Leadership Stories Unveiled: Rebecca Hislam
From navigating global pandemics to transforming onboarding experiences, Rebecca Hislam’s journey in HR leadership embodies resilience, adaptability, and a deep commitment to people. As Head of People at Avicenna, Rebecca draws on her experience across public, private, and non-profit sectors, blending strategic insight with empathy to create thriving, people-centric cultures.
In this exclusive interview, she shares the defining moments that shaped her leadership approach, the lessons she’s learned from navigating tough decisions, and how she’s fostering trust, engagement, and wellbeing in an ever-evolving workplace.
What initially drew you to a career in HR, and how has working across diverse industries influenced your leadership approach?
I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to take after college and instead of going to university, I bought an around the world ticket and went travelling. On my return, I took on a temporary role with the SmithKline Beecham HR team, supporting a development programme. It opened my eyes to what HR and learning and development was and from that moment, I knew I had found the right career, and I have been passionate about HR ever since!
I secured my first permanent HR role at St George’s University, where I was fortunate to have a brilliant mentor and support to complete an MA in HR Management, a foundation I’m still grateful for.
Working across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors has exposed me to a wide range of cultures, leadership styles, and organisational challenges. It’s given me a strong sense of what authentic, effective leadership looks like, particularly where leaders are visible, engaged, and unafraid to have difficult conversations. These experiences have shaped my approach as a people leader and reinforced my belief in the values of empathy, clarity, and integrity.
Can you describe a defining moment in your career where you had to lead through a significant people challenge?
A defining moment came just two weeks into a new role with a large care home provider in early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With the head office moving to fully remote working, I had to build relationships and learn the business virtually. I quickly stepped into a lead role within the HR Operations team to support the Covid-19 response, implementing furlough for shielding staff, creating an absence tracker, and ensuring frontline teams had the training and processes they needed.
It was an incredibly challenging time, but also one of collaboration, resilience, and shared purpose. I’m proud of how we supported our colleagues and care home residents and of how I led through uncertainty with calm, clarity, and care.
What’s a leadership lesson you’ve learned the hard way, and how has it reshaped your perspective?
Earlier in my career, a manager acted as the sole link to the executive team and often presented my work without acknowledgement. It was a frustrating experience, but it taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of visibility and recognition.
Since then, I’ve made it a priority to credit my team for their contributions. Supporting their credibility, encouraging feedback, and creating opportunities for them to shine is not only fair, but it also builds confidence and strengthens the team overall.
Tough decisions that affect employees often come with a delicate balance between business goals and empathy. How have you navigated these moments, and what insights have you gained about leading with both compassion and pragmatism?
Difficult decisions are sometimes necessary to protect an organisation’s long-term future, whether due to financial pressures, regulatory change, or the need to modernise. I always ensure I fully understand the context before advising leaders on how to navigate these moments with both clarity and compassion.
Clear, transparent communication is essential; explaining the rationale, outlining next steps, and supporting those impacted with fairness and dignity. It’s equally important to support remaining teams through change, helping them adapt and stay engaged. Balancing business needs with empathy is challenging, but it builds trust and integrity in leadership.
How do you build and sustain a culture of trust and engagement across large or multi-site organisations? Can you share some strategies or examples that have worked well in your experience?
In large or multi-site organisations, I believe that building trust and engagement starts with a strong induction, reinforcing a shared purpose and clear ways of working. It’s also vital that senior leaders are visible and accessible, whether through regular site visits or open virtual forums where staff can raise questions and feel heard. I enjoy visiting teams and get an understanding of what it’s really like in practice and what the issues are. More importantly, I enjoy connecting with individuals on a personal level, which has also helped me to understand their motivational drivers and how to support them.
Consistency is key, following through on commitments builds trust, while failure to act on feedback can quickly erode it, an example of which is the employee survey.
I’ve also found engagement platforms effective for sharing updates, celebrating successes, posting blogs and competitions, and creating a sense of community across dispersed teams.
Employee feedback can sometimes lead to surprising and positive changes within an organisation. Could you share a story where such feedback shifted perspectives or sparked a transformation, and what that experience revealed about your approach to people and culture?
One example that stands out is feedback received about the induction experience. Through surveys, exit interviews and check-ins, it became clear that the process was inconsistent, and many new starters had very different experiences depending on their location or which team they joined. It was clear that a number of new starters felt unwelcome, unsupported, and in some cases, disengaged from day one.
In response, we introduced an induction programme covering key company information and our values, department overviews, and structured learning plans. The new induction programme created a more consistent, welcoming experience with clear manager responsibilities.
This reinforced my belief in the power of employee feedback, it’s vital for understanding the real employee experience and guiding meaningful, practical improvements.
How have recent trends like hybrid working and remote leadership changed the way you manage teams?
Hybrid and remote working have reshaped how we lead, with trust, communication, and connection being more important than ever. My HR team are in different areas of the county, and we stay aligned through weekly team calls, shared files and documents, and regular 1:1s to check in, address issues, and support development.
Meeting in-person is important to maintain strong relationships and promote team working, track progress, and plan. As a leader, it’s about balancing performance with creating a positive, enjoyable working environment.
As mental health and employee wellbeing take centre stage, which initiatives have you been passionate about leading to genuinely support your teams in these areas?
I’m a strong advocate for regular check-ins, which we embedded as a session on our leadership programme to help managers build trust and open dialogue with their teams. I also believe that check-ins are a great way to make sure new starters are settling in well and have all that they need, and to check that employees are ok at times of high or pressured work or to provide support where it’s needed.
Check-ins are especially valuable during high pressure periods, such as the pandemic. During Covid-19, members of the People team regularly carried out check-in calls with care home managers and provided direct support by actively listening and signposting to additional resources, such as the EAP and Occupational Health.
Equipping managers with training in stress awareness will help to recognise stress in others or themselves, and how to support appropriately in these situations. I’ve also completed accredited Mental Health First Aid training and have put it into practice.
I am also an advocate for the Health & Wellbeing Hub available to all employees, who can access support and information at a time and method that suits them. Support offered includes EAP, Counselling, diet & nutrition, financial wellness, fitness and mindfulness and meditation. All are important to ensure holistic care for everyone.
Looking to the future, what developments in HR excite you the most, and how are you preparing for them?
I’m excited by developments that aim to break down socio-economic barriers and which support people to thrive at work through progressive employment legislation and improved income opportunities.
AI also presents exciting potential, opening new career paths and transforming how we work. That said, I’m mindful of the risks, particularly in areas like recruitment, where it’s vital to ensure AI-driven processes remain fair, transparent, and inclusive. I’m committed to staying informed and thoughtful about how we adopt these changes.
Finally, what personal values guide your leadership and decision-making every day?
My leadership is guided by being visible, approachable, and open to feedback. I believe in following through on commitments, promoting honest communication, and maintaining a can-do attitude. I also feel comfortable and willing to challenge where needed.
Continuous learning is important to me, as I want to ensure I am up to date on trends, technology and legislation. Personally, I ensure that I lead with integrity, energy, and with a genuine interest in others and the business. All these attributes assist me with my decision-making day to day.
