IGA’s People and Culture (HR) Division provides recruitment services to organisations of all sizes and industry specialities, encompassing businesses in the FTSE 100, through to start-up businesses hiring their first People and Culture role. Our People and Culture practice prides itself on the client and candidate journey ensuring the 'fit' is one than sees all parties excited about the journey ahead!
We’re delighted to welcome Adam Purchase to IGA as our Head of Practice for People and Culture. Having worked across the UK and Europe and with expertise in People and Culture search, Adam has spent his career helping to build and shape award winning people teams.
Our Talent Sourcing Manager, Katie Thompson caught up with Adam to find out more about his career so far and the vision for his new role here at IGA.
Hi Adam, welcome to the IGA Community. We’re delighted to have you on board! How have you found your first week in the business?
The first week has been engaging! Whether it be introduction calls with other teams in the business, a breakdown of the business values and how these relate to IGA’s vision, or a catch up with people I have previously supported, updating them on my exciting move. All in all the first week has been a great start to a successful new People & Culture Practice at IGA Talent.
What is your background in recruitment and how did you get into the industry?
For the past 6+ years I have been solely focused on recruiting the best within the People and Culture space across a wide variety of industries – from FTSE100 organisations to Tech start-ups, and everything in between.
My common theme is I enjoy working with clients and candidates who are continually trying to better the People and Culture space for the businesses they are a part of and the industry as a whole.
Like many it seems, I ‘fell’ into recruitment – I was introduced to recruitment by a People and Culture specific search organisation and from the first role I worked I knew the People and Culture space was the place for me.
Tell us more about your new role at IGA as our Head of Practice for People and Culture. What roles will you be supporting our clients with?
I will be leading People & Culture recruitment across a variety of sectors and industries, delivering assignments within People Functions for both permanent and interim roles. My experience covers a wide variety of HR positions including Generalist, Learning & Development, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition and Employee Relations roles. I also recruit across a wide range of seniority from C-Suite, VP, Directors and Heads of, through to Business Partners and Senior Managers.
What do you think are the biggest challenges that your clients face within Human Resources at the moment? How can you support your clients with these challenges around people and culture and what solutions can you offer?
Two main areas seem to be trending at the moment – the constant discussion around ‘Culture’ and how to retain talent.
Both answers can be found in hiring the right People and Culture Team for your business – this is where I come in, having supported a large number of very different businesses with needs that are never the same, it is about placing the right talent to achieve.
Anyone can find and place someone in a role – the key difference I bring is the understanding of how and what that role needs to do to be successful within the wider organisation. This can be project based, or could be ensuring someone has the right skills and ability to challenge the right leaders to continue to evolve an area of thought (most often it is more than one area)
Do you have any key market insights into talent acquisition within People and Culture (HR) that you would like to share.
People and Culture is an ever changing section of a business. This often leads to a level of churn that makes it hard to ‘land’ programmes/ projects in the long run.
There is currently a higher than average move at the senior level with more Director level individuals moving/ looking for roles at this time of the year than in the last 3+ years. A great time to open a discussion if this is a level at which you are currently looking to hire as there is some amazing talent currently open to a discussion (if albeit, quietly)
A common theme I am hearing in the market currently is the need for successful people project designers and deliverers – this is focused heavily around both organisational development and effectiveness. A great sign is that a number of these large projects are not focused around reduction of headcount, more so on how to better utilise the workforce a business already has.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you like to do in your spare time.
To say I sit still would be a lie – I have a very active dog and an even more active husband! This pairing means we are either hiking, running or chasing something (well the dog anyway)!!
In the last year I have also made the move to the dark side of fitness and am trying Crossfit for the first time, which is both fun and challenging in equal measures, with a splash of madness thrown in.
I am originally from NZ and my husband is Italian, so as much as we can, we travel to both countries and as NZ is on the other side of the world it is a great excuse to stop and see other amazing countries on the way.
