Lynne Weedall

After leaving school I went on the management training programme at Waitrose. I found that dealing with people was the most interesting part of this and, as I became more aware of the importance of developing and motivating people to get results and bring about change, I decided that HR was the area I wanted to specialise in. When a job came up at Tesco working in retail HR, I took the opportunity to move. One of my career highlights occurred while working at Bupa and looking after its hospital division, which we had to sell to a private equity firm. In the sale we managed to get a good deal for shareholders and also improve our customer service and people engagement scores. It really delivered for all the stakeholders.
 

Language does not simply reflect what is going on in organisational life: it also influences what people think and what they do

Linda Holbeche, director of the Holbeche Partnership and visiting professor of HRM/OD at Cass Business School