Name: Chris Hayward
Job title: HR Manager – UK
Tell us a bit about yourself
Well, I’m Chris and I work in the HR team. Creating family memories to grow old with is what I like to do best. When I’m not at work, I’m with my wife, three children and two dogs, usually outdoors exploring new places, or going back to our favourite ones. I have two daughters and a son, all in double digits so feeling old! Crazy fact – two of my children were born on the same day but three years apart! So, when one turns 18, the other will be turning 21 – saving up for that day already £££!!!
Dogs – two sprockers, that’s springer/cocker spaniels and to say they’re a handful is an understatement! Boisterous with bundles of energy, but so affectionate too, and wouldn’t change them, which you’d find hard to believe if you knew that I spent 40 years of my life against the idea of having dogs. So, what changed? Good question – we went to go and see new-born sprockers with my wife and children hoping that we’d come away with one. What happened? We came away with two! Whose idea was that? Mine!! Everything changed from that point. We holiday where it’s hot with a cold drink in hand, or under the stars in a tent, toasting marshmallows by a campfire. Oh, and chocolate must be Cadburys!
Describe your job to a five-year-old
I make sure that that everyone I work with always gets along and plays nicely with each other.
What do you like most about your job?
Being able to help and support others. No two days are the same and every day comes with a new challenge. It’s an ever-evolving role where you must keep yourself updated with current trends and employment law changes. You can keep learning and seeking self-development opportunities which has always been important to me. I love seeing others develop and feel proud to be part of someone’s career journey.
How did you get here?
My career started in hospitality, and I’ve always worked with food and drink until in joined Ideal Standard. I can say that I’ve worked for all the fast-food giants so can give anyone the lowdown to what really goes on in the kitchens!
I went from working in the kitchens into my first people focussed role which was as a Team Trainer. I enjoyed helping others learn a new skill and coach for continuous improvement. I quickly moved into a junior management role with McDonalds at the age of 18. The following years saw me develop into more senior managerial roles.
I continued my career in Operations when I joined Welcome Break as an Assistant Catering Manager. From this position, I developed into a Unit Manager role in Burger King. The training programme was robust and well structured – I was clear at this point in my career that this was important to me. Following my own development, I was keen to share what I had learnt with others and quickly developed a strong management team to work with. This is when I realised that I was passionate about developing others and I wanted to do it on a wider scale. This saw me move from Operations into Learning and Development – I became a Training Manager, initially with Burger King, where I became accredited to deliver several Burger King courses to new managers in Welcome Break. Welcome Break partners with many well recognised brands and I started to work with a number of these brands and received additional accreditation with KFC, PizzaExpress, and Subway to deliver their course content in Welcome Break.
As roles evolved, I moved into a Learning Manager role where I was able to get involved with more HR activity. I was responsible for improving learning journeys for Welcome Break employees and I continuously worked on career path learning material.
After over 16 years with Welcome Break, I moved into a Learning and Development Business Partner role with Patisserie Valerie, but they knew that I had aspirations to move into a HR role that I had had a taste for at Welcome Break. Within a few months, my role evolved, and I became a People Business Partner, responsible for all aspects of the employee life cycle. In this role, I had the opportunity to get involved, as a true HR generalist, with all people related matters and this exposed me to new areas of HR, giving me perfect opportunities to upskill myself and continue my self-development. At the same time, I also studied online with Avado, supported by the CIPD, and achieved a Level 5 Diploma in Human Resource Management.
And when my time at Patisserie Valerie came to an end, another door opened, and I joined Ideal Standard as UK Plant HR Manager. Six months into the latest chapter of my career journey and I have recently moved into the role of HR Manager – UK, where I will continue to support the Plant, but additionally support the Distribution Centre and Commercial business.
What motivates you?
Self-development, learning new things, setting goals and then achieving them, the sense of doing a good job, mentoring and coaching others, seeing a difference being made by the work that I do.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
It would have to be with someone in a job who gets to travel the world as I’d love to visit as many countries as I could, experiencing the different cultures and cuisines.
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
“No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else” – The Greatest Showman. Just be yourself – life will be more fulfilling.
Your favourite app?
It’s an app called BackThen, you can upload photos of your children (and dogs!) throughout the year and it’s a great way to look back and see how they change from one year to the next. It’s the best app to put a smile back on your face if ever you are feeling down. ????
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
Well, we have plenty of these working in HR, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t keep these confidential.