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Gillian McKenna hasn’t met her boss in the almost five years she has worked at Generation, a geographically dispersed non-profit enterprise that trains people and places them into careers. "What I love about this business is that I’m the CPO of a global organisation with its HQ in America, and I work from my home in Glasgow," she smiles.
The business is fully remote, and in many ways, it’s the superpower of the organisation. Turnover is low, and employees are engaged and performing well. It’s swimming against the tide of the return-to-office movement. Demanding a bricks-and-mortar presence would be impossible anyway when employees are located from Brazil to Scotland and everywhere in between. The company is eleven years old with a headcount of just 95 in its global hub, but in many ways, it punches above its weight, competing with corporate brands that have significantly larger workforces.
McKenna has experienced it all - traditional employers in respected industries, charities, start-ups, and emerging sectors. But it is here, with her feet under the desk of her remote Glasgow office, that she is thriving. As for how it began, her journey started with a university course that ignited her passion, thanks to a hands-on placement year.
‘My university placement year triggered my career’
A business degree from Glasgow Caledonian University came with a placement in the third year. While she loved the academics, rolling up her sleeves and applying her knowledge was a game-changer. "I worked at IBM in their manufacturing plant, in their recruitment team - I was responsible for helping them select and onboard their production operators." She returned to university with a renewed love for the world of work, finished her degree, and then leaned on her contacts to land her first role.
I learned that there can be trade-offs from having it all. I was very fortunate to be working where I was when I had my children, but when my youngest, Evie, was born, I took a break from full time working
"My manager at IBM left and started his own recruitment agency. He placed me at what was then called National Semiconductor, now Texas Instruments. I started temping in their recruitment team but after a few months got offered a permanent role." It was the early 1990s - the era of 'Girl Power' and McKenna was enjoying every moment that employment gave her.
"I loved it, but I also yearned for other aspects of HR, employee relations and the cultural side of things. After four years in generalist HR roles, I was given the opportunity to work for Hewlett Packard in Ireland, which was great," she says. By the mid-90s, David Ulrich fever had seeped into the HR narrative, and McKenna and her peers began to take an interest in the intricate workings of organisations.
