MD HR Services UK & Ireland, FedEx - 'We wrap our arms around those behind the wheel'

Emma Symons’ career journey has been shaped by a series of experiences, but it was a receptionist role in Sydney that really helped bring things into focus. It was there that she discovered a passion for helping others find their path and purpose at work.

Today she leads HR Services for one of the world's largest logistics companies, overseeing 9,000 staff across the UK and Ireland. In the Big Interview she talks about fear of failure, the power of getting the basics right and why wellbeing matters most to the people behind the wheel.

Finding her path began with a false start

Symons had a faltered start to university life. "I started a history degree largely because I'd enjoyed history A-Level, but after a while I realised it wasn't for me, so I left and took a job with an insurance company while I figured out what I wanted to do," she says.

That early experience into the corporate world was a positive reinforcement that she thrived at work, but the pull to continue learning stayed with her, and she eventually enrolled at Leeds Met University to study for a BA in Business and Public Relations, graduating with a 2:1.

While studying she worked a summer job for a logistics company, and it’s there that she began to feel inspired by her environment. "I really enjoyed listening to the things they were talking about and the goals they had," she says. After her degree she took time out to travel and while in Australia landed a job as a receptionist at a recruitment consultancy. "I was in Sydney and that role, watching candidates come in and eventually get offered jobs that changed their lives, was so eye-opening. I knew then that's what I wanted to do - help people," she says.

She came home and applied for HR administrative roles. In 2006 she joined DHL Supply Chain, eventually leaving five years later as their HR Officer.

Fear of letting people down has been a key driver

Her next stop was FedEx, where she is today. "My first role was as an HR specialist based at our hub in Marston Gate, Milton Keynes. A fear of failure has always pushed me to work incredibly hard - to really understand the room, ask the right questions and make sure I’m well prepared," she says.

Her contentment was high. "I really believed then that I didn't want anything else. Then FedEx acquired TNT in 2016, and I got the opportunity to do an assignment at the regional head office in the Netherlands and I thought to myself, ‘maybe I can do this," she says.

She worked in European labour relations for the next year - a pivotal time. "I realised how big the world of HR was and how different things were in Europe," she says. Implementing the first women's network was a moment that cemented her ability to take on new challenges and deliver. "I was approached to be a manager and at first I thought I wasn't interested, but they gave me so much confidence that I eventually accepted."

I ask whether that moment of doubt springs from imposter syndrome. "Not really - it's more that I never want to let anyone down. If I'm someone's manager, I want to do a really good job." A few years later, with confidence behind her, she rose to director. "I'd let go of all the baggage that said, 'You might let people down or you might not be successful.'"