Content area
Full Text
HR executives share their experience in human resources
A coalface might seem an unlikely place to learn an important HR lesson, but for Keith Brownlie, group HR and CR director for Informa pic, it has put him in good stead for his entire career. As a young man, he spent time with a coal miner-turned psychologist who invited him to see the workings of a coalface.
He says:
I turned up, wet behind the ears, in a white button-up shirt. Beyond learning about the social interfaces and working within tight communities, I also discovered something much more personal that day - you've got to relate to the people you're with. Me, in my sparkiingly clean shirt screamed toffee-nosed plank. If I couldn't relate to the miners, how could I possibly understand them?
Gaining front line experience
After a stint in the army, between 1971 and 1973 Brownlie started his corporate life as a graduate trainee at Marley Tiles working in several different disciplines. He returned to university, hedging his bets and studying for a postgraduate in both marketing and psychology, where he discovered HR.
With his Masters degree, he spent a short spell running his own HR consultancy in the North East of England, before he joined Rank Xerox as manager in training and development. A total of 15 years later and a steady climb up the corporate ladder,...