But that is exactly the position Megan found herself when she was left holding the fort after the HR Director left and the London based construction company decided to hold off recruiting a replacement during the pandemic.
Some time on….
Now, Megan is not only adept at dealing with all the additional responsibilities of managing a department, but she is also halfway through her CIPD Intermediate Diploma in HRM and hugely grateful for the opportunities provided by Galldris Services.
"I was certainly thrown in at the deep end,” she laughs, “and it has been quite challenging, but I can confidently say that pursuing a career path in Human Resources is one of the best decisions I have made.”
Despite the daily demands of her work, Megan decided to stick with her CIPD studies and believes the qualification is helping her to develop the HR knowledge and skills she needs to do the job.
Understanding the HR theory
“I decided to keep going with my studies even though I knew it would be extra pressure particularly as I was so busy, but the qualification provides so much information to help me in my role. It enables me to understand the HR theory and the reasoning behind the practices, giving me the confidence to make decisions. Being able to use real examples for my assignments helps both me and the business,” she explains.
Megan is studying for her Level 5 Diploma online and is supported throughout by Reed Learning expert adviser Elaine Wood.
“Elaine has been really helpful with her feedback and quickly responds if I have questions on my assignments. We are in regular contact and whenever I don’t understand anything, I go straight to Elaine. The resources on the VLE are also very useful,” she adds.
Now that she has been well and truly indoctrinated into the people profession, Megan is looking forward to climbing the career ladder and is hoping a new role as an HR Manager is on the cards.
HR is definitely for me, even though my job can be difficult, I absolutely love it and I believe having the CIPD qualification behind me will help me to achieve the sort of progression I am looking for in my career,” she says.
Megan has a bright future ahead
Megan’s adviser Elaine Wood certainly thinks she has a bright future ahead, commenting:
Megan is extremely motivated. The wide range of HR exposure at Galldris Services, has allowed her to include valuable workplace examples within her assignment submissions. She is demonstrating some great transfer of knowledge from her CIPD studies in the business and making a real impact. I look forward to supporting her over the finish line to CIPD Associate Membership.
