A strong believer in people's development, Gemma Webb, Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Barratt Development PLC shares how she navigated through the world of homebuilding throughout her career.
Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about your role?
Working with our leaders and colleagues across the organization to ensure we have programmes and activities in place to attract, engage and retain a wide range of people. We want to bring their unique skills and viewpoint to Barratt, supporting our inclusive culture. So I might be talking to our network and hearing our employees, working with colleagues on a policy update, such as our recent extension to the family care polices, or running a workshop with our leaders.
How did you end up working in homebuilding?
I started my career in operations and still think of myself as that – despite the following 20 years in HR! I’ve worked creating inclusive cultures for the last 13 years, across a range of industries, from Telecommunication to Logistics. I had no idea this fascinating industry was an option, and hope to change that for the next generation – homebuilding is a best kept secret!
What were your first steps when leaving school?
I did the traditional A-Level then Uni, hated my 1st course, quit, and got a job to appease my parents and then went back and finished my BSc while working full time.
How did the choices you made then influence your career now?
Most influential I think was my time within Virgin, I was lucky enough to be given the chance to do a role based on skill and not experience – and I found my passion, creating the right place for employees to thrive.
What qualifications have you achieved?
I have a whole range of HR based skills and a postgraduate MBA, (with Telefonica & Universitat Polticnica De Catalunya) which was invaluable in understanding the commercial needs of an organisation.
What’s been your career highlight to date?
My career highlight would be the team members I’ve seen go on to bigger and better roles. I love developing people and seeing them thrive, so those are some of my proudest moments - from a supervisor who now runs their own site to a team member who’s now a VP for a big global company, I’m immensely proud of all of them.
What has been the most valuable lesson you have learned along the
You simply can’t communicate too much – take people with you by sharing the “what” and the “why” of our plans, gain buy in and create advocates. Taking time to do that well will exponentially extend your impact.
What progress have you seen on gender equality in the home building industry?
Even in the short time I’ve been here (18 months) it’s been fantastic to see the increase in women joining the industry and rising through the ranks. Our female support programme is a joy to attend, and I always come away inspired.
What more could be done to encourage more women to the?
We need to share more about available options- the varied, interesting, and challenging careers you can have in homebuilding. We also need to share our role models more, you won’t be as alone as it might look walking past a building site. It’s vital to us to have as wide a range of skills and viewpoints as possible so we can face the future. Everyone needs more talent and reaching those underrepresented groups gives us access to an untapped gold mine.
What one piece of advice would you give to women considering or starting out in a career in homebuilding today?
Build your network, connect across your organisation and the wider industry, there will be so many people wanting you to succeed, find them and learn as much as you can – then pass it on.e a great career.