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Jodie Keating is a ‘fixer’- a lover of people with a head for solutions. It’s a perfect combination of skills to head up the people function at Morrisons supermarket. The secret of her success? Rolling up her sleeves, understanding everyone’s job and caring about each and everyone.
‘Reward was my first HR role’
She had her eye on HR from the start, completing a degree in Organisation and Management Studies from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, in 1999. "In university holidays, I worked for HBoS – Halifax Bank of Scotland – so when I finished, I was immediately able to get a job at the bank," she says.
This was an early sign of Keating’s strategic aptitude; even at a young age, she knew that securing a job required putting in the hours with work experience. She'd always been a grafter - alongside the bank job, she worked at the clothing store River Island and in a bakery as a student. "I'm from a hardworking family – mum and dad never stopped," she says.
Our colleagues are so passionate about their products - whether they're in Grimsby at the fish plant, in our abattoirs, or packing and distributing flowers
The bank experience was her door opener. "I started out managing people's ISAs in the back office in Halifax, Yorkshire," she says. Ever canny, she watched for openings in HR and by 2003 had spotted a role in reward, which she successfully secured. Her nascent talent was recognised, and she was encouraged to gain exposure in other HR functions. "I moved to performance and talent and worked in what was then called the 'Great Place to Work' team," she explains. "I was, and still am, fascinated by the link between leadership and helping people succeed. If you look after people, they'll deliver for you."
In 2007, she stepped out of her comfort zone once more to take on an HR business partner role. "It stretched me, but my boss was based in London and my son was only three, eventually the commute became too much," she says. A conversation with Claire Grainger, her former boss at HBoS who had moved to Morrisons, prompted a change.
‘My entire family shopped at Morrisons’
Yorkshire born and bred, it is little surprise that Morrisons - which began as a market stall in the region was part of Keating’s family life growing up. "Banking wasn't in a good place, and I'd fallen out of love with it. The chat with Morrisons confirmed it was time to pivot,” she explains. In 2010, the year David Cameron was elected Prime Minister and Apple released the first iPad, Keating joined the supermarket chain as HR Operations Manager.
That was 15 years ago. "I can honestly say I have loved every minute of it," she says. Starting in the trenches of middle management, she worked hard and earned the respect and trust of colleagues. "I became known as a 'fixer,' and from that job moved to a role offshoring some of the supermarket's financial transactional services to India," she explains. Until then, the business had never outsourced anything. It was a first.
Another project involved opening a range of convenience shops. "A number of years ago, we did that very differently - we purchased around 100 shops from HMV and Blockbuster, everyone said we couldn’t do it,” says Keating. Her boss was panicked at the thought of opening stores with no staff. "She said to me, 'How are we going to get staff in these areas?'" Keating wasn’t concerned and duly delivered, gaining skills not only in finance but also in property and technology and crucially, how they work together.
The business has its own manufacturing operations spanning 18 different sites. "We make our own food, working with farmers, all within a complex logistics business," says Keating, who was next asked to be its People Director. "I'd never thought about working with warehouses or trucks, but of course I said yes!" she smiles. Being a people person helped; she loves nothing more than rolling up her sleeves and working alongside colleagues to see how things operate day-to-day. "There's an immense amount of work involved in getting one product to the shops, let alone 30,000," she explains. That role took the best part of five years, during which she worked hard to build capability from team leaders to site managers. "We worked on ways to train colleagues and show those on the shop floor that we cared," says Keating.
It provided a natural stepping stone into manufacturing, and in 2015 she was appointed People Director for Operations (looking after retail, manufacturing and logistics). "Our colleagues are so passionate about their products - whether they're in Grimsby at the fish plant, in our abattoirs, or packing and distributing flowers," she says, describing manufacturing as Morrisons' 'hidden gem.'
