Melissa Crawford CMHRNZ
What led you to a career in HR/ the position that you are in currently?
I started off my career in the tech industry and found that technology design and technology implementations didn’t factor people enough. So, I decided to pivot my career and upskill on people and organisational psychology. That’s how I found my way into HR. But after about 20 years of doing that, I still had a passion for future technology as well so I went back and completed another technology degree. Once I had my masters, I wanted to help support the future of work by looking at how to optimise the best of both – people and technology which is why I founded my own business in 2022 called Tech with Heart.
What do you enjoy the most about working in HR?
I love the opportunities I have had in my career to see people grow and develop and to work on projects that have positively impacted the culture of large organisations. I also think HR has great work stories – people are fascinating.
Are there any specific highlights of your career that you wish to share?
There are three that come to mind. Starting my own business was a massive leap of faith to jump out of the corporate world and put myself in a position to use my strengths and passions every day with growth mindset clients. Winning two HRNZ awards in 2022 was special as I have always felt like I was trying to go outside the square a bit and that night was recognition from my peer community that they understood and supported what I am trying to bring to the field. The other would be a 2 year project I ran at Air New Zealand called Realise Your Potential which will forever be in my heart as the best project I’ve ever worked on…..yet.
We have recently updated our chartering process to align with the new capability framework, The Path. How did you find the process of becoming a Chartered Member?
Fantastic. Actually, it was this new alignment that made me want to become a chartered member. I loved that the framework had been modernised and I had been lucky to be a part of its design. It was the first time I felt it truly supported practitioners that cover the range of topics that are tucked under the term HR. I wanted to test the process for peers like me who had not thought it would be an option for them without taking the traditional HR Coordinator to HRBP route.
What are your thoughts on Professional Accreditation, and its new alignment to The Path?
I liked the clarity – the pre-requisite assessment that showed you whether this was realistic for you or not and then the following steps to check the coverage and depth on each topic. A lot of people fall into HR without going through the rigor of an HR Centric University qualification. This is a great way to reality check the solidness of your HR skills against the framework and get recognition for the experience you have in applying that knowledge in different contexts. It also gives practitioners a guide on areas to upskill or improve on.
What difference do you think that being a Chartered Member will make on your career moving forward?
I look forward to connecting with other Chartered Members – I hope there is a secret handshake, If not I plan to start one! I think for those that don’t know the depth of your career it automatically gives you some recognition that HRNZ have been through the body of work you have done in your career and given you Chartered status. Also for the international clients I work with that aren’t in my New Zealand network, it gives them some certainty to my experience.
What are your next steps in terms of your career now that you are a Chartered Member?
Later in the year in October I am going to be running a 2-day programme for HRNZ which I am excited about so look out for that. But in general, I plan to continue to learn and grow and develop (which is an important part of practicing what we preach). For me that is about keeping current on future technology, people psychology, future of work trends, HR trends and HR Tech. So that I can add the most value to my clients in keeping them future fit and continue to play a role in bridging the divide between people and tech.