Having worked at BT for 26 years, first as a typist before moving into PA roles, management and up to director level, Debbie Waddington’s initial HR role was in the financial services sector. She has had multiple HR roles at HBOS, Aviva and Lloyds Bank, before moving into her current role at Keepmoat, a leading Partnership home builder, which focusses on first time buyers and providing high quality homes throughout the UK.
This career path is, in itself, a source of pride for Waddington: “In terms of stand-out achievements, I’d have to say firstly progressing my career from being a 16-year-old typist right up to Director level within one company alone, and then switching focus entirely, moving into HR and up to Group HR Director,” she says.
The HR Challenge
Waddington’s switch into HR came as a result of her desire to challenge herself in a different company and different sector. She enjoyed her time at BT within operationally focused roles, but this was a chance to do something entirely different, for a different company in a different sector. “When I discussed my experience with a recruitment agency, they matched me to a role at HBOS as part of their Retail HR team,” she explains, “focusing on a large scale pay and a bonus related change project. Working on this project covering 45,000 colleagues helped me to see much of the work I’d previously done through a HR lens, and I subsequently remained in HR.”
The route worked well for her and even now being in HR enables Waddington to focus on how the business aligns the work they’re doing with how the business and their people work.
