Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

CIPDHR strategyThe HR profession

CIPD 2010: Authenticity is key to business strategy, says former Sainsbury’s HR director

by Laura Chamberlain 10 Nov 2010
by Laura Chamberlain 10 Nov 2010

Imelda Walsh, who left her position as HR director at Sainsbury’s in the summer, told the CIPD conference yesterday that being authentic was the key to a successful HR function.

Walsh admitted that she could have done more to improve the business when she joined Sainsbury’s in 2001. But when a new CEO joined, and she was promoted to HR director, she realised that people within the organisation, including herself, had not taken enough accountability for what had gone wrong.

“From an application perspective there was very poor communication. The senior management was not close to the shop floor and were therefore detached from the issues they had,” she said.

However, since then a lot has changed. She spent time changing the operating model to be less focused on managing administration and more focused on managing people.








Walsh’s six lessons for HR professionals:



  • Never neglect the basics.
  • You are nothing without your team.
  • Embrace and encourage challenge.
  • Say sorry when you get it wrong.
  • Walk the floor.
  • Hold to your principles.

With people at the forefront of her HR objectives, Walsh implemented a culture of honesty and openness.

This was reflected in her speech to the CIPD conference when she listed the six key lessons she had learnt from her nine years at Sainsbury’s, which included: “say sorry when you get it wrong”; “walk the floor and interact with people”; and “embrace and encourage challenge within your team”.

Having a place on the board, she emphasised, was also very important to the changes she implemented. She said that sometimes HR makes the mistake of veering away from board topics that they should be playing a role in.

“Get involved with pay and pensions issues on the board as it gives you a dialogue with management,” she advised.

Overall, she reflected, if you are open about what your doing, listen to employees and admit when you’re wrong, you will build a culture of trust that will have huge benefits for both the day-to-day running of the business and the smooth implementation of any big changes within your organisation.

Avatar
Laura Chamberlain

previous post
SunGard launches Recover Anywhere
next post
Cost-effective training – how to investigate harassment and bullying

You may also like

‘It’s International HR Day – wait, you didn’t...

20 May 2022

Adapt culture to hybrid work: do not force...

20 May 2022

Women in FTSE 350 leadership: ‘A lot of...

20 May 2022

Squishy, flabby, foggy HR? Andrew Bartlow talks to...

20 May 2022

Movers and shakers May 2022: John Lewis and...

20 May 2022

Movers and shakers April 2022: Santander UK appoints...

22 Apr 2022

How the Global Business Mobility visa will overhaul...

14 Apr 2022

How workplace culture should support employees’ wellbeing

13 Apr 2022

Time to kill off the HR business partner?...

8 Apr 2022

HR careers survey: three in four confident about...

30 Mar 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+