Joanna Copeland talks HR challenges, learning and development, and her passion for horse riding
What is your current role and what brought you into it?
I am the senior HR manager for Citadel Group Limited, a national secure enterprise information management company in the technology industry. I am born and bred in Sydney, and made a move in November 2014 to Canberra as my family were located there, but also for a sea change. I took this role as it was a greenfield, and looked exciting and challenging. Which HR driven and passionate professional doesn’t like that?
What are some of your current HR challenges?
I must admit I did smile when I read this, as my initial thought was “difficult people”. But we also are in a very fast-paced technologically-driven society, and HR leaders need to be on top of the industry changes. Artificial intelligence is shifting the way in which we do business, and systems are automated making roles in the business redundant. I do believe we will always need people, but we need to look at smarter ways of doing things and the government needs to keep up with that. The market is flooded with IT start ups, and new ways of doing things. Businesses need to be smarter with the way in which they conduct operations, but also in whom they hire. HR professionals biggest challenge is the future of work, and how we do that in today’s society.
What is the favourite part of your job?
I love being around smart people. I love it when we get smart people together to solve challenging problems and create something that can build and drive our organisation forward. Building a thriving high-performance culture by empowering, developing, recognising and rewarding our people, where it’s the place to work, and employees rave about us. That is what drives me every day!
What attracted you to a career in HR?
I started HR through my dear mum as she was in the industry for over 30 years. She sat me down one day in my early 20s and said either you should be working with animals or people. I realised pretty quickly that my greatest strength was leading people, influence and strategically moving the organisation forward with great people strategy and processes. I am a driven HR professional and like to make a difference, so being in HR I feel I can make an active influence on the way in which organisations run.
What’s one piece of HR related advice you would offer?
I engage regularly with all levels of HR people and mentor/ coach those in the field, and my piece of advice to them is you get out what you put in. Be the change that the organisation needs, always learn, develop yourself, and surround yourself with smart people (network). Always challenge yourself to be bigger and better…growth hurts, and when it hits you from all sides (as it does) never, ever GIVE UP! Tell yourself you can and you will achieve what you set your mind too. Think of strategic ways you can get your point across, and if it becomes someone else’s idea- so be it! You are bigger and better than getting that!
What hobbies and interests do you have outside of HR?
I am an outdoors person, so I love horse riding and whenever I get the opportunity I am outside going for walks. My husband and I also are avid cruisers, so an international cruise here and there is what we love.
Please complete this sentence: If you weren’t working in HR, you would be… an owner of a homewares company, let’s just say this could be my pre-retirement plan haha!
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I am the senior HR manager for Citadel Group Limited, a national secure enterprise information management company in the technology industry. I am born and bred in Sydney, and made a move in November 2014 to Canberra as my family were located there, but also for a sea change. I took this role as it was a greenfield, and looked exciting and challenging. Which HR driven and passionate professional doesn’t like that?
What are some of your current HR challenges?
I must admit I did smile when I read this, as my initial thought was “difficult people”. But we also are in a very fast-paced technologically-driven society, and HR leaders need to be on top of the industry changes. Artificial intelligence is shifting the way in which we do business, and systems are automated making roles in the business redundant. I do believe we will always need people, but we need to look at smarter ways of doing things and the government needs to keep up with that. The market is flooded with IT start ups, and new ways of doing things. Businesses need to be smarter with the way in which they conduct operations, but also in whom they hire. HR professionals biggest challenge is the future of work, and how we do that in today’s society.
What is the favourite part of your job?
I love being around smart people. I love it when we get smart people together to solve challenging problems and create something that can build and drive our organisation forward. Building a thriving high-performance culture by empowering, developing, recognising and rewarding our people, where it’s the place to work, and employees rave about us. That is what drives me every day!
What attracted you to a career in HR?
I started HR through my dear mum as she was in the industry for over 30 years. She sat me down one day in my early 20s and said either you should be working with animals or people. I realised pretty quickly that my greatest strength was leading people, influence and strategically moving the organisation forward with great people strategy and processes. I am a driven HR professional and like to make a difference, so being in HR I feel I can make an active influence on the way in which organisations run.
What’s one piece of HR related advice you would offer?
I engage regularly with all levels of HR people and mentor/ coach those in the field, and my piece of advice to them is you get out what you put in. Be the change that the organisation needs, always learn, develop yourself, and surround yourself with smart people (network). Always challenge yourself to be bigger and better…growth hurts, and when it hits you from all sides (as it does) never, ever GIVE UP! Tell yourself you can and you will achieve what you set your mind too. Think of strategic ways you can get your point across, and if it becomes someone else’s idea- so be it! You are bigger and better than getting that!
What hobbies and interests do you have outside of HR?
I am an outdoors person, so I love horse riding and whenever I get the opportunity I am outside going for walks. My husband and I also are avid cruisers, so an international cruise here and there is what we love.
Please complete this sentence: If you weren’t working in HR, you would be… an owner of a homewares company, let’s just say this could be my pre-retirement plan haha!
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