Five minutes with: John Evans, Group HR Director at FirstGroup

John Evans, Group HR Director at FirstGroup, looks forward to Friday night.

What do you think is the key to being a successful HR Director? 

Resilience, the ability to coach and give tough love, and having a strong value-base; if you can't look yourself in the eye with confidence and comfort then think long and hard about the job and the organisation. 

You also need team leadership and good analytical skills for the numbers and qualitative stuff.

What are some of the unique HR challenges you currently face? How will you overcome these? 

I don't think any challenge is unique. A lot of it is down to teamwork, planning, and ensuring stakeholders know the outcomes and want them.  

What advice would you give to others looking to get in to similar roles? 

Find a great mentor or mentors, have a plan, focus on building skills, and make sure you really want the role.

How do you think your previous experience has helped you in your role? 

Lessons that I’ve learnt, the people I’ve worked with and the situations I’ve worked in. Obviously, the experience that I’ve built and the network that I’ve created have also been, and will continue to be, a huge help.