Alice Beacham – HR Advisor

On this week’s Meet The Team we feature one of our newest employees, our HR Advisor Alice Beacham! From guarding Roman fortresses to running marathons, join us as we discuss Alice’s journey leading up to John Hogg, and what advice she would give to other new starters.

Tell us a bit about your Job role?

My job role is really to support the business through all elements of the employee life cycle, guiding our employees through their journey at John Hogg, whilst being supportive wherever possible. I was brought into the company to aid our HR Manager, Lynn, who was a one-woman team for a long time! I’m currently looking at ways that we can utilize Lynn’s incredible experience & knowledge at John Hogg and improve our HR function for all employees going forward.

How long have you been a part of the John Hogg team?

I’ve been at John Hogg since the beginning of February, so a full two months!

What was your first job, and did you enjoy it?

I’m fairly sure that my first real job was working at the drive-thru at McDonalds… It was quite stressful, but it definitely taught me about multi-tasking and built up my character massively.

I also worked at a few festivals. One of the cooler festivals I worked at was located at a 2000-year-old Roman fortress in Croatia, called Dimensions Festival. The jobs I had were interesting, I even had to guard a specific wall for a few hours… But it was a great experience to get paid whilst enjoying the festival music!

Did you attend University? If so, what did you study?

I did I went to Leeds Beckett University, and studied psychology. I was always really interested in the subject, especially with how people think and what makes everyone different. I almost went into criminology!

What hobbies or activities do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Running is my hobby at the moment and I’m actually going to run the Manchester marathon this year! I’ve never done a marathon before, so it’ll be my first time, but I hope to do more in the future.

Do you have an accomplishment that you are proud of?

I’m quite proud of my traveling throughout the years. It was always something that I wanted to do, and I learnt so much doing it. I’ve also lucky to have visited so many amazing places!

Tell me something about you that most people wouldn’t know.

I play a lot of instruments quite well, but none mastered just yet. The flute is my go-to at the moment. I have the ABBA gold music book much to my neighbour’s dismay… In an ideal world, I would love to find and join a local Hip-hop Jazz band.

If you could travel to any place in the world, where would it be and why?

I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of the world, but I have not been to Central Asia. I have seen that the architecture and mountain ranges in in this region look really beautiful so I would love to visit some countries there.

I also have a real obsession with sloths… I don’t know why I just think they’re incredibly cute. So, places like Costa Rica in Latin America would also be high up on the bucket list!

Which book or a movie has left a lasting impact on you and why?

My favourite read during my travels was ‘Shantaram’, which is about a convicted Australian bank robber who escapes from prison and flees to the slums of India to start a new life. It was a bit of a rite of passage when travelling in India to read this book!

If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

At one point in my life, it would have been Mac & Cheese, as it might just be my favourite thing in the world.

What is your greatest fear?

I used to think I was scared of many things when I was younger, but after facing them over the years I wouldn’t say I was fearful anymore. I do however have a slight fear of my teeth falling out…

Your GOAT music artist?

My music taste varies all the time. That being said, I’ve been listening to a lot of Avril Lavigne lately because she’s playing at Glastonbury this year which I can’t wait for! Few others I’ve been listening to at the moment are Little Simz, Erykah Badu, and Arlo Parks.

If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?

Energetic, Social, Creative

What’s the best thing about your job?

I’ve not had a lot of time at John Hogg yet, but I think the ability to develop your own role and work across the business is quite a unique thing. There’s also a lot of different things that you can be involved with, so the job is never boring!

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned while working at John Hogg?

I’ve been able to understand the importance of feedback from my peers at John Hogg. Some of the models that we use encourage you to check in with other areas of the business, which shows the importance of collaboration within the company values.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new team members to succeed within our company culture?

When starting out, ask as many questions as you can to people across the business. Make use of everyone’s experience & knowledge because everyone is willing to share it!

Finally; In your opinion, what sets John Hogg apart as an employer?

I think what sets John Hogg apart is the size of the company. Sometimes in larger companies, HR job roles are split into individual tasks, where you work a specific role over and over. At John Hogg and especially in my role, you get to be a part of all areas, and can even choose to be involved in different projects across the business.