Here’s the latest in our ‘Meet the Team’ series. Following-on from our recent blog on gender equality, we thought this was the perfect moment to introduce one of the wonderful women on our team – whose job also has a heavy focus on workplace equality. So, this week, we interviewed Alyssa Plummer from Gallowglass’ Human Resources department - who moved to the UK from Australia - to discover more of her story.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself:
I once accidentally kicked a shark.
What kick-started your career in human resources?
Back in Sydney, I studied Psychology at university and on the back of that became interested in the possibilities of pursuing a career in HR.
What’s your favourite part of your role?
I really love the variety. I’m doing something different, and talking to someone new every day, whether it’s recruitment, training-focused or just admin.
What’s the most difficult aspect of your role?
The one thing I love most about the role is also the thing that can make it the most challenging. The variety of the work means that very often I’m juggling several different things all at once.
How long have you worked for Gallowglass?
I joined the company in June 2016, so amazingly, it’s coming up to two years now.
Tell us a little bit about how you came to work for Gallowglass, and your progression within the company:
It all just neatly fell into place. I arrived in London after travelling around South East Asia for two months, desperate to settle somewhere and start earning money again. I came to the UK with the help of a company called The Working Holiday Club, who, as part of my orientation, recommended I send my CV through to Gallowglass for an HR Administrator role. Within three days I had my interview and within a week I was working here.
When I first started, the work mainly revolved around administration for crew onboarding, but over time I’ve taken on more responsibility for crew recruitment and training.
What’s involved in a typical workday for you?
Most days you’ll find me organising future inductions and interviews for crew - both over the phone and in person, as well as helping our Regional Managers to organise and book training for our event crew in Birmingham, London and many of the other regions we operate in. My day generally ends with a little bit of admin and general HR work.
Where do you see your career heading in the future?
I’d like to do more HR training and build on what I’ve learnt on the job with Gallowglass.
What are some of the key skills needed to succeed in this industry?
Flexibility and an understanding of the order of priorities are undoubtedly the key attributes needed in this industry. Everyone is always pressing for their task to be done first, so knowing the importance of the various aspects of the work and then being able to prioritise around them will ensure you stay on top of things.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to get involved in HR within the events industry?
Do your research; understand how events work and all the processes involved. This gives you a better feel for the workflow and how you can usefully contribute to the delivery of events from an HR perspective.
Here at Gallowglass no two days are ever the same - wherever you work within the business, whether it’s in HR or as a member of crew. With training and career progression opportunities widely available, every day offers a new challenge and experience. If you’d like to know more about working for Gallowglass, get in touch today!
You might also be interested in:
Gender Equality in the Events Industry
What to expect when applying to work for us
Interview with Conor Hourihan: Business Development and Marketing Coordinator
