People Equity

With the new year well underway, this is an excellent time to assess your leadership development strategy for this year. Whether you’re new to leading or already have a solid management track record behind you, we are firm believers that leaders at every level should always be seeking new ideas to grow and take their careers to new heights. Stagnation is the enemy of progress, and in today’s fast-paced world, if you’re not moving forward – you’re going backwards.

As she returned to her desk with a cup of tea last week, Lisa Canning declared to anyone listening, “I spent most of my youth actively trying NOT to be like my mother.” She sighed. “But I can’t fight it anymore…I am EXACTLY like my mother.” She laughed. We laughed. Then, things went quiet. “My values, the way I think, the way I talk, walk, the way I am at work and at home….so much of it comes from my mum.”

When I started People Equity in 2006, I was very clear about what I was setting out to do. The vision was always to become a specialised recruitment firm in the Retail, FMCG and Consumer space, with deep networks of talent across all the key disciplines. ‘Quality’ and ‘value’ were the cornerstones of the business, and everything we do reflects this, to this day. I also wanted to create a place that the team could call their home, with the flexibility and trust to juggle all aspects of their own busy lives.

Reference checking is often seen as an afterthought to the recruitment process. It’s the final dash to the finish line and generally, recruiters want to get it over and done with as quickly as possible to make the placement.

For those that know me well, they know it’s not like me to open up and communicate part of my personal life in a public forum such as this. However, I really wanted to share my experience so others could learn from it. Here I go…