The entertainment industry is highly competitive and one of the differentiators between the Royal Albert Hall and any other venue is our beautiful building and the great customer service we provide to our promoters and audiences. Therefore, the development of our people is really important to ensure our customers have a great experience whenever they come to events at the Hall. Our current objectives include management and leadership development, improvements to our internal communications and a review of how we continue to engage with our staff.

I think the next five years will be challenging. We are likely to see a lot of change; organisations will need to step up a gear to remain competitive. HR teams will be key to the successful management of that change and development of leaders, managers and their people, so HR’s role ahead is highly important, it is a real opportunity for us.

The Royal Albert Hall is a charity which receives no local or central government public funding, operating in a highly commercial and competitive international marketplace. We are seeing an increasing number of new venues and outside festival events which are promoting live music. We believe that the Hall offers a unique experience, with our wonderful building, our people and the wide range of events that we host. However, there is ongoing pressure on people’s ‘leisure time and spend’ and the services that other venues offer, so we have to constantly strive to maintain our position as one of the world’s top entertainment venues.

This is such a hotly debated issue within the HR community. The Hall has a small group of four directors one of whom represents HR at that level, however, I think the question is more about – do you understand the needs of the business, do you contribute to its direction and success, are you (and seen as) an effective operator and have positive impact, identify solutions and listened to by the CE and directors, do you add value to the business – to all these I can say, yes absolutely.

The last 16 years have been very much HR specific, however all my work activities have had an HR element to them, with involvement around employment law, industrial relations, business development, construction, property management and running my own and family businesses.

At 15 I had a Saturday (and holiday) job in one of the two local village general food stores which I kept on until I left college and started full-time work. In hindsight it was great training in understanding and working with a wide variety of people and the importance of engaging with and looking after your customers for repeat business.

I didn’t set out to work in HR, it rather came about probably because I enjoyed the work and found that I was good at it. I was really fortunate early on, in my second job, to work directly for Michael Armstrong the HR author and expert. He was fun to work with, had loads of energy, and gave me many opportunities of different types of work and progression. I think that without realising it at the time, I gained a lot of knowledge and experience watching him operate within a commercial setting over the five years that I worked with him.

Perhaps I have been fortunate, but all my roles have been very focused on how HR supports the business, so the commercial business angle has always been there. Maybe this is because I come from a family business background where the business was often seen as the most important consideration. I have, however, seen a change in emphasis over the years particularly in leadership – that this is a talent to be valued and nurtured, not everyone has it and just how crucial good leaders are; and also how we value our people differently, that motivated and engaged people = better performance = more successful businesses.

It’s never been a problem, I really enjoy my work, I actively take opportunities to develop my own knowledge, meet new people and gain ideas. The Royal Albert Hall is also such a great place to be because there is such a lively pace of activity and variety of work.

Not much. I generally sleep well, occasionally when the juggling gets a bit complicated, I think things through.

I really enjoy challenge and variety and the work at the Royal Albert Hall with its pacey environment provides those opportunities at present. Maybe in time I will look for new challenges, possibly with an international element.

That is my responsibility.

Not at present, over the years I have had one formal mentor and many informal ones who have been really quite inspirational with a guiding hand, I have learnt so much from them.

Perhaps the most surreal was when I was working as a consultant for an HR survey company. I was undertaking the focus group sessions prior to a staff opinion survey for an international road and construction maintenance company. The HR director wanted as many groups of staff involved as possible, and so I went around the offices and depots to meet with them. However the road maintenance crews were difficult to ‘pin-down’ given their work schedules, so I ended up conducting the focus group on the roadside whilst they had their tea break and we all waited for the next delivery of bitumen/tarmac to arrive. There was I, in suit and high heels standing on the roadside amongst the aggregates, asking the road crews their views on the company and hastily trying to record this in my notepad. They were a bit surprised when I arrived, and I got a fair bit of ribbing as to the suitability of my attire, but they all readily took part and we had some really interesting insights to include into the survey. It was an interesting experience in how to use humour to engage with people quickly to get the information I needed.

I have a wide variety of interests, from gardening, art and design, reading, sailing, travel and being with friends and my family who are important to me. I also spend some time working voluntarily in the justice system as a magistrate, which I find really interesting.

It’s a great career, you need loads of stamina and resilience, you will work hard but the rewards are worth it. It’s important to understand what your business is all about, to be focused on delivering when you say you will, and to be pragmatic and patient when needed. Listening is a really valuable skill to develop. Whilst I encourage people to consider the CIPD qualifications, the learning is somewhat theoretical in my view. I think some of the most effective HR people have worked wider than HR having spent time in the core activities of the business and I would encourage people to do this.