Like many others, Emma’s recruitment career began almost by accident! In 2003, she walked into high-street agency Reed, ready for a change from retail management, and the next thing she knew, one of their desks had her name on it. Since then, Emma’s moved in-house (in 2007) and gained extensive experience mostly within the professional services sector, spanning industries like law, defence consultancy, engineering, and financial services.
Emma is passionate about developing innovative recruitment processes, improving candidate experience, and building clear career pathways. A particular focus of hers is championing diversity and inclusion, especially in the neurodiversity space, where she is committed to creating environments that enable everyone to thrive.
Outside of work, Emma has a hard time saying no to a challenge. She’s a Vice Chair Governor at her son’s school, a member of her village skittles team and book club (noting that many of these activities seem to happen in the pub, which could explain her enthusiastic participation!), and volunteer her resourcing expertise to support the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
What’s a professional achievement of yours from 2024 that you are proud of?
One professional achievement I’m particularly proud of from 2024 is speaking at the RL100 summit in March. Addressing a room full of recruitment legends was both humbling and a little daunting—like teaching your nan to suck eggs! But I’m really glad I pushed myself to do it. It was an incredible experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
How has the RL Community helped you this year?
Aside from the peer support and great supplier interactions that attending summits has introduced me to, I’ve found the RL Hub to be very useful as a daily tool.
Finally, what is your prediction for the TA industry for 2025?
For 2025, I think the Talent Acquisition industry will see even more reliance on AI and data to make recruitment processes more efficient. Candidate experience will continue to be a focus (why haven’t we fixed this yet?!) with an emphasis on personalisation and clarity throughout the hiring journey. As we adapt to new ways of working, I also expect to see a levelling off or stabilising of hybrid working models as things settle. My hope is that we’ll see a stronger push for diversity, particularly in neurodiversity, to help attract the best talent.