Where Are You Now? Giulia Buttery

Giulia Buttery UK Ambassador One Small Town

You left the UAE in 2019, and returned to the UK, promptly getting a consulting role working in HR and L&D . What had changed in the HR and L&D World UK since you had left?

I was lucky the company put an emphasis on L&D seeing that it was beneficial to both the employees and the company. They assessed talent and skills and included learning as part of the employee and company’s journey to deliver high quality Services. They used a blend of online, in-person and coaching techniques which the employees seemed to enjoy, and this motivated the application of learning to their work creating better results. A key element was the availability of coaches to help implement learnings. I think the change I saw was that Learning and Development had become motivational, relevant and aligned to the individual’s and the company’s success.

You are now UK Ambassador with One Small Town? Would you like to tell our readers what this exciting initiative is?

One Small Town is my dream job. It is a global movement working with communities to turn their towns into places of prosperity, by building interconnected businesses spanning all industry sectors, which are co-owned by all the members of the community who contribute time in exchange for dividends, and a share of everything that is created. It is clear that people are rethinking their value and so are looking for alternative ways of working, while being part of their community. Imagine your community growing it’s own organic food, served in your community’s restaurants, and also sold to your neighbors in your own co-operative store. Food is just one of the outputs, the lists of goods and services, which include energy and water, and wellbeing centers, are endless.

Currently, your role requires setting up a whole new “ organisation” , requiring Talent and implementing structure. What are your challenges?

Interest is growing daily. We are currently designing the global organisational structure, As a result, we will be actively recruiting for talent. High on the list is setting up the right structure to help people manage their co-created businesses, time and learning. Having HR and L&D professionals that comprehend our business model and philosophy, will be key. Our challenge is also our strength, as our organisation is one of a kind and requires a whole different way of thinking - it’s community driven and therefore strategy and policy are not driven from the top down, but rather driven from the collective goals and needs.

How do you see One Small Town Evolving and Your Role in It?

There is no doubt the organisation expand, and the exciting thing is that I am open to possibilities. I used to plan my next move, but now I feel excited to co-create with my fellow global teams, not defined or pigeonholed by their past roles or qualifications. There will be many exciting projects that we can all add value to as a collective with people contacting us daily how they can help. One challenge at the moment is how we onboard and utilise a diverse skillset. We have our own technical platform, helping us manage our members and their talents, currently being rolled out in our Lebanese and South African towns and soon in the Isle of Man, which is our first project in the British Isles.

Many ONE Small Towns are springing up all over the Globe. What kinds of projects are emerging which meet your unique set up?

The beauty of this is that everyone has a part to play. We are creating projects which span across each business sectors. The aim is to use peoples’ natural talents to produce goods and services to serve the community, and also have free time for family and their passions. It’s all about creating the community you want together.