my BSc in Nutrition and MSc in Food Bioscience, I started my career within the food industry. I loved the fast-paced environment and focus on problem solving which would ultimately result in high quality products being sold to consumers. I worked my way up to Technical Manager where I was lucky enough to have a fantastic team around me. Suddenly there was a massive shift to not only looking after the technical operations day to day, but also the development and wellbeing of my team. This made me realise I could still have a technical role, but also use my soft skills to help and support people.
After a few years I craved a new challenge, with a view to develop my skills further, outwith the factory environment. I was successfully appointed the role of QHSE Advisor at Malin, a dual role focussing on all things QHSE and process improvement. I loved the new role and the variety it offered, week to week. Working closely on the improvements side of the business allowed me to see how different areas operated and enabled me to develop relationships with employees across the Group. Quickly it was highlighted that a lot of focus on improvements were ‘employee’ related. Whether this be improving our recruitment process, updating our HR policies and procedures, or making improvements on our HRIS system, there was a gap which could be filled. I gradually spent more and more time working on HR related processes and eventually moved into HR full time as Malin’s Employee Experience Manager.
Being a millennial, I instinctively crave feedback and want to continuously learn. I am very career focussed, however have the mindset that flexibility and a work-life balance is very important. Without individuals and well-functioning teams, we wouldn’t have a smooth-running business. I strongly believe it’s critical to invest in employees whether that be through training, mentoring, recognition and reward, while also cultivating an environment where people enjoy coming to work. I believe this results in a truly engaged and highly productive workforce, and this mindset is something I have taken with me when moving into the role of HR Manager at Malin.
Moving forward at Malin, I want to continue to promote a positive culture and fully embed our Company values. Culture does not develop overnight, however its important I continue to push this forward as an HR leader. My goal is for our HR team to continue to flourish and be known for delivering results to the business and our employees. We will continue to be fair and consistent in our approach, while remaining compassionate towards all who work within our organisation.
And in the meantime, if you would like to learn more on the benefits we offer to our staff members, as well as our current job opportunities, you can find out more here.