Sara Ebsworth CMHRNZ

What led you into a career in HR/ the position that you are in currently?

A career in HR was never my plan, rather a natural evolution for me. I went from an IT job solving technical problems, to working with people on how to improve their systems and then teaching them how to use those systems. So a mix of L&D and communication was my first taste of HR. Then I moved to a small business and did whatever needed doing (a lot!). As we grew and employed more people, I offloaded role after role but found myself holding onto the people-focused areas. I would never have guessed this is where I’d be but having been able to experience that process allowed a natural evolution to find what I am most passionate about.

I’ve had enormous support at Inde to grow my role and continually step up into what I now do, I’ve learned so much and developed so fast because of the trust and support I’ve been given here.

Why do enjoy working in HR?

I’ve thought about this a lot. I enjoy analysing people and what intrinsically motivates them. For me it’s seeing something you’re doing really help someone, whether that’s the small moments when you can support someone whose struggling or in the long term watching them grow and succeed. Ultimately, it’s the relationships I have with the people I’m here to support that makes my job worth doing.

What are your thoughts on Chartered Membership? How do you feel about now being a Chartered Member? What motivated you to work towards becoming a Chartered Member?

I aim to lead by example. Being focused on helping others to strive for growth and reach their potential, it feels right that I should be aiming for accreditation in my field too. Becoming a Chartered Member of HRNZ was an important goal for me. The tools HRNZ put together such as the self-assessment really helped and the simplified process made it easy.

What are the next steps in your career, now that you are Chartered?

HR is varied and interesting and there is always so much to learn, the last two years have really taught us to expect anything. Put that together with the fact that every individual you come across is different – we’ll never run out of challenges, and I love that. At this stage I’m focused on the growth and evolution of our business, making sure it stays an awesome place to work.