Leiths Newsletter Issue 22 - Magazine - Page 17
Leiths News : OUR PEOPLE
page 16
A Day in the Life of:
Cheryl Reid Group HR Advisor
Background
I started working in HR over 20 years ago (yes 20!!) when an opportunity arose
with the company that I worked for when it was bought over. There wasn’t an HR
department at the time and this was a fabulous opportunity to assist the new
HR Manager with setting up the department, which allowed me to develop within
the function and gain a really good grounding of HR - from setting up employee
昀椀les and new HR system, to creating policies and procedures.
I later spent some time in Talent Acquisition when an opportunity arose following
the birth of my daughter but my real passion was generalist HR and I was always keen to return to this area.
I have had various HR generalist roles across different sectors including oil & gas and public sector. This is a testament to the fact that HR skills
are transferable regardless of which sector you work in. I completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management part-time
whilst working full-time and vividly remember sitting my 昀椀nal exam at 8 months pregnant albeit it was many, many years ago!
A Day in the Life
No one day is ever the same in HR which is why I love HR! HR is involved in every area of the business, so we have a great understanding of the
business as a whole. I can be at different locations, dealing with urgent/sensitive situations or may be attending employment law updates.
We are also very involved with the schools by encouraging children into our industry by way of career evenings, talks and mock
interviews. One of my most enjoyable experiences was watching the school children take part in the dam challenge when they had to construct
a dam to save the village at the “Build your Future” event. They were so enthusiastic about the challenge, and it was great to see their teamwork.
As a department, we are in the process of introducing a new HR system which will provide real-time data and analytics and will streamline a lot
of our processes. This has been a huge task and we really welcome seeing the bene昀椀ts of this system.HR can be very serious but I also have
a “fun” side which I like to bring to the role as and when I can, and I love seeing the talented pictures and creativeness from the Leiths Group
children.
Personal
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, running, sewing (I occasionally make kilts as a hobby), and I also participate in a “fun”
local tap-dancing class. I regularly try to participate in charity events to raise funds for charities that I support.
Leiths’ Babies
Employee Voice
Ewan Forbes, Quarry Manager at Bluehills Quarry, became a
proud father recently when his wife, Eden, gave birth to
Jenson James Forbes on 8th April 2025 (same day as his
Granda’s birthday!) weighing 7lbs 11 ounces.
Congratulations to all.
We kicked off our lunch and learn sessions for 2025 with a
Menopause session in January which was delivered by TAC.
The session covered the following topics:
Providing tips and guidance on dealing with the symptoms the large variance of symptoms, everyone is different.
Supporting those who are going through it - where to get
help, how to 昀椀nd it, what to ask.
How support can be provided in the workplace and
when to ask for help.
Thanks to TAC for a very informative session and
to everyone who attended and supported this session.
