How does your usual day look like?

My day starts off with the most important moment of the day – taking my dog out!

I have a global role so am on calls already early with my colleagues in APAC – and if I am going to the office, I will take the bus to La Defense in Paris. I am at my most productive in the morning, so will do a lot of writing in the morning.

Afternoons are also packed with calls and meetings. My role also involves a lot of research, a lot of calls with my boss to brainstorm and articulate things we are trying to put in place. I try to get a run a couple of times in the evening if I’m feeling energetic!

What are the things you like the most about your job?

I love feeling like what I am doing makes a difference – whether that’s creating awareness on topics such as domestic abuse, menopause etc. or being approached by people who are struggling to come out or are unsure of how to come out at work.

I also love the fact that it’s global – of course it doesn’t come without its challenges as there is a different level of maturity when it comes to Inclusion, Diversity & Inclusion in different countries, but that means that no two days look the same.

What are some of the skills you utilise the most in your day-to-day?

The most important skill I use are my communication skills – I am interacting with different parts of the business and trying to influence people, which is a great challenge.

I am very creative and enthusiastic but struggle to be structured and organised, so trying to be aware of this and how that might impact the people I work with.

What was one of your happiest days in your career and why?

I think that this was a couple of weeks ago when I won Inspirational Role Model at the Rainbow Honours. It felt like a recognition of my work over the last year and that felt super cool and made me very happy.

What was the toughest career decision you ever made?

Before being in this role I had worked in recruitment for many years – and I had the choice of either carrying on in recruitment or jumping into the unknown with my current role. It was a new role, a new-ish function so I didn’t know what I was getting into. Needless to say I have no regrets!

What is something you had to learn to become better at your job?

I am a very social person – and loved the interaction with the business while I was working in recruitment. Adapting to different ways of interacting with the business was also something that I had to get my head around. As a recruiter you are providing a service to the business and today I am approaching them as an expert on a topic that they might not have necessarily thought about.

How did you get to become a Global Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging Business Partner?

As an out, queer woman I have always been passionate about Diversity and Inclusion. I have always been involved in our Employee Resource Groups, gradually taking on more importance. When this role came up it was my dream come true, to be able to make a job out of something that I was so passionate about.

What's the one piece of advice you have for anyone interested in becoming a EI Business Partner?

Get involved in any way you can early on – be an ally, volunteer in ERGs, be vocal!

What's your number one productivity hack / when or how are you most effective?

I know myself and how and when I work best – mornings are best for writing, afternoons for calls. I also don’t sleep (not by choice!) so my productivity is also dictated by how much I have slept the night before, and I am now OK with that and accept that I can’t be super productive everyday!