My Brilliant Career: Looking after the people who look after the planes

Tell me about working in human resources at Air Traffic and Navigation Services.

Every day at the office presents new opportunities and challenges for us human capital professionals. The role of the human resources department at ATNS has progressed from being very administrative and transactional to being a business and strategic partner with influence on the business.

The organisation has been receptive to this change, which has produced positive results for human capital and the organisation as a whole. The organisation has quite diverse skills and competencies, which can pose huge challenges for us human capital professionals as we seek solutions and deliver on business requirements.

Do you consider yourself a mentor?

I do consider myself a mentor. My vision is to see the human capital department as a department other organisations could benchmark themselves against in terms of value creation and operational excellence. To achieve this, I need to lead from the front and develop my team.

In this journey, I set clear goals and objectives for my team, and furthermore empower my team to develop both as individuals and human capital professionals.

What part of your job is the most stressful?

Having to find a balance between the "head", "heart" and "hands" aspects of my job is difficult. Policies and procedures define my job, but having to consider the human impact is often difficult to manage.

Furthermore, the conflicting roles of wearing an "HR hat" versus a "business hat" require a high level of leadership, maturity, objectivity and emotional intelligence.

What makes you good at your job?

I approach my work with the end goal in mind, or "How can I as a senior HR business partner assist the organisation to achieve its goals?"

To achieve that, I ensure that I empower myself by having a comprehensive understanding of the business and its operations as well as a comprehensive understanding of the policies, procedures and frameworks in all areas of the organisation. This allows me to approach my job from an objective point of view.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

I always wanted to be a teacher. I was always the teacher's pet. I admired my teachers and the impact they had on my life.

What makes your work meaningful?

I love what I do.

I live by the motto: "If you love what you do, you never have to work another day in your life."

Developing and improving on my employer's value proposition and seeing the positive effect on employees' lives make it meaningful for me.