Business Action August / September 2019

1. What was your first job?
I was 13 and worked as a
chambermaid in a small hotel
in Cambridge. I made the
beds, cleaned the rooms and
bathrooms. My first proper job
after leaving university was at a
bank called AMP in London. I
was an HR administrator.
2. What is the best
business advice you’ve
ever received?
Don’t worry about perfection.
Just get out there and do it.
Listen to the feedback, and
then refine what you’re doing.
I also read a book many years
ago called Ready, Fire, Aim
by Michael Masterson, which
advises the same thing.
3. What do you enjoy most
about business?
I really enjoy the business
improvement process. I enjoy
constantly looking at how we
can improve and how small
tweaks in each area of the business
enable us to move forward
and get better at what we do
and the delivery of our service.
4. What essential
technology could your
business never be without?
Email marketing software.
We recently switched from
Mailchimp to Drip, which is
brilliant.
5. Describe your business
management / style
Collaborative. When it comes
to clients, employees and all our
stakeholders, I view the relationship
as a partnership that we
should all benefit from, and I
believe that we should have fun
as well.
6. How do you go about
personal development?
Mostly reading. I have the
app Blinkist on my phone,
which is great for giving
me a summary of the key
messages of a wide variety
of books. If the summary is
good, then I’ll get the book
and read it all. Audiobooks
IN THE HEADER HOT SEAT
Lucy Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald HR
Looking for independent financial advice?
Call us on 01237 426450
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Each issue we put a North Devon business personality in the hot seat
and ask them 10 questions. This issue we asked Lucy Fitzgerald,
managing director of Fitzgerald HR
contact@dscottfinancial.co.uk
https://dscottfinancial.co.uk
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
are great because I can listen
whilst driving and I drive a
lot. A minimum of five hours’
driving a week results in five
hours of learning. But I often
drive much more than this. At
the moment I’m listening to
Let My People Go Surfing; the
Education of a Reluctant Businessman
by Yvon Chouinard.
With offices in Devon, Somerset
and London, Fitzgerald HR
provides Human Resources
with the human touch to
organisations of all sizes looking
for HR solutions across the
employee life cycle.
Fitzgerald HR offers a range
of packages and solutions
tailored to its clients’ requirements,
from HR consultancy
services, to acting as an
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ABOUT FITZGERALD HR
7. Is there anything about
yourself that you would like
to change?
I can procrastinate. I prefer to
work on focused projects and
get very absorbed in what I’m
doing. This is difficult when
running a business as I’m often
pulled in different directions.
Sometimes I will put off
important tasks because I want
to keep going on the project
I’m involved in. I’m working
on getting a balance between
giving myself the time to be
absorbed in something that
really interests me, and moving
projects forward, whilst also
getting the important business
administration done.
8. Social media: yes or no?
Preferred network?
Yes. I think it’s important for
businesses to take a multichannel
approach to marketing
and we publish on LinkedIn,
Facebook and Twitter at the
moment. Personally, I tend to
use LinkedIn mostly. I find it’s a
great business networking tool.
9. How do you wind down
when not working?
I spend time with my family. I
also love to read fiction. Reading
a good book is something I can
get lost in, which makes it easy
to switch off from everything
else I need to be doing!
10. Do you have a motto or
favourite quotation?
Two:
1 – People who wonder
whether the glass is half empty
or half full are missing the
point. The glass is refillable.
2 – You can have it all, just not
at the same time.
by supporting with workplace
investigations or training.
With experience of working
with a wide range of sectors,
Fitzgerald HR knows that
clients often need hands-on
support, rather than just an
advice line. Fitzgerald HR has
built an HR company that
can provide nationwide HR
support on a local basis.
■■Details 01271 859267 or
www.fitzgeraldhr.co.uk
18 business action | August / September 2019 | business-action.co.uk