Every week, we ask an HR Director about the greatest challenge they have faced and how they dealt with it. This week, we hear from David Heath, HR Director for Alexander Mann Solutions.

“The majority of my career has been focused on helping people to adjust to change. One of the single most difficult challenges I have ever faced was during an organisational change that resulted in over a thousand people facing displacement, at the same time as the company was hiring thousands of people elsewhere. The business also had to make a number of difficult decisions around changing a benefits structure that had been in place for many years.

“In that situation, and many others, I found that honesty, openness and personal credibility are a crucial part of helping people understand that the changes being made are necessary for the future prosperity of the business, and all of those whose livelihoods depend on it.”