Interview with Pippa Hawker-Bond

Established in 1988, Harvey Nash has supported many of the world's leading organisations to recruit, source and manage the highly skilled talent they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive and technology driven world.

How would you describe the journey of the past 4 months personally and professionally?

The past 4 months have been a challenge on a variety of levels. Personally, moving from a role that benefited from visibility and exposure to a number of offices to working at my kitchen table every morning was really challenging.

Initially, I was concerned that my role wouldn’t be as impactful remotely, but have pleasantly been surprised at how effectively apps such as ‘Teams’ have encouraged us to connect more; I’m not sure we’ve ever been so collaborative as a business.

Professionally, juggling the need for empathy and productivity has been difficult.

"Like many businesses we’ve had to redesign to focus on increasing efficiency."

As we enter this ‘next normal’, what are some of the biggest challenges you are facing as an HR Team?

With the current flux, our culture is a real priority, with people being ‘physically’ removed from the business, reinforcing what makes Harvey Nash, Harvey Nash will become really important.

"Our people have been incredible and recognition of this performance is more important than ever. "

The current climate has left us little room for additional incentives, so pushing ourselves to be more creative when it comes to celebrating success will become really important.

What type of support are your people looking for right now?

Uncertainty and ambiguity require really authentic leadership, so communication and transparency within the business are key.

What skills do you think are more important now than ever before?

Agility and adaptability. As we move into an increasingly fluid business environment we all have to become that little bit more dynamic.

"As we move into an increasingly fluid business environment we all have to become that little bit more dynamic"

How do you think the role of HR teams has evolved this year?

I think the challenges of this year have only shed further light on the significance of Talent/HR when it comes to making strategic decisions about a business's greatest asset; it's people.