Natasha Pollock rose up from entry level Eastern European role to global HR leader managing over 19,000 employees
As a woman in the male-dominated manufacturing industry, you’d expect Natasha Pollock to have faced a lot of challenges. But, as she tells HRD, it’s all she’s ever known.
As VP of HR at global industrial magnate Timken, Pollock is responsible for over 19,000 employees dispersed across 46 countries. And while that might sound daunting, Pollock firmly believes that her background and early beginnings in HR prepared her excellently for the task ahead — a task that began on the other side of the world.
“My career started in customer service for a French company’s subsidiary in Moldova, a former Soviet Union republic and my native country,” Pollock tells HRD. “From there, I transitioned into HR.
“In 2000, I was working in Romania as an HR consultant for a French human capital consulting firm that partnered with Timken to support an HR integration and a plethora of talent development and talent acquisition efforts for the company’s Romania and Poland operations.”
From HRBP to HR specialist
And, when the project concluded a year later, she says that Timken made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“Primarily because I realized – after one year of working closely with the Timken team – that my core values aligned with those of Timken, which is a great place for organizational, professional and personal growth,” says Pollock.
After joining Timken as an HR specialist, HR has remained Pollock’s focus for two decades. But even though she’s spent her entire Timken career in HR, Pollock still considers her career a super diverse one.
“I’ve had the opportunity to live in many different geographies,” she tells HRD. “I’ve been able to work in various business divisions, manufacturing facilities and corporate and engineering centres.
“I’ve also transitioned several times from HR business partnership and generalist roles into HR specialist functions. These diverse experiences enabled me to build organizational acumen and talent knowledge that led me to my current role. This year, I’ll be celebrating 22 years with Timken.”
Diversity in manufacturing
And while Pollock’s career has been something of a dream, diversity in the manufacturing world is something that HR leaders are looking to improve – broadly speaking. According to data from Deloitte, fewer than one in three manufacturing professionals are women today – that’s despite the equal gender split in the overall workforce. The push for a more diverse and inclusive culture is something that rings true for Pollock – telling HRD that she’s learned how to bring out the best in everyone.
“Some might say being a woman in manufacturing is a challenge, but it’s all I’ve known for the last 22 years,” she says. “It’s my reality - and I don’t frequently think about being a female leader. My days are filled with the main objective of driving our company’s growth - which ultimately impacts the growth and wellbeing of our global employees. I’ve learned how to bring the best out of everyone, and myself, so we can partner and achieve greater things, together.”
Navigating a talent crisis
As a global citizen, as Pollock self-identifies, she believes she’s able to appreciate the true richness of diversity – adding that in her mind “our differences only make us stronger when properly channelled.”
And this is really at the core of Timken’s overall mission – to advance talent and attract top tier candidates into the manufacturing industry.
“Timken has always been great at developing people and growing our human capital capabilities,” says Pollock. “With the recent labour trends and the new generations entering the workforce, it’s becoming even more critical to take an individualized approach to employee learning and development journeys - to assess the unique talent each employee possesses and equip our managers with skills and tools to continue to advance talent.”
Even the booming manufacturing sector hasn’t avoided the ongoing talent drought. According to data from ManpowerGroup, the global talent shortage is currently sitting at a 16-year high, with 75% of organizations struggling to plug the candidate gaps. The impact of the pandemic on the global recruitment pool means that while employers can now hire “anyone from anywhere”, they’re also experiencing mass turnover and dwindling retention levels.
How to make it to CHRO-level
But what doesn’t kill us often makes us stronger. And, in the case of HR practitioners, the past few years have been as challenging as they have been unprecedented. HR has gone from a “nice to have” administrative function to a strategic business partner, sitting at the core of competency decision-making.
And, for more junior HR practitioners looking to make that leap into the upper echelons of the boardroom, Pollock has some advice.
“Understand your business,” she tells HRD. “Business acumen combined with HR acumen is the best equation to professional success and career growth. [From there] develop a strong growth and learning mindset - this actually applies to all levels in the organization and needs to continue even after you make it big. Understand the priorities of your CEO and executive team and align your goals and efforts.
“Then, know your organizational talent and how to build mutually beneficial employee-manager partnerships - be willing to make tough decisions and have crucial conversations.”
