If at first, you do not succeed…

Try, try again so the saying goes. The origins of this well-known phrase are not entirely clear, having been quoted as far back as 1840 but popularised in Edward Hickson's Moral Song of 1857 so the dictionary tells me.?

Much more recently in 2011 I was working at the Shepherds Bush Housing Group as the Group Director of Business Support. I had been at the organisation since 2006 and over the following five years we had been on an incredible journey.? From failing our Investors in People assessment (six weeks into the job!), to being recognised as a Gold IIP Champion (then the highest level), and a Sunday Times Top 100 Employer.? So, I thought the time was right for a new challenge.?

With the encouragement and support of the incredible Catherine Walsh I applied for the role of Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme , excited by the strength of their social purpose; their commitment to customers and their drive to raise public confidence in the financial services sector.?

I was proud of a career which at that point had spanned IT, manufacturing, retail, and social housing. I was confident that my CV showed a proven history in delivering significant business and cultural transformation. I had even won two awards in 2010 for my work. The one thing I did not have was experience in the financial services sector.? I will always remember the recruitment consultant saying: ‘…this is all very admirable, but…’, and I was not shortlisted.? However, only eighteen months later I saw that the role at the FSCS was once again available and undeterred by my previous lack of success I re-applied – try, try again.?

On the 11 March 2013 I formally started my new role as Head of HR and OD at the FSCS so tomorrow marks a decade at the organisation – the longest I have ever worked for a single employer – and what a decade it has been!?

The Board of FSCS had an ambitious vision and I understood that to deliver on it we needed to modernise and transform every aspect of life at the FSCS.? The data demonstrated the challenge: only 43% of employees thought the culture of the organisation was a healthy and positive one; customer satisfaction was around 55%; less than 10% of the leadership was BAME or female with no LGBTQ+ representation and overall employee engagement was 65%.?

The greatest asset the organisation had and still has is its people and their genuine and passionate connection to the FSCS’s social purpose: this is an organisation that makes a difference and in which you can make a difference. However, the culture was not an enabler it was a blocker.?

In Dan Strode ’s brilliant book The Culture Advantage he says: changing culture is hard; it takes time and deliberate effort…this isn’t a quick fix. In the same way that brushing your teeth is good for you, so is building a solid company culture. And you need to take the same approach: brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes, with a level of absolute consistency, will leave you with sparkling white teeth.? Whereas brushing your teeth for an hour once a week simply won’t cut it. Culture is the same – it takes time and sustained effort.?

Dan is absolutely right – try, try again. Over the course of the last ten years, I have been privileged to work alongside amazing colleagues, Board members and partners who shared the belief that between us we could unlock the potential of this incredible organisation.? Today the numbers speak for themselves: 86% of colleagues describe the culture as a healthy and happy one; overall employee engagement is 88%; 91% of colleagues describe the FSCS as a caring and inclusive employer and as a result customer satisfaction reached a record high last year of 89%.? We are one of the Top 50 Most Inclusive UK Employers, a Working Family Top 30 Employer, a Gold Investor in People and have won 46 National Awards for our work including the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award which I received from Her Royal Highness last year.?

As I reflect on this milestone moment in my career, I firstly want to say a special thanks to Mark Neale at FSCS for taking a chance and hiring me, to the incomparable Liz Barclay who convinced the interview panel that I was the strongest candidate and for my dear friend Catherine Walsh in persisting in her determination that this really was the right role for me!? I also want to say special thanks to the partners who have stood shoulder to shoulder with me on our journey and especially Jamie MacPherson , Chris Martin , Ben Hunt-Davis MBE and all at Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? , Kate Spencer , Janeena Sims , David Evans and all at SHL ; Tim Watts and Franklin Covey; Peter Gannon and Nicola Millson for helping us uncover our lasting values.?

Most of all to my multi-award-winning incredible team you know that none of this would be possible without you – I am honoured to call you my colleagues, my friends, and my family – and to the love of my life Laurence I Clark : just thank you for being there.?

So, what’s the moral of the story: as with most things, the hardest challenges are always the most rewarding. So, if like me you have been rejected at an interview; had a project go awry; not achieved the outcome you wanted or taken a knock to your personal confidence remember to try, try again – you never know what might happen and if you are really lucky like me you will get to do the most rewarding role of your entire career.?