God at work
- James Bedford (Parishioner - Businessman)
I am an independent organisational change consultant. I contract my services to companies on a daily, or fixed term, basis. I like to think that I look after the wellbeing of the people that I work with, but probably not in such a direct way as would a teacher or a counsellor. I often wonder how I can be a practicing Christian at work, and improve the lives of the people there.
In September 2017, I was contracted to lead a transformation of the Human Resources (HR) function of a large global logistics company. They have a turnover of $6 billion and employ 43,000 people. Prior to joining this company, they had shed 20 percent of their workforce. My initial task was to design and set up a shared HR service centre in Brisbane and develop and implement a transformational change program to manage the transition. It was a fun but busy role. I felt for the HR leadership team as they were under a lot of pressure to support the business while managing to cope with a massive amount of change.
Later that year, I was asked to participate in the Global HR Leadership Workshop to discuss the transformation program. The ten personnel HR Leadership Team (HRLT) flew in from all parts of the globe. They were very senior and included the Chief HR Officer (CHRO), Executive Vice-Presidents and Executive General Managers from the UK, Asia and USA. We sat around a large oval table in the boardroom of a facility at Tullamarine. In the morning, I made a presentation to them on how the transformation was proceeding versus plan. It was tracking well so I was comfortable with that.
The CHRO (Trish) was an astute and caring leader. After lunch, she called for a ‘time of reflection’ about how the year was going. A number of the leadership team spoke about the challenges that they were facing but nothing too personnel. As I listened, I started to pick up on a feeling that there was a more personal story that they felt they couldn’t share. Trish asked me if I had any insights. At that time, I felt spiritually moved to share my observations in a very honest and open way saying,
“My insight is that the HR Leadership Team is currently broken. Many of you are stressed, worn out and on the verge of collapse. I feel that the work plan that we have in place is just too much for you at the moment. We cannot do all of it. We are better to do fifty percent of it, and do it well, than continue at this torturous pace.”
There was silence. I looked to my right and the Executive General Manager of HR Services (Trevor), who was a tough 45 year old guy, was crying. He explained that he had not had dinner with his wife and kids for three months. I was later to learn that his wife had only recently recovered from cancer. Next the Executive Vice President from Singapore (Jean), at his right, started crying. She was struggling going through a divorce, and hardly had any time for her children. Colleagues ran from all parts of the table to console them. There were more tears and more sad stories. The meeting had imploded.
As this was going on, I looked down the end of the table at our CHRO, Trish. She was also crying. She then exclaimed,
“ This is awful. I’ve done this to you! James is right though. We are going to throw tomorrow’s agenda out and revisit and prioritise every activity in the plan. We will only commit to something achievable for you.”
As I drove home from that initial session, I pondered what had happened. It was quite professionally risky to say the things that I did. My role is to keep projects on time and deliver them in full. On this occasion though, I felt no fear at all, and was oblivious to the consequences. Indeed, it was a spirit filled action where I felt what I was doing was 100 percent right. I am much more aware now of opportunities to bring my faith into the workplace, and use the gifts that I have been given to improve the working lives of my colleagues.
- James Bedford (Parishioner - Businessman)
I am an independent organisational change consultant. I contract my services to companies on a daily, or fixed term, basis. I like to think that I look after the wellbeing of the people that I work with, but probably not in such a direct way as would a teacher or a counsellor. I often wonder how I can be a practicing Christian at work, and improve the lives of the people there.
In September 2017, I was contracted to lead a transformation of the Human Resources (HR) function of a large global logistics company. They have a turnover of $6 billion and employ 43,000 people. Prior to joining this company, they had shed 20 percent of their workforce. My initial task was to design and set up a shared HR service centre in Brisbane and develop and implement a transformational change program to manage the transition. It was a fun but busy role. I felt for the HR leadership team as they were under a lot of pressure to support the business while managing to cope with a massive amount of change.
Later that year, I was asked to participate in the Global HR Leadership Workshop to discuss the transformation program. The ten personnel HR Leadership Team (HRLT) flew in from all parts of the globe. They were very senior and included the Chief HR Officer (CHRO), Executive Vice-Presidents and Executive General Managers from the UK, Asia and USA. We sat around a large oval table in the boardroom of a facility at Tullamarine. In the morning, I made a presentation to them on how the transformation was proceeding versus plan. It was tracking well so I was comfortable with that.
The CHRO (Trish) was an astute and caring leader. After lunch, she called for a ‘time of reflection’ about how the year was going. A number of the leadership team spoke about the challenges that they were facing but nothing too personnel. As I listened, I started to pick up on a feeling that there was a more personal story that they felt they couldn’t share. Trish asked me if I had any insights. At that time, I felt spiritually moved to share my observations in a very honest and open way saying,
“My insight is that the HR Leadership Team is currently broken. Many of you are stressed, worn out and on the verge of collapse. I feel that the work plan that we have in place is just too much for you at the moment. We cannot do all of it. We are better to do fifty percent of it, and do it well, than continue at this torturous pace.”
There was silence. I looked to my right and the Executive General Manager of HR Services (Trevor), who was a tough 45 year old guy, was crying. He explained that he had not had dinner with his wife and kids for three months. I was later to learn that his wife had only recently recovered from cancer. Next the Executive Vice President from Singapore (Jean), at his right, started crying. She was struggling going through a divorce, and hardly had any time for her children. Colleagues ran from all parts of the table to console them. There were more tears and more sad stories. The meeting had imploded.
As this was going on, I looked down the end of the table at our CHRO, Trish. She was also crying. She then exclaimed,
“ This is awful. I’ve done this to you! James is right though. We are going to throw tomorrow’s agenda out and revisit and prioritise every activity in the plan. We will only commit to something achievable for you.”
As I drove home from that initial session, I pondered what had happened. It was quite professionally risky to say the things that I did. My role is to keep projects on time and deliver them in full. On this occasion though, I felt no fear at all, and was oblivious to the consequences. Indeed, it was a spirit filled action where I felt what I was doing was 100 percent right. I am much more aware now of opportunities to bring my faith into the workplace, and use the gifts that I have been given to improve the working lives of my colleagues.
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