Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance

I want to be there for my kids, go to parents’ evenings, go to their school shows or to take them to the doctors or be at their first days of school ( which I was a few weeks ago), but I also want to be committed to. My philosophy is family comes first and everything else works around that including work. That, however doesn’t mean that work has to suffer for it, to be honest I think my work improves because of it. People shouldn’t have to say sorry or make excuses to take a little bit of time from work to be there for their kids, companies should embrace the fact that the understanding of people’s individual circumstances and allowing flexibility pays dividends through staff engagement and staff loyalty. Another part of my passion is support from companies in the early part of parenthood, I believe Paternity and Maternity should be sufficient to allow new parents not to worry about finances or to take holiday to cover Paternity/Maternity Leave in the early stages.

I have recently taken on a personal project, working with my local County Council, to better equip retailers and hospitality workers with the knowledge required to redesign their spaces and open the door to disabled consumers. I am really enjoying learning from the residents we have reached out to and contacts I meet within my role here at Outsource. I am excited about putting my knowledge to use in order to support my colleagues and also continuing to learn from the diverse team we also have here at Outsource.

The pandemic has been a wake-up call for many, and more individuals will be looking at re-training and exploring different careers, which means a greater pool of talent. I would advocate for the recruitment process to continue considering individuals, who may not have the necessary experience, but may have transferable skills and the potential to be an asset for the business.

I began running or walking every Monday-Friday during my lunchtime, which was something that, historically, I had never done before as I knew I always had football for exercise in the evenings. Since getting into the routine of doing this each day, not only have I felt a difference in terms of my general energy levels, my mental health has improved dramatically. I am looking forward to championing mental health and wellbeing and creating an energised team here at Outsource UK.

For me personally, for example, it was a long-held ambition to be asked to join the Outsource board of directors. I wanted to be invited to join the board because I deserved it – because my work and my experience warranted the invitation, and because I was the best person for the role. I definitely would NOT have wanted the invitation to be motivated purely by a desire for a woman to be part of the Board.  And luckily I know that that wasn’t the case at Outsource, but I feel very strongly that no one wants success by way of special treatment, or by filling a quota - it’s about everyone having the opportunity to be the best person for the job. I am excited to be part of our Ambassador programme, and to hopefully use my own experiences to support other future female leaders within our business.

The programme was run to give those students the confidence to apply for university, as for the majority, they would be the first generation of their family to do so. The school recognised that these children could be missing out by not knowing what’s available to them.

I’d like to ensure that when people apply for roles, their personal background doesn’t matter. Of course, at times, certain qualifications are needed, but how many times do you see ‘degree required’ when experience and the right attitude would be ten times more valuable. Maybe the individual didn’t have the same opportunity as the person with the degree, maybe they didn’t grow up in an area where going to university was normalised. I believe that, as recruiters, we have the opportunity to influence future employers, encouraging them to take a wider view when hiring, to ensure no one is on the backfoot, offering everyone an equal opportunity.

I want to help eliminate the stigma surrounding this and help better understand how to support people who are suffering. In 2018/19, stress, depression, or anxiety was responsible for 44% of all cases of work-related ill health and 54% of all working days lost due to health issues in Great Britain. My aim is to help to reduce this.

Disabilities can be hidden and not obvious to everyone and I think it’s important that this is more commonly known to ensure people with hidden disabilities don’t feel left out or excluded from anything. There are so many small changes we can all make to be as inclusive as we can to people living with hidden disabilities and I am really excited to help share my knowledge with the rest of Outsource UK.

When I heard about the Graduate Route Visa it felt like the skills I could bring to the UK were being recognised and that I had just as much of a chance at a career in the UK as anyone else. It was still extremely hard moving to a new country and trying to fit into such a new environment. Everything was very overwhelming and could feel lonely at times.

I want to make sure that as a company we are recognising the struggles that individuals may face when trying to build a career in a new town, city or country. I would also like to bring more awareness of different festivals, celebrations, foods and customs outside of the ones that we’re used to.

I was asked if I’d like to join Outsource UK's Ambassador team and I jumped at the chance. I now have my own wisdom to offer and I really want to support people that are thinking about or wanting to return to work, and to make this as accessible, seamless and stress-free wherever possible.