‘It’s interesting, challenging and stretches you’ - why Helen loves HR

Hailing from Gloucestershire, our HR Adviser Helen Imbusi moved to Swindon during her school years and has been here ever since, which gives her an invaluable knowledge of the town, along with the wider Wiltshire/Gloucestershire area.

It was her father, who ran his own business, who inspired the early part of Helen’s career, but it was really the people side of work that she loved, which was why she eventually arrived in HR and she’s never looked back.

“I went to Swindon College and took business, economics and sociology A’levels and then went on to Bournemouth University and did a business studies degree. It was a four-year course which had an internship, so I worked back in Swindon at Intel for a year. It was an amazing experience and I can’t believe I got it!”

Helen was with Intel’s customer business operations team, so found herself liaising with big IT players like Dell, and helping facilitate the buying process.

It was in Helen’s final year at university that she took a specialist module in HR and found she loved the people side of business, drawing on an interest she had first felt studying sociology at college. But it would be some years before she found herself working in HR.

“I really thought HR was the most interesting side of business for me, as it was a topic I naturally gravitated towards, rather than the process side.”

Helen graduated in 2004. On finding there were very few entry level openings in HR, she took her skills learnt during her degree and her internship and accepted a role as a management trainee.

“It was a great opportunity because it was related to project management, bringing in all sides of the business, and based in a call centre.”

While in the role, Helen’s career progressed and she moved with the company to Bristol, helping to liaise between the call centre managers and the business as a whole, as well as facilitating training.

After taking redundancy, Helen’s next role was with an orthopaedic company with a base in Swindon, this time working in quality assurance, giving her another string to her bow. In this role, Helen even found herself dealing with returned faulty products which had been fitted (and removed) from patients!

Helen then joined another medical organisation, referred in by her former boss, as business process leader. Here, she was essentially the quality manager, implementing new quality processes and aligning them with the global, US-based company.

A career break to have a family beckoned, and between having her son and her daughter she worked as a special needs teaching assistant.

“I knew I wanted to get back into work, and I was very good at quality management, and the process side of business, but I didn’t have a passion for it. It was something I had fallen into.

“So, I decided to do some training and go back to my original plan and get into HR. While I was at home with my daughter, I completed my CIPD Level 3 through distance learning and then decided to give it a shot.”

And we are so glad she did! Helen joined HR Dept Swindon, North Wiltshire and East Cotswolds four years ago as a trainee, went on to complete her CIPD Level 5, and is now HR Adviser.

“Remy has been my mentor, she’s wonderful, and the team have been so supportive. I can honestly say, it’s the best job I have ever had. It’s interesting, it’s challenging, it stretches you. It’s those discussions with clients, understanding what the issues are and how we can help them overcome those issues and get them to where they want to go, that I really enjoy.”

Helen comes across some interesting enquiries, including a letter signed by an all-women workforce complaining about lack of equal pay!

“Sometimes we hear people citing legislation without understanding what it means. When it comes to employment law, Googling the answer can be risky, which is why they need us at HR Dept to advise. There are some interesting challenges but it’s what makes this job so interesting.”

Here at HR Dept Swindon, North Wiltshire and East Cotswolds, Helen manages our advice line and also projects manages some of our clients. She’s looking to expand her HR knowledge and expand her toolkit.

“It may have taken a while to get into HR but everything happens for a reason, and it has given me a real insight into how businesses work, and I have all that experience to draw on.”

So, having arrived at her dream job, what does Helen do in her spare time? She says it’s mainly taken up with family time, looking after ten-year-old Maxwell and Zoe, aged six. And not forgetting her two cats, Pearl and Millie.

If you are looking for HR support for your business, and would like to speak to Helen, email [email protected] or call 01793 683 398.