Ciaran Condren is Director of People and Culture at Auxilion, an award-winning provider of consulting and I.T. services and solutions for public and private organisations in the UK and Ireland. Their range of services includes strategic consulting and transformation, governance and compliance, project, programme and portfolio management and cloud technology.
We asked Ciaran to share his thoughts on HR, his career and the challenges facing him and Auxilion.
HRHQ: Tell us about your career journey and what originally attracted you to a career in HR
Ciaran Condren: I remember as a child, my dad was a warehouse manager and had a small team of people working for him. He was a very ethical, compassionate and open-minded man, and I used to love hearing his stories regarding managing the people and structures within the company. From an early age I knew that I wanted to work in an area where I could influence how people are treated. This love of people and “how they work” combined with my love of business, led me to a degree in Business studies, specialising in HR and then a subsequent Masters in HR.
Since starting professional work, I have always worked in HR, first in recruitment, then HR management. After that, I went into the HR consulting world with KPMG (now BearingPoint). This was a brilliant experience as it taught me to be agile, focus on delivery and deal with all kinds of people and many different situations. After consulting I moved back in-house to work as a HR Business Partner with British Telecom and then as a Senior HR Business Partner with Aer Lingus before moving on to more senior roles as HR Director in a few different organisations. Each role has made me believe more strongly that everyone has their story. While we need to keep moving forward as a business, you must have a focus on what is the “right thing to do.” You must always treat people with respect and dignity, realising that there are multiple sides to every story.
HRHQ: What has been the most significant change in the HR world since you began your career?
CC: Over the course of my career, there have been great technology advancements in HR. However, the fundamental change that I have seen is the change in management styles. I am very happy to say that most managers now realise that a respectful, human, management style will always give them the best results. In most companies the fist-thumping, table-banging individuals have been weeded out, leading to a much more productive and engaged work environment.
HRHQ: What is the most important HR challenge facing you currently?
CC: The most important challenge facing me now at Auxilion is attracting and retaining the right people. The market is competitive, so people must feel that they are part of an organisation and that it is more than just a job. People must have a voice and feel respected where they work, with the chance to develop and be part of something bigger than themselves.
HRHQ: From an employee’s perspective, what does a great HR service mean?
CC: Getting the basics right is key i.e. an employees pay, annual leave, and paperwork must be in order. However, once that is in place, HR needs to be an open and authentic department. People are sick of “HR Speak”. Real open conversations are what is important. As a department, we need to be there to listen and support everyone in the business and that means both the commercial side and individual employee interests.
HRHQ: How should HR professionals design their career and how much can you realistically career plan?
CC: It really depends on what you’re looking for. There are so many specialisms and paths within HR. For me personally, I have always been drawn to the broader scope of HR. I love all elements of it so I knew that specialising in a single area such as training would never be for me in the long term. I did make conscious decisions throughout my career to keep a broad focus as I knew I wanted to be a HR Director at some point. I recognised that achieving this would require a strong, well-rounded understanding of all areas of HR.
HRHQ: What advice would you give a person at the start of their HR career?
CC: I would advise anyone starting a career in HR to get as broad an experience as possible, then decide what elements of HR you really like. You must have a strong commercial sense too. If the business is not profitable, there will be no jobs for anyone. You need to ensure that you can show the benefit of each HR endeavour to the business. By doing this, you build the credibility of the function, and you as a HR professional. Always be authentic and human. Realise that there are many sides to any story, so take the time to listen. Ask yourself: “what is the right thing to do here?”
HRHQ: What soft skills do you believe are key to progressing your career?
CC: You have to have empathy and the ability to listen. This will always work in your favour. However, along with this, you need to build resilience. HR is a profession where people often have an opinion on how you should do your job. You can easily spend your day dealing with people’s emotions and potentially stressful situations. You have to have the resilience and strength to do your best and then move on.
HRHQ: What experiences should HR professionals try to get as they build up their CV?
CC: A broad experience is always best as it gives you a rounded view of the profession. However, If I had to choose one area that is most beneficial, I would say employee relations. This is the most complex part of HR, both from a legal perspective and also a human perspective. If you can get experience in this area and learn how to deal with people in a compassionate, yet balanced and fair way, this will really stand to you as you move up in your career.
HRHQ: What are you most proud of in your career?
CC: If I look back at all the times throughout my career, I think supporting the organisation through COVID is the phase I am most proud of. I was the Head of HR for a company with 2,000 staff across nine countries. Each country had its own regulatory framework for COVID. It was a real challenge to be able to support the business to make the right decisions commercially, while also still looking after our staff. However, we navigated it successfully and even grew the business in the post-pandemic period.
HRHQ: What is the best part of your job?
CC: At Auxilion, I love the variety. It really is births, deaths and marriages in one day! You really don’t know what any one day will bring and so I find myself using all my skills to try and keep everything on track.
HRHQ: What do you think the Future of Work is?
CC: AI will be the biggest driver of the way we work over the next few years. We are already seeing big changes, and this momentum will only continue to accelerate. I believe the trick will be to harness the many benefits of AI while still maintaining the human knowledge, input and abilities.
HRHQ: Many thanks Ciaran for taking part and we wish you and Auxilion the very best for the future.
