theHRDIRECTOR INTERVIEW
This issue we speak to David Smith
HR Director for LV=

David Heath, HR Director: In Profile

1. What has been your greatest HR challenge?
The majority of my career has been focused on helping people to adjust to change. One of the single most difficult challenges I have ever faced was during an organisational change that resulted in over a thousand people facing displacement, at the same time as the company was hiring thousands of people elsewhere. The business also had to make a number of difficult decisions around changing a benefits structure that had been in place for many years.

In that situation, and many others, I found that honesty, openness and personal credibility are a crucial part of helping people understand that the changes being made are necessary for the future prosperity of the business and all of those whose livelihoods depend on it.

Now part of Alexander Mann Solutions, I can see that the challenges we face are still related to change, but that change is much more positive: driving growth across a global business.

2. What is the best piece of advice you have been given? 
Two pieces of advice that I’ve received in my career have formed the foundation for how I operate:   

• Always be true to yourself and your values         
• As a leader, the most important thing you can do is empower people by being there to take the bullets for your team. If people know their leader will stand tall and support them in public, irrespective of what might be said in private, this builds the confidence required to take strong decisions and move a company forward.

3. What motivates you to do your job? 
At Alexander Mann Solutions, our employee value proposition is focused on 'Inspiring People'. To be in a position to bring this to life is a special privilege, and there is no greater motivation for me. 

4. What do you see as the benefits of a diverse workforce? 
The benefits of a diverse workforce are numerous, and there is a lot of evidence to support this. It is really important that a business can reflect the marketplace it operates in, and create a culture where everyone feels a sense of belonging. For me, the greatest benefit comes with creating an environment in which creativity and innovation flourish.

Alexander Mann Solutions is a company that is founded on innovation, and this is created in the space between people: people with different ideas, skills and backgrounds, but linked together by the same values and vision.