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A day in the life of... Linda Fox

This article came from the Grapevine, November 2009.

My recent promotion means that my role has expanded from HR Director at Close Asset Finance to Head of HR for Close Brothers Limited, the banking division of Close Brothers Group. This means that I am currently on a voyage of discovery in the new divisions, meeting people and facilitating my understanding of the new role.

Hence the last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind with regular early starts such as today when I am on the first train of the day out of London to Sheffield, where I am meeting the CEO and the HR Manager of Close Motor Finance to discuss the business and HR priorities within Close Motor Finance; a well established lending business with offices throughout the UK. This provides me with a great opportunity to carry out a diagnostic and 'get under the skin' of the business, exploring where and how group HR can add value and benefit to the bottom line.

Although I am fully settled in my new role I still have a number of ongoing projects at Close Asset Finance...

...This year's round of performance appraisals are currently being launched so a significant part of my day is driving this. We are in the midst of a performance review road show, where we travel around the country engaging our workforce and capturing hearts and minds whilst training them in key performance management skills and how to make the most of an appriasal opportunity as an employee.

As the performance review window continues, I will use our online talent and performance management tool, talent toolbox, to access data on succession planning, engagement metrics, training needs analysis and risk of leaving measurement. This will enable me to make informed decisions about our talent pool.

As I travel across the country or between meetings, I am regularly analysing the impact my team is having on the business. As the HR team evolves, it's great to have the support of our business leaders and to be able to demonstrate the value we create for the business in terms of increased engagement, performance and growing the skill sets of our people.

Although the days are long and regularly end with hotel room service, I love my role here with Close Brothers. It is hugely challenging and working with great people and partners everyday makes it very worthwhile.

This article was published in the Grapevine, November 2009.

10 December 2009