Chief People Officer on the power of honouring commitments
Creating a workplace where employees thrive takes more than promises and slogans - its how these are honoured day in and day out.
It's something Helen Sedcole, Z Energy’s Chief People Officer, understands well.
“There’s a real risk when it comes to employee experience of not honouring your commitments like you originally intended – which has a massive impact on your integrity as a business,” Sedcole told HRD.
“We employ people who embody our values, which is what we expect them to live, but they need to hold you to account, too. Patriarchal environments don’t work anymore.”
EVP in creating greater employee outcomes
Described as a two-way street, ensuring you have a strong EVP goes beyond engagement and retention. The key lies in fostering an environment where continuous learning and growth become integral to the organisational DNA, benefiting both the employee and employer.
“An employee experience that articulates what you’re committed to and what you expect in return, enables you to have a great adult relationship with people. That’s a really positive foundation,” Sedcole emphasised.
And, it’s a commitment, which recognises that sometimes leaders don’t always get it right.
“I’m committed to being a great parent, but am I a great parent every day? Possibly not. But reminding myself of what I’m committed to, helps me hold myself to account, dust myself off when I’m not, and course correct. That’s such a powerful thing to have – understanding how to keep going, being supported by your people to learn and do it better next time," she said.
For HR leaders, key to combatting issues around employee mobility and evolutions of technology (such as artificial intelligence) is creating new skill requirements across business functions.
Sedcole outlined the job of a CPO is to “help build capability and navigate why and how we do things—identifying opportunities, aligning solutions with employee experience and strategic goals, and ensuring we implement them coherently and with integrity, taking our people on the journey with us.”
‘Anxiety’ around future skillsets in the workplace
Sedcole highlighted that the development of their people is baked into Z Energy’s philosophy.
“When we explored employee experience, we discovered a genuine anxiety among our people about the currency of their skill sets in a rapidly evolving world.”
To address this, the company prioritised fostering a growth mindset and encouraging continuous learning, ensuring employees could adapt to future demands.
“It’s not about having one set of skills for today and another for tomorrow but about helping people navigate the journey to future skills,” she said.
Initiatives such as innovation masterclasses, human-centred design programs, and digital upskilling with Microsoft 365 have equipped staff with essential 21st-century capabilities.
Sedcole noted these efforts proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling the workforce to remain agile and responsive.
A career of curiosity
Sedcole’s interest in human development began during her studies of Health Sciences and Psychology at university. It was here, she recalled, she got “bitten by the bug” of understanding human behaviour.
Through her natural curiosity, she was able to learn even more about how people behave when she joined a consulting business early in her career.
“What I didn't realise at the time was what a gift it was working in a consulting environment, because I just got great exposure to tonnes of different businesses, small through to large, going through all sorts of different things and across lots of different industries,” she said.
“How businesses show up for their people internally can generate a beautiful and powerful energy. That's why I'm honoured and privileged to be working for Z Energy and Ampol because I think they are a great example of the power of internal and external
brand alignment When we talk as an organisation, we talk a lot about our ambition and our commitment to our customers, our people and what we stand for,” she concluded.
