FuturExec: The Academy - Spotlight on… Laura Rogers, Head of People and Culture at Lima

In our latest interview in our ‘FuturExec:  The Academy - Spotlight on…’ series, we speak to Laura Rogers, Head of People and Culture at Lima. Laura was part of our initial cohort on our inaugural programme of FuturExec: The Academy and is continuing on the programme in 2024. Here, Sam Pepperell speaks to Laura about why she decided to pursue a career in HR, how she feels the academy has helped her career, as well as discussing how she balances a busy work life with marathon training, and her ambitions to have a positive impact on the employee experience at LIMA.

Laura, what made you decide to pursue a career in the field of HR?

Like most HR professionals I fell into working in the field, growing up I had ambitions of working in law. I’m a care leaver so whilst studying for my A Levels I was given the opportunity to sit on a youth panel interviewing potential social workers and really enjoyed being part of the hiring process, assessing candidates against our criteria. It was a careers advisor who told me I could combine my interests in the law and progress to a role in HR.

Tell me about your career to date and how you got into the HR function

After graduating with a degree in Business Studies and Sociology, I started working as a HR Administrator for an education charity while part-time studying for a postgraduate diploma in Human Resources. During the early part of my career, I predominantly worked in the education sector, moving to HR Assistant in a children’s day nursery group to HR Business Partner for a group of SEN schools and children’s home.

I was made redundant during the pandemic, to broaden my sector experience I joined an HR consultancy that provides outsourced HR services to SMEs. This was a great opportunity to expand my experience of working as part of a Senior Leadership team. During my time as a consultant, I supported clients from fintech, marketing agencies, charities and private healthcare.

Last year I made the decision to transition to an in-house HR leadership role, joining LIMA, an IT services provider, as Head of People & Culture.

What are some of the core skills you feel HR professionals need in order to really add help organisations progress?

Business acumen and commercial awareness. I’ve seen many organisations overlook the importance of HR. Great HR professionals align their HR practice with the organisations goal to add the most value.

How do you feel being a participant on Macmillan Davies’ FuturExec: The Academy has helped your career over the last 12 months?

The transition to leading a small HR team, while rewarding, presented unique challenges, including the absence of immediate HR colleagues to exchange ideas and best practices. The FuturExec Programme has been invaluable in filling this void. I have had the opportunity to learn directly from established HR leaders, gaining insights into current topics within the HR world. This exposure has not only enhanced my knowledge but has also equipped me with innovative strategies to take back to the office.

What is occupying your headspace at the moment?

I’ve recently drafted my first ‘People Plan’ for the upcoming financial year and I’m working hard to structure and design how this will be delivered in FY24. Outside of work, I’m a running novice training to run the Manchester marathon in April so much of my thoughts relate to pace, running routes and how I’m going to find time to wash my hair.

What are your career ambitions?

I enjoy navigating between a strategic mindset and hands-on execution, working in SMEs I’m able to obtain this comfortable balance. For the next few years, I’m excited to see how I can have a positive impact on the employee experience at LIMA.

What is the best piece of career advice you have received?

We can all be guilty of being ‘too busy’ but HR is a dynamic field so protect time to regularly attend conferences and events to keep up to date with the latest HR practices, employment law changes and industry trends.

Find out more

To find out more about our programme, please click here.

If you would like to nominate anyone from your HR team to join The Academy or find out how you can support the programme by speaking at future events, please get in touch using the details below:
Sam Pepperell
07930 465030
spepperell@mdhr.co.uk