As the world celebrates International Women’s Day this week, we spoke to Gill Holmes OBE FIEP, who was recently welcomed into the IEP Fellowship.
With a career spanning over 35 years at the Department for Work and Pensions, Gill has held pivotal roles such as Director for Contract Management and Partner Delivery, and Head of Division Contracted Employment. Her wealth of experience and expertise bring a fresh perspective to her role as a Fellow. In a recent discussion, Gill explained that her decision to embrace the IEP Fellowship was much more than acquiring a title; it was about utilising her experiences to make a tangible difference.
Gill shared her motivations for taking on this new challenge, “I am doing this because it is something I feel passionate about. A previous manager of mine used to say, ‘you help someone to move into work, you change their lives, the lives of their family, their friends and their community. I still want to be part of changing lives and communities for the better” she said. “As well as becoming an IEP Fellow I have recently become a Non-Executive Director of Genius Within CIC and joined Business2Business as their first Non-Executive Director. ‘Bringing my experience to provide support and guidance and being a critical friend to organisations is important to me. Whatever I do it has to be super valuable, which comes from my time as a working mother. Time is critical and balancing work and children meant I had to learn the art of effectively distilling information to optimise my time. Even now, I am very much a ‘do-er’ and want to roll up my sleeves and get on with the job in hand.”
A particular passion of Gill’s is the transition from growing a small organisation to a larger one, emphasising the importance of preserving the unique culture of smaller teams while navigating the demands of expansion. “What makes small organisations great is the culture they can bring to the workplace‘. It’s more than team spirit, it’s about family” she said. “I feel it’s not just about the organisation, it’s about the people. Bringing your people with you is what makes the difference and enables a small organisation to take the steps to grow without compromising the good things about belonging. I have seen organisations do this extremely well and others that have struggled and become lost in the process.
“The employability sector is a vibrant community where we have subcontractors and smaller organisations continually growing. Senior leaders know what they’re looking to achieve, team leaders understand their targets and frontline employees know how to work with customers. To successfully grow, however, everyone needs to understand their role in delivering the long-term vision, and how their daily activities and plans support it. This involves clear communication across all teams so that everyone understands the organisation’s aims and objectives and works towards the same goals. It’s the people who make that leap forward, not the organisation. I want to work with smaller organisations and support them to grow and get to that next level successfully and this is an important part of what the IEP is doing with our qualifications and learning – upskilling people so they can get to that next level comfortably.”
“Ultimately effective leadership and teamwork are what matters. If you can feel ‘we did this together’ that is the key to success. The IEP understand this and so does the DWP. I worked with many fantastic teams at the DWP who were a great bunch of people and were doing the job because they were committed to excellence in public service. I’ve had a lifetime of service, and this is what I am passionate about. I’m in it for the success of the whole team in delivering services that improve people’s lives.”
“Embracing continuous growth is something that the IEP are good at and which we can certainly see at the moment with Scott sharing our expertise and experiences in the UK in Europe, Australia, Canada and beyond, enriching the practices in those regions. This knowledge exchange is reciprocal, as Scott also learns from others, creating a cycle of shared learning that benefits all involved. It has transformed the organisation significantly over the past few years, making it a desirable partner for collaboration and involvement. I am looking forward to working with the team to help continue this shift towards a more inclusive and internationally connected sector to build a stronger network of engaged practitioners.”
