Take a moment to consider the transferable skills you have
After studying at university, I was keen to explore other businesses over the family trade at the time. I had an interest in leisure so started as a Trainee Manager at a cinema complex and worked my way up to General Manager. I really enjoyed the variety and pace of the role, and after a decade I met up with my uncle who worked for Hendy Group at the time. He shared that there was no official HR team set up and they would like me involved. It sparked my interest as it was a way into the automotive industry without sales or aftersales experience or a ‘typical’ automotive career, and I would be able to transfer my skills into a Group function role.
It was definitely a challenging change, but I embraced the opportunity and worked for over 20 years in HR, helping to build the team, processes and systems to enable business growth. Most recently in 2023, I took responsibility for implementing a new HRIS, which in turn led me to develop my project management skills and gain a professional qualification. Since then, I have established our first ever Project Management Office and work with key stakeholders who are implementing projects, providing support and guidance and providing Group oversight to ensure we are not overlapping, and we can successfully complete these projects. It has been incredible to watch the business evolve over time and be part of the Hendy we have today as we continue to adapt to an ever-changing industry.
What I enjoy the most about my job is that I haven’t moved away from people. That’s why I enjoyed HR so much as it’s all about the people. I am still close to a lot of colleagues and can enjoy my days with them; 20 years of knowing people and growing with them means we have an easier time as these relationships are meaningful. In a sense, I’m going to back to where I started, building a new department and implementing new processes. I am learning every day, and Hendy Group have supported me to complete my first qualification for PRINCE 2 project management. I was supported to do my CPID when I took over HR, and now to have the same level of support is fantastic. I am really proud of our culture of continuous learning and development, which I see throughout the Group across functions. There is still so much to learn and there are more courses I would like to try for sure!
I was able to hit the ground running when I joined the Group as I was effectively running my own business at the cinema. Thanks to this, I understood the challenges that colleagues and managers could be faced with, and I had seen a lot of people changes as a General Manager. For me, being able to understand and empathise with people has been the most valuable skill I have gained, particularly when enabling managers to perform at their very best whilst looking after their people.
Having come into the automotive industry from leisure, I think people only see the motor trade as sales, service and parts, where in reality there are so many people driving the business around these teams. For example, at Hendy we have Learning & Development, Finance & Insurance, Marketing, Colleague Engagement, People & Payroll Operations and so many more Group teams delivering excellence. The opportunity to build a career is endless, and if you have a passion for self-led learning, you can achieve success in any role.
If you are considering changing sectors and joining automotive as a career, my advice is to be open minded. People are generally very open to talking and willing to help you discover the opportunities that are out there. The nice thing about a dealership is that our head office roles are split across sites, so you do get to be part of the daily operations just by engaging with the on-site team and seeing customers come in. Take a moment to consider the transferable skills you have. Be that operational management, people leadership, business administration, customer service etc. You can be flexible and take every opportunity you have. Even if you don’t want to progress you can have a great career in the automotive industry, just be curious!
