Global CPO, Maintel - 'The People agenda is not a tick box here, and I don't take that for granted'

Five roles in two countries, a profit warning she walked towards rather than away from, and a stint running reward that was only ever meant to last a few weeks, Rachel Cox has built her career on saying yes to the unfamiliar and six months into a transformation at Maintel, she explains why equipping managers matters more than almost anything else on her list.

From languages to HR

"My strength at school was languages, but I didn't want to be a translator or a teacher. I decided to combine a degree in German and French with international business to enter the corporate world," she says.

She gained a First from Loughborough in International Business with German and French, with the added bonus of a placement year at IBM working in recruitment. "All of their European recruitment was centralised from the UK head office. It encompassed the UK, Dutch, Spanish and French and more, all with native speakers. It was an amazing multicultural environment."

The experience let her use her languages, but she was also leaning into HR early, fascinated by how people work and think, and choosing HR modules within her business course.

She secured a place on the graduate scheme at what was then Norwich Union, now Aviva. "It was a great experience. I got to sit in on all the different areas of HR, and that satisfied my thirst for understanding each part of it."

There were grounding moments too. "I remember getting a call when working on the manager advice line saying someone was cutting hair in one of our contact centres. Chunks of it. And it had to be dealt with."

Learning every part of the job

After two years she decided she might learn more in a role where she could bring all of the elements together and moved to Johnson & Johnson.

"Which isn't a smaller organisation, but it was decentralised. You'd work for one standalone business with access to wider systems, so it felt smaller. I ended up as HR for manufacturing and distribution, looking after 400 employees. The role was ER heavy; we had a lot of involvement with trade unions, and managing a range of cases, which was a really good training ground. But I also did succession planning and got to roll out global talent and reward programmes."

Ambition moved her on again. "I realised I could spend another two years doing the same role, or I could learn more."

The next six years, at Hallmark Cards, were pivotal: five different roles in two countries at a business of 3- 4,000 people. She started in talent, moved onto an innovation programme outside HR, did reward, and then a year in a generalist role in their Australia & New Zealand business, during which she briefly looked after the supply chain division.

"You look at health and safety through a different lens when you're looking after people who drive forklift trucks.

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"I was lucky at Hallmark that the HRD saw potential in me and helped create some of those opportunities. He gave me the building blocks to be a CPO of the future."

Cox has a twinkle in her eye when she adds: "I'm an inherently nosey person. I always want to know what's going on everywhere else, not just in HR but in the whole business."

A baptism of fire

Next came a move to an organisation of just 180 people, and her first Head of People role at FitFlop. "It was a baptism of fire."

Astute about her own strengths, she also recognised the flip side. It was too much, too soon. "I still valued the benefit of peer relationships. That's why I ended up moving back to a larger organisation, which was Premier Farnell."

The electronics distribution business operated in 40 countries and issued a profit warning while she was going through the recruitment process. "I do love a challenge. The CPO showed me the share price graph and I knew there was great potential. I learnt a huge amount there. I remember one Friday afternoon getting a call asking me to 'look after' reward while they restructured the people team. Eighteen months later I was still looking after it."

It remains the stage in her career she is proudest of. "Of all the companies I’ve worked in, that's the one where HR really played a pivotal role in transforming the business. It went from a profit warning to hitting all its targets."

She left as Global Head of Talent, having put in place leadership assessment and development programmes. By then the business was US-owned, and she decided she was ready to take on broader roles in smaller organisations, scaling up operations and headcount.