Case studies : Human Resources Manager at AkzoNobel: Brian Chapman

Brian studied music at Oxford University before joining the graduate programme at AkzoNobel

Talk about responsibility from day one - my first placement after completing the graduate programme was as a HR project manager, tasked with implementing a new HR system into Europe. A system I knew nothing about. However this was a really rewarding project as it gave me some invaluable experience in project management.

I was then able to take this learning into a new role managing a small HR services team of three people at our Slough site. Here I got to understand how HR processes all fit together as well as gaining experience of managing people. Having this exposure early on in my career was particularly useful and an experience I draw on even today in advising managers on people issues. I also picked up some good advice from one of my managers, who said 'When you move into a new role, look at what you can deliver in the first 90 days to show your worth' - it's an approach I still use today.

While working in Slough I was also lucky enough to work on two large scale projects, the first was to roll-out a new company wide employee survey and the second was as the business lead for a corporate-wide project in the UK to design and implement a flexible benefits programme. After a year in this role, my team expanded to include a separate HR team based in Manchester, which gave me useful experience of multi-site people management.

Six months later, I was asked to join a European Efficiency Project, alongside my HR manager role. This was a great learning experience and taught me how to manage the demands of a large scale project against the ongoing challenges of your normal day-to-day line role. I then moved through a couple of generalist HR management roles - one supporting our export part of the business and a second for AkzoNobel's Dulux Decorator Centres 200 plus retail stores in the UK.

After 18 months in the stores role, I then moved to a specialist position in talent, taking the post of UK development manager, managing our management and leadership programmes, before taking my current role as HR manager for the European stores. My main responsibilities now are to drive improvements in the six main countries that have our own stores operations. Each business is in a different stage of development and operates in a different market, so one moment I can be designing the longer term HR strategy and the next I can be helping to solve one of the day-to-day issues that arise in a particular country. It's quite demanding as it is fast paced, but it is fun and every day is different.

I have been fortunate to have joined a business that has given me a variety of roles across different functions in different countries. I have worked on some great projects and with some great people. I have had some memorable moments, such as developing a guide on how to manage talent effectively which is now used across the whole of the business globally. I have never been bored. I have always been challenged and been given the room to grow. This is why AkzoNobel is a great business to be part of.