We are passionate about supporting the careers of women from every corner of our business. Our Women in Procurement series usually shines a light on the women who lead our client work, but this month we spoke with the women behind the scenes, Global Head of HR Emma Corderey and Talent Acquisition Specialist Kathryn Farrell, about what they love about working at Proxima, and why they are passionate about the people at Proxima.
Emma joined the Proxima team in London three years ago and immediately found herself in a challenging atmosphere, joining just before the Covid-19 pandemic drastically changed the workplace landscape.
Despite the obstacles the pandemic brought, Emma still found a way to advance Proxima’s internal initiatives, playing a key role in our DEI journey. From day one, Emma was involved with various DEI focus groups which evolved into our Gender Equality Network (GEN) and Committee On Racial Equality (CORE). She also played a central part in developing our DEI Framework, a board-sponsored Framework that is focused on making Proxima a more diverse and inclusive place to work. Emma has been supported by many others within the business who have shown genuine passion outside of their day-to-day work as consultants to help drive these initiatives forward.
Throughout her time at the company, Emma has been encouraged by Proxima to implement new and creative ideas to make the business the best possible place to work. She has been given the opportunity to attend external courses to further her personal knowledge, which she has leveraged for her initiatives at Proxima. She especially enjoys the collaborative working style of her fellow team members in HR, and how everyone continues to learn from one another and grow.
Kathryn is one of our newer recruits, joining our Chicago office a year ago as a Talent Acquisition Specialist. In her role, Kathryn works on strengthening the recruitment and hiring processes for our growing office in the US. Though she hasn’t been with us long, Kathryn has made a hugely positive impact on the business and has been involved in twenty-seven hires for our consulting practice to date.
Proxima has helped Kathryn to feel more confident in her recruitment role. Others in the team support and value her thoughts and opinions throughout the entire recruitment and hiring process. This has meant that in her first 8 months in the role, Kathryn had developed her skills beyond any other role she’d had over the same timeframe, thanks to her colleagues who have demonstrated mutual passion, commitment and motivation in their roles every day.
Both Emma and Kathryn encourage anyone looking to go into a people-centric career, such as recruitment or HR, to always be curious and to keep an open mind. This might mean getting involved in unexpected aspects of your department, such as benefits and employee engagement, or gathering key learnings from every candidate you speak to, even if they are not the right fit for the role. Keeping an enthusiastic, open and persistent mindset will help you to progress your career.
At Proxima, we believe gender equality is essential for creating a prosperous and sustainable workplace. Our Gender Equality Network champions equal opportunities for all employees. If you are interested in joining Proxima, find out more about opportunities on our careers page.
