Staff Interview
Previous Experience
What were you doing immediately before this recent new title? My previous role was HR Manager North providing full generalist HR support to the Midlands/Northern divisions of CLC as well as CLC’s Response Maintenance division and the Transmissions Division based out of the Leeds Office. With my new role I’ve added the Axis sites at Oldbury and Liverpool.
Previous/earlier work experience in your career you wish to highlight? I’ve worked in a variety of sectors starting with the Royal Mail, Oil & Gas production with Marathon Oil, Financial services with Groupama Insurance, Business Gas supply with Corona Energy
and Plant Hire with A Plant (who are now Sunbelt). Always in HR, and one thing doesn’t change, the infinite variety of challenges and great opportunities be part of the growth and enhancing careers that working with people brings.
Future
Plans for the merged business in outline? The new HR system, People XD, will enhance the HR service across the group enabling the team to focus on supporting the growth plans for the company and delivering on the career aspirations for all our people. It’s in development now so look out for updates when the system will be live.
Name Mark Waters
Job
title
HR Business Partner
Department/Division
Human Resources
Date of joining CLC 9th November 2020
Based I split my week between the Walsall and Oldbury offices
How will your plans improve our business? Moving away from administering day to day changes and being a reactive team towards being a proactive service supporting management, function specialists and tradespeople to achieve the growth of the business and career plans of our team that will embed the HR function in the future success of the group.
Any challenges you would like to share? Whilst new systems and ways of working are developed we are still dealing with the normal day to day administration, ER caseload, contributing to the planned changes whilst moving towards the new operating model so the whole team is very busy.
Immediate priorities –what does your day look like? No two days are alike, supporting managers, recruitment, dealing with investigations, disciplinaries and grievances, referring employees to Occupational Health to understand the best adjustments to support them in the workplace, providing data to senior management, setting up new starters, making arrangements for leavers…. The list goes on.
Goals for the business? To make the expanded business a great place to work and build a career without losing the human touch that makes people feel valued and supported.
What do you need from the business/us to achieve these goals? The new HR system is the missing piece in the jigsaw to allow HR to work as a unified
function, the sooner this is implemented the better
Any thoughts on the integration process that you would like to share? It’s a challenge, but bringing in the corporate specialisms and expertise can only improve our mutual goals to become both an employer and supplier of choice for our people and customers.
Team
Who’s on your immediate team? Anyone you want to give a shout out to? Chelcey Douglas is my equivalent in the south and is a true HR professional. Too many in our expanded Team in from Axis who have been outstanding but special mention to Navlett Simei-Bent, Recruitment Manager whose great smile brightens up my day (as well as her support for recruitment).
Personal
Any hobbies, clubs, beliefs, activities you would like to share. My claim to fame is I directed and acted alongside Simon Pegg in his first school play back in Brockworth Comprehensive in the 1980s. I like to think I inspired his subsequent performances in Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek and Mission Impossible but somehow I doubt it! My 3 year old Labrador Bobby takes up much of my free time.