HR Headliners – Nicola Waring, Chief People Officer at Arrow XL

In our latest edition of HR Headliners, Kerry White Executive Search lead at Macmillan Davies talks to Nicola Waring, Chief People Officer at ArrowXL, the UK’s largest and longest-established two-person home delivery specialist, about her career to date, her route to a seat at the boardroom table and why the storytelling around HR Data and Analytics is so important.

Tell me about your career to date

I started my career as an Asda Graduate on their Retail scheme back in the late ninety’s. So, my earlier days were in Operations Management. I ‘fell’ into HR a few years later and became a ‘People Manager’ (a store HR Manager) which is where my HR career really began. Asda was a fantastic grounding for engagement, recruitment, training and employee relations and their training centres were outstanding. I was lucky enough to run one as one of my last roles with Asda.

I then moved onto a regional role with Matalan, then into manufacturing with Heinz (experiencing my first ever strike). It was here that I reached my first Head of HR position on a secondment basis, which I really enjoyed. The transition to that next level was challenging and I thoroughly enjoyed the variety. I then knew that what I really wanted to do was run my own HR function.

When I was approached regarding a permanent ‘Head of’ role, which was with webuyanycar.com, I knew I had to take it. My first executive position was with JW Lees Brewery as their first ever HR Director. Moving to a board position is different, as you are running the business as part of a different team. Whilst still the HR specialist, the activity and discussions turn very much to the future viability and/or success of the overall company. This then led me to my current role in the logistics industry as Chief People Officer at ArrowXL. My sectors have been purposefully varied, but people are people, and the challenges are generally the same for all of us, they just appear at different times and in different quantities.

According to our latest research for our 2024 HR Insights report, only 16% of HR Professionals see an HR career as having a clear route to becoming a board member. As someone who has successfully made that leap, why do you think this is?

Boards come in all shapes and sizes and in some cases, HR has not yet got a seat around the board table. But just because you cannot see it now, does not mean it is not there or won’t be when you are ready to step up. Likewise, do not be frightened to move on if the opportunity does not present itself where you are, and when you’re ready for it. We need to be less linear and more creative in our thinking. In larger companies, the so-called top HR job may feel like a mountainous career move whereas in smaller businesses, their board may operate at a similar level to where you are now, or it may come with additional responsibilities or functions as a dual role. My advice is to be flexible and open. Board experience can come from many sources, for example, many charities and schools would snap up a HR professional to sit on their Exec Board or Board of Governors.

You are passionate about the storytelling around HR Data and Analytics. Why do you think the story telling element is so important around the board room table?

I was once told by a Director, that “you are only here (HR) because we have to have you, not because we want you”. Having worked in many HR departments by this point, in part, I understood his frustration. We have to help and show managers and our businesses how we can support and contribute to the business' strategic aims. If we cannot do that, we are an expensive resource and can often be perceived as creating unnecessary processes and barriers.

We need to be part of the solution. Talk their language, and translate HR activity into tangible results that will help them perform. What is the trend analysis telling us, what efficiencies will be made, how will productivity improve, how will it translate to bottom line profit, and how will this help us become more competitive are just some key considerations to selling in any proposal. Getting buy-in is about seeing things from someone else’s perspective and homing in on what the benefit of that project or change initiative is to them and the business. Numbers and data analysis are a common language in business, especially in Operations and Finance Functions. HR teams can often speak to what the law and policies say. You must ensure HR is a commercial function too.

How do you see the people function changing beyond its traditional role, to one which can add greater commercial impact to benefit the wider business?

Data and analytics will continue to be a growing part of our role. Being a trusted ‘advisor’ when things go wrong will not be enough. In such challenging times, data-led decision making is critical to business success and often we have plenty of data that would help support the right business decisions being made. Having data analysts within the HR function will become as normal as having an L&D professional.

And finally...What would your advice be to an HR Professional who has ambitions to progress to a board-level position?

Gain a broad knowledge and understanding of your business and industry, which goes beyond the HR agenda. At board level, often the pure HR aspect of your role diminishes significantly as you become more involved in the collective strategic direction and decisions of the business. Having held several operational roles in my career, it has certainly been an advantage, so I would highly recommend spending some time with your operational management teams to really understand their challenges and see them for yourself. Get to grips with the company finances too, you will need knowledge of revenue streams, profit performance and cashflow. But it is not just technical knowledge, your key relationships will no longer be with HR, the CFO will become just one of the key relationships you will need to foster to be successful.

Get in touch

Should you wish to have a confidential chat with Kerry White to discuss the current HR market or your search for work/recruiting into your team, please contact her directly at kwhite@mdhr.co.uk

To ensure you don’t miss any updates from Macmillan Davies and to hear about our latest events click here to sign up to subscribe to our updates.