HR PRACTITIONER
A Rising Star
Felicity Poe believes that HR is sometimes a balancing act. Well achieved, this balance could result in a position with much influence within the business.
By Rowena Morais


JAN 2012 | “Within HR, we can’t sit back and wait for people to come to us, we need to be proactive, forward thinking and look for opportunities. HR professionals need to have a broader range of business skills to show the business that they truly do understand the challenges they are facing and HR can play a key role in working through these,” Felicity Poe asserted when I asked her for advice to young, up and coming HR professionals.

At the tender age of 25, Felicity has caught on to two key concepts HR need not only understand but embrace wholeheartedly if they are to make an impact: proactivity and the need to possess a broad range of business skills.

The Employee Relations and Performance Manager at Hamilton Island, Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Felicity recently won the Australian HR Rising Star of the Year award. We caught up with Felicity to see whether HR was her first career choice, whether HR has been everything she thought it would be and how she deals with negativity and driving employee engagement.

HR Matters : What does it feel like to be regarded an Australian HR Rising Star of the Year at only 25?
Poe : It really is an incredible honour to be recognised by my peers who I look up to for leading the way in HR. Honestly, I am incredibly lucky to have found an industry and job that I enjoy and am very passionate about at such a young age. So it makes it easy to come to work everyday and do what I do.

FELICITY POE

HR Matters : Some would argue that HR is not necessarily the first career choice for young people. Why made you decide to get into the HR line? What do you hope to achieve?
Poe : It was by chance initially. I started studying a general business degree and one of my friends said to me to complete a few subjects in HR as they thought it would suit me. At that time, I really did not know what HR was about. However, after my first class, I knew I wanted a career in HR. So I changed my major and I have never looked back. I found that HR is the lynch pin of a successful organisation and this is what I wanted to be a part of. One of my personal goals, career-wise, is to ensure that I continue to be seen as a credible and valued resource who works with the business in every HR role I’m in.

HR Matters : It’s been some five years since you began a career in HR. Is it all you’d hoped it to be? In your experience, what do you feel is HR’s biggest failing?
Poe : Since finishing my degree and actually working within the industry, it has been more than I could have hoped for. Every role I have had has been a fantastic experience. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing HR Managers that have provided great mentoring, coaching, and guidance. I couldn’t have asked for more! HR is such a dynamic and diverse area that every day is interesting and it definitely keeps me on my toes.

HR Matters : Negativity is a complex problem to deal with, especially when managing talent. In challenging times, financial or otherwise, this problem may worsen. Avoidance seems like a great and easy way out but we know it to be a temporary fix. How do you deal with negative people?
Poe : Unfortunately for many companies, there are negative employees and employees who just don’t want to be there. For me, I try and address the issue rather than ignore it. I am a strong believer in open and honest communication. I will always raise the concern with the employee and try to determine the cause of the negativity, then work together to develop a solution. I feel that once the underlying factors are identified it is then possible to work through the cause of it.

HR Matters : There have probably been many times, in your current or past HR roles, where you’ve had to deal with the fact that people don’t always do what you want them to. Sometimes, they don’t agree with you. Sometimes, they are being difficult or worse, apathetic. If what you need to get done is relevant and crucial by organisational standards, what do you do to get people to do what needs to be done?
Poe : Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone just agreed with me and did what I asked! I always try to understand why the employee is resisting. From my experience, I have found that resistance is often the result of not completely understanding what is occurring and why it is occurring. To lead change, I have an open communication approach and incorporate key stakeholders/employees to ensure they understand why we need to do what we are doing. I also ensure that I listen to their views and concerns and ensure that they do not feel that their opinions are being dismissed. I have found that having a collaborative approach tends to be successful.

HR Matters : You’ve probably seen the signs. He’s unhappy with the job, he’s daydreaming and generally not productive. It’s time for him to quit but he is not quitting. He is quite content to stay there, come in and mark time from morning till close. How do you get things to turn around in your favour?
Poe : Unfortunately, yes, we have all had to deal with this situation. Once again, I address the concern with the employee and find out what is making them unhappy. I also try to understand what does make them happy and motivate them. Through motivation, I try to re-engage the employee and rebuild a sense of job satisfaction.

Everyone is motivated differently, so it is vital to invest the time to understand what motivates and drives each employee. There is one, in particular, who stands out for me. I had a young manager, come and discuss with me performance issues they were having with one of their employees. The manager’s first words to me were, “I think we’re going to have to dismiss one of my employees”. I went through a few questions with the manager to try and gauge what had been going on, what conversations and meetings had taken place and how they tried to rectify the situation. The manager was quite open about the matter and explained that they had not addressed any of the issues they were having with the employee. With the manager, I went through in detail what the major issues were. The manager provided clear examples for each of the concerns.

The following day, when we met with the employee, I asked the employee, ‘So how’s everything going?’. To my amazement and shock, the employee responded with,”Awful! I hate my job, I hate coming to work and I know I’m not performing but I just don’t care anymore.’

Well, this definitely changed the tone of the meeting and we focused on why she hated her job. We discovered that she didn’t feel challenged anymore in her role and she felt that her manager just kept giving her more and more work, but she was not being recognised, valued or empowered. After a few meetings with the employee, myself and their manager, a performance plan was created, with key deliverables for her to achieve and regular catch up’s were also arranged between her and her manager.

Additionally, the manager also took on board the feedback that their employees did not feel recognised by them. Approximately eight months on, the employee is still with the company and is continuing to move forward in her career. I feel that although not all of these situations can be positive, if you are genuine and you listen and understand the underlying reasons for such action, most times, you will get the right outcome and can turn around an unhappy employee and situation.

HR Matters : What steps do you take to find out what people want from their workplace?
Poe : Similar to motivation, all employees want something different from their job or the company. To ensure I stay in tune with employees, I have three key factors. Firstly, I listen to employees and not just listen when they come to see me but more importantly when I am out and about, visiting departments or in the staff café. Secondly, I ensure that I am not office bound and I do get out of the office to visit employees. As more often than not, it is in the informal settings that I will hear more about what employees want and how they are honestly feeling. Lastly, staff engagement surveys and exit surveys. By capturing this information, we have structured feedback about what employees want from their workplace and this helps to shape our strategies and objectives to continue to improve the workplace. Personally, I have found that a combination of steps is important to find out what employees want.

HR Matters : A significant accolade for you was being promoted to Employee Relations and Performance Manager in November 2010. At the age of only 24, senior management sat up and took notice. What do you believe to be the single biggest factor that made your management team take notice of you?
Poe : Hamilton Island Enterprises Limited has provided me with many amazing opportunities and I am very fortunate to be working for a company that believes in my capabilities and were willing to support me at a young age. This is a tough question. However, I believe the single biggest factor would be my ability to manage all people related matters while remaining commercially focused and having an objective balanced judgement.

Felicity Poe is the Employee Relations and Performance Manager at Hamilton Island Enterprises, based at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Felicity believes that it is important to make a difference, add value and create an environment that fosters growth, development and opportunities for employees to succeed.