Come to work with me: a day in the life of a Senior HR and Talent Manager

I haven’t taken the conventional route into HR. I started out as a graphic designer and a project manager before focusing on operations and eventually on people, where I found my niche.

I previously worked as Head of HR at a creative agency and joined Blue Latitude Health in November 2017 as the Senior HR and Talent Manager.

Moving into healthcare was a curve ball for me, and not one I was necessarily considering, but my conversations with the team and Martinour Managing Director and Co-Founder had me absolutely sold. It’s been a great experience so far.I studied History at Canterbury University in New Zealand and we even have a small alumnus here at work. 

My day usually starts at 6am. I feed Sadface, my cat, and head to the gym for a Pilates class or a personal trainer session. In the summer I might cycle some laps of Regent’s Park. Morning exercise has been a key part of my daily routine for as long as I can remember. It’s my mindfulness. Anyone who has ever worked with me will know I’m a huge advocator of gym membership and Cycle to Work schemes. We now have a Strava club for BLH and one of our directors is driving a huge initiative to get BLH employees to run in the 2019 marathon.

I have a short cycle ride to the office every morning and tend to arrive between 8.30 and 9am. The first thing I do when I get to work is grab a breakfast pot or pastry and a flat white. Then I check BBC news, FT online and my emails. The day can start very early on our instant messenger Slack with the time zone differences and the early starters, but I’m grateful it means fewer emails!

HR is hugely varied, particularly when you work in a generalist role. The days are fast paced, which I enjoy.A typical day could involve getting a candidate over the line, employee welfare, designing training/ development programmes, running payroll, drafting contracts, and meetings, which can take up a significant portion of the day. 

BLH is growing fast. A highlight of working of working here so far has been being part of a team that has seen a huge spike in recruitment in the first quarter. We have had some new starters in our own Talent team (including myself) and have faced a very busy start to the year, but we are smashing it. I also loved catching up with the New York team at their office while I was over for a long weekend.

At BLH, there is a supportive and inclusive culture.We have a culture of always doing the right thing and treating people with respect. My absolute favourite thing about working here is how easy it is to ask questions and how quickly people are ready to help.

After work I’ll either cook or be cooked for, go out for dinner, check out a movie or Netflix. There is usually a gin and tonic somewhere along the way. I live in Hackney and the food scene is off the charts. 

I go to bed at11pm with my sleep app on hand. I’m no good to anyone with too little sleep.

At Blue Latitude Health we go above and beyond for our industry-leading clients, are you up for the challenge? Find out about our current roles in London and New York.