Your colleagues
What's it like to work here? Meet a few of your new colleagues
James Racher
HR Advisor
Human Resources
Started at StepChange in 2009
My average day...
My average day will begin either with prebooked meetings or managing my emails. In my role I’m responsible for providing advice and support with employee relations issues including absence management, disciplinary and grievance proceedings and performance improvement. I support all areas within the charity which includes a mixture of both operational and non-operational departments and I meet regularly with team leader groups and centre managers to discuss any cases, concerns and to share best practices.
In addition to supporting line managers in formal meetings, I provide coaching as well as training sessions to increase management capability and their level of understanding of processes to apply them correctly when dealing with any employee relations issues. In the HR team we don’t like to adopt a culture of “HR says” approach, instead we coach line managers so they can make their own strong decisions and have the confidence to do so.
Several policies and procedures are owned by the HR department and as a HR Advisor both I and my colleagues regularly review and update charity policies to ensure they’re still fit for purpose as well as being compliant with current employment legislation. I will also when required provide support where there’s any organisational redesign activity taking place where needed as well.
I've lived in Leeds for 8 years now and I enjoy to socialise and in order to switch off from the day to day and will often be enjoying myself in local restaurants and bars as well.
How did I get here?
I joined the charity in an operations role straight after finishing university. I’d worked in several departments including Customer Services, Client Support and Operations Support. I found myself in a position where I wanted to progress further but didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. I decided to undertake my own internal and external research into different careers and I also arranged overviews in different departments across the charity what I might have an interest in and what would be expected of me if I were to apply for alternative roles in the future.
I knew straight away from speaking to colleagues in the HR department that this was the area I wanted to work in, and I wanted to pursue the route of becoming a HR Advisor. It was at that point that I self-funded my first CIPD qualification in Human Resource Practice which I completed in late 2017. In 2018 the role of HR Coordinator was advertised which I knew would provide me with the entry level role in HR I was looking for. Fortunately I was successful with my application and started my first HR role in June 2018.
From here I was really keen to know more about how a HR function worked and I was quick to volunteer to support the HR Advisory team with attending any meetings that required HR to presence and do note taking as well. The charity was very supportive in helping me to develop my skills and knowledge over time which helped grow my confidence significantly to a position where I felt more comfortable carrying out HR Advisory responsibilities. The charity agreed to fund my next CIPD qualification in Human Resource Management and I was promoted in March 2020 into my first HR Advisor role. I was so grateful for the encouragement I was given to aid my development since joining the HR team and my colleagues were amazing and very supportive throughout. I truly really enjoy my role and look forward to what the future brings!
I am busy with...
• Supporting line managers with any employee issues
• Supporting line managers with understand and applying charity policies and procedures to situations that arise
• Helping my line manager with any organisation redesign activity
I love it here because...
I’ve worked for the charity for many years now and I remain happy here and look forward for many more years to come. I admire the work the charity does on a daily basis and share it’s ethical practices in supporting communities in financial difficulty. Over the years I’ve built some everlasting relationships and friendships with people across the organisation and I can’t wait to see what good work the charity continues in the future.
