Regional People Partner Review

I have an HR generalist role, I partner a regional manager who looks after a team of 8 area manager and cover a total of 143 store. I assist with everything HR related, L&D, recruitment, ER, succession planning, managing change, store opening and closing, consultations etc. I coach the area managers on a daily basis to enable them to get the best from their teams.

During my apprenticeship I have learnt the theory behind what i do on a daily basis. I have been in role for 20 years and have picked things up along the way so its been nice to understand where it come from. This has enabled me to look at things from different angles and also use some new methods.

The programme is good and very interactive. There is lots of support from both my tutor and learning coach. It gives you different learning styles which is very engaging. The balance of working, study and home life can take a bit of getting used to, you need to be very organized.

The learning layout is very structure and broken down into weeks and you are given advisory times for each section. This can help balance work life balance, alternativity if you want to do a couple of weeks in one session you have the flexibility to do this. The only date which is not negotiable is the assignment submission date.

I am given plenty of time in my working week to support my studies and have regular one to ones with my line manager. I also have a study buddy who works in the same department so we support each other and study together 2 a month in works time.

I have monthly one to ones with my learning coach and can reach out to them at any point. If I do not need a face to face meeting, I can email or call at any time with questions. If i need extra support I just need to ask and its provided.

I believe this will give a broader understanding and help to look at situations differently. There are so many tools available and I had over looked this and used what i was used to. This has enabled me to engage at a better level with colleagues in all areas of the business.

There are a lot of charity events ran through Poundland and everyone can join them. It does not matter if you work in store, head office or distribution. We do things as simple as selling cakes in store to Tough Mudder and parachute jumps. Fun is a large part of Poundlands values and culture.

Yes

The leadership of this business has a clear plan of where we want to go with a People led focus alongside ensuring we are tech enabled. The people make the business and everyone of them are bought into the values. The business supports internal succession and has 85% internal fill rate target!

Be yourself! Poundland wants to support every individual to be the best version of them selves. You need to enjoy and face paced business where the customer are key! Always put the customer first, if it not right for the customer then challenge why are we doing it? Always have fun :-)