As People & Culture Business Partner for our Distribution division, Grace was supporting our operations managers and team leads with human resources expertise. During this time, she came to know the people within our Distribution division and the importance of the work they do. This inspired a step change in Grace’s career. In July of 2021, Grace moved into the role of Operations Manager at our Wellington Distribution centre.
Describe the transition into your new role as Operations Manager
It’s certainly been a big change and I’m really enjoying it. The team have been so welcoming which has made the transition much smoother. As I didn’t have any direct experience in operations or warehousing, I’ve appreciated the team’s willingness to teach me everything they know and to provide so many opportunities for me to roll up my sleeves and get involved. I was motivated to take on this role as it provides me with the ability to keep challenging myself, be more hands on and play a part in supporting a critical aspect of our business.
How are you applying learnings from your time as a People & Culture Business Partner to your new role?
For me, it’s the relationships I’ve built across the business over the past five years. I’ve also developed a good understanding of what it takes to work at Steel & Tube. Since moving into my new role, I’ve been able to reach out to people I worked with for years in a people and culture capacity with my operations hat on. The Steel & Tube team has been on a significant journey over the past few years.
I’ve learned that the people who thrive here are those who get stuck in and retain a customer-centric focus. The Wellington team is certainly set up for success so it’s fantastic to be in a role where I can contribute in an operational capacity as the business continues to evolve.
What motivated you to make the change?
I’ve been fortunate to have a varied and interesting HR career over the past eight years. I have always felt that I wanted to be more involved in the commercial and operational side of Steel & Tube. With this in mind, I completed my MBA through Victoria University to enable a sideways move. When the Operations Manager role came up within Steel & Tube, it was an amazing opportunity to take on a new challenge within a business which I was comfortable and had already built great relationships. The support of the leadership team and others within the business has made the transition much smoother than I expected. It’s been a pleasure to work with people so committed to enabling growth, whether it’s within their own team or elsewhere in the business.
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