Laura Nolan

Describe what a typical day at work looks like for you.

There is never a typical day working in HR.  One day I could be in the office offering advice to managers or employees over the telephone and the next, I could be out in one of our retail stores meeting with employees.  I would be involved in meetings such as ill health reviews, grievance hearings and consultation meetings.  I get involved in some aspects of recruitment which may involve interviews or assessing at development centres.  I also provide reports for the HR Manager on key performance indicators such as absence and employee turnover.  I get the opportunity to work on different projects and assist with employee communications which can be challenging with over 80 sites.  My role also involves running people development workshops on absence, grievance and discipline to help up-skill our managers.

Who and what are you responsible for?

Reporting to the HR Manager, my role is to provide a comprehensive and customer focused HR service to employers and managers.  I currently support our Henderson Retail company owned stores.  We offer support in a wide range of areas including recruitment, employee engagement and employee relations.

How does your team fit in to the Henderson Group?

The HR team supports all of Henderson Group.  There are 3 HR Advisors however I am primarily responsibility for supporting our company owned retail stores.  I liaise with lots of departments such as the Payroll team and the Henderson Retail operations team.  I work very closely with the Area Managers who look after the retail stores and support Store Managers and employees on a daily basis.

What are the best bits about your job?

I love that my role is so varied and I get to work with lots of different people.  I enjoy getting out and about around our retail stores.  HR is a challenging career as you come up against different situations all the time.  You are always learning as it is important we keep up to date with employment law and best practice.

What are the best bits about your company (Henderson Retail)?

I have been able to progress from HR Administrator to HR Advisor and the company supported me in studying a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management.  This enabled me to become a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.  I love that the company support so many charities and I have been lucky to take part in charity trips to Burkina Faso and Kenya.

What is the best thing about your team?

Everyone is very passionate about what they do and everyone is always willing to help one another.  There is a lot of experience within our team and it is good to share ideas and get advice from each other.

What attracted you to the Henderson Group?

I was first attracted to Henderson Group as they are a large family owned company and I was keen to progress my career in HR.  They also offer a great benefits package including a health care scheme.

When not working what can you be found doing?

I love spending time with my family, eating out, travelling and boxing.  I have a young daughter so most of our weekends are spent going to the park and visiting the seaside.