Sharon Ridgway
Edinburgh North,SA
Overview
32
32
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive General Manager, People & Culture
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
Melbourne
12.2016 - Current
- Company Overview: Integrated energy company with 6,000 employees across Australia, NZ and the Pacific involved in gas and oil exploration, production and power generation & energy retailing.
- Responsible for all people, culture and employee communications activity across Origin, leading a team of circa 150.
- Report to the CEO and hold general leadership accountability for the business direction as part of the Executive leadership team.
- Key achievements to date include:
- Supported the establishment of the Executive leadership team
- Led the work to redefine the organisation Purpose and Values
- As a member of the Remuneration & People committee, have made simplifications to the Origin remuneration framework which resulted in positive feedback from shareholders.
- Established a programme of work to drive cultural transformation across the business
- Established the first ever all of Company People Plan
General Manager People & Culture, Resourcing & Energy Markets Division
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
Melbourne
07.2015 - 12.2016
- Responsible for all people related activities in the Energy Markets business as well as Resourcing for all of Origin Energy Ltd. Key achievements include:
- Successful deployment of a Culture & Capability programme that resulted in an increase in engagement scores of 5% upwards
- Supported the leadership team to develop its own capability and lead key Transformation programmes
Head of People & Culture, Integrated Gas Business Unit
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
Brisbane
04.2012 - 07.2015
- The Integrated Gas business unit within Origin is responsible for the successful delivery of the Australia Pacific LNG project (APLNG). APLNG is a Coal Seam Gas (CSG) to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) joint venture Company co-owned by Origin Energy, limited, ConocoPhillips, and Sinopec.
- In this role I provided support to the CEO plus his direct leadership team. I played a central role on the leadership team, helping with their performance and development both individually and as a critical business team. I led a team of 30 HR Professionals who were accountable for making sure we delivered best practice day to day HR Management, resourcing, HR management, talent management, learning & development.
- Key achievements included:
- Workforce resource management - Managing the ramp up in project resources to enable schedule delivery
- Organisation optimisation programme - Management of a significant reduced and restructured project programme which involved circa 1000 redundancies and 1500 people mobilisation for project activity
- Business integration - Merged 2 Origin business units to create Integrated Gas, overseeing all people and business process issues
- SAP Preparation for HR SAP deployment
- Leadership & Talent - Ongoing management of the Leadership development programme for the leadership team, depth talent programme for top high potentials
People and Culture Manager, Upstream
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
Brisbane
02.2011 - 04.2012
- Reporting to the Group Manager, People and Culture, I led the team in all aspects of human resources.
- Workforce planning - Finalising significant framework for workforce identifying manpower forecasts for the forthcoming 5 years
- Organisation restructure - Overseeing complex organisational realignment involving number of key functions from across the business
- Team effectiveness - Kicked off a team effectiveness programme of work with the CSG business, linked to strategy development
Retail Executive, People and Culture
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
Melbourne
07.2009 - 02.2011
- Reporting to the Group Manager of People and Culture and the General Manager of Retail, I led the 12-member People and Culture team in human resource initiatives vital to the retail transformation needed to address a rapidly expanding business. Managed a $3 million budget.
- Leadership - Continued the development of the P&C Team to be an integral component of the Retail team aligning goals and performance standards with those of the business function and providing leadership.
- Organisational Development - Initiated a number of initiatives including:
- Leadership Team Effectiveness Programme - Designed and implemented a programme with the Call Centre Leadership team to improve their communication and operational efficiency, clarifying common and individual goals.
- Organisation Design Project - Led and implemented a streamlining of operations and improved productivity, eliminating duplication of effort, clarifying functions and roles. Restructured the entire business encompassing role clarity for circa 1000 roles
- Culture - Kicked off a project to define the Retail 'target' culture and identified actions to address gaps
- Change Management - Ongoing, led the people & culture activities related to significant change programmes ie Retail Transformation programme, major acquisition programme, office move, call centre strategy
Talent and Performance Manager
TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD
Melbourne
11.2008 - 02.2009
- Company Overview: Australia's leading telecommunications and information services organisation with $25B sales revenue and 30K employees.
- Selected to direct a project for the Group MD of HR focused on systematising Talent and Performance Management processes across 7 business units, creating a single organisation-wide system. Reporting to Head of Leadership Development, provided organisational advice on Talent and Performance management and managed the Board Talent Review process involving the organisation's top 100 Directors.
- System Design - Developed and implemented organisation-wide Talent and Performance management processes accepted and supported by key HR and line stakeholders.
- System Tools - Guided the development of a system to support the management of HR and Line Managers, providing procedural guides clarifying all aspects of the Talent and Performance Management System, from terminology to operational procedures.
Human Resources Manager
TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD
Melbourne
01.2008 - 11.2008
- Selected by the Group Managing Director, Human Resources, for an eight-month contract that evolved to sixteen-month tenure as a HR business partner for the 250-member HR team and most of the 1,000-member Finance team. Reporting to the HR Director for Corporate Units and the Group Managing Director, Human Resources, provided HR support to both Finance and HR.
- Management Process Improvement - Supported the turnaround of a poor performing Finance team by advising team leadership on implementation of effective performance management principles and procedures and assisting with objective setting and performance reviews. Raised the leadership team's awareness of the need for accountability and helped leaders enforce team accountability.
- Career Planning Finance Team - Clarified career progression by establishing a Career Planning process for finance staff.
- Strategic Business Partnering Programme Senior HR Manager - Established Strategic Business Partnering Programme for Senior HR Managers that was well-received by the HR team, increased understanding of the business partner role and provided the necessary skills for effective partnering with business units. (Programme was recognised as a high quality programme.)
- Competency Framework for HR - Established a competency framework for HR that clarified the skills and behaviours required for successful HR practice within Telstra.
Head of Recruitment, Head of Office
DSG International PLC (DSGi)
London
03.2007 - 01.2008
- Company Overview: Among Europe's biggest electrical retailers with a staff of over 45,000 across Europe.
- Specifically chosen to establish a centralised recruitment team & systems across UK Group. Established and managed an internal recruitment consultancy, complete with an allocated £1.5m budget, 12-member centralised recruitment team, and consolidated recruitment strategy tailored to the recruitment needs of all UK business units.
- Recruitment Centralisation - Designed and implemented a centralised recruitment system working with stakeholders across all business units to consolidate recruitment budgets and identify system requirements. Credited with reducing recruitment costs 15% in first 12 months.
- System Improvement - Established a consistent Executive Search process across the UK Group by introducing a Preferred Supplier list (PSL) approach that lowered costs, simplified the process, streamlined the number of suppliers and clarified success metrics.
- System Automation Online Recruitment System - Reduced cost and time to hire by implementing an online recruitment system.
Head of HR
CURRYS, CURRYS.DIGITA & DIXON'S TAX FREE
London
04.2006 - 03.2007
- Appointed to lead the HR function (c£750k budget) and provide operational and strategic advice to Executive leadership. Spent one year leading the team to reduce costs and improve productivity through effective management of the organisation's people assets. Reported to the Managing Director for the Chain and served as member of the Chain's Management Committee, providing both strategic and tactical advice.
- HR and Business Alignment - Raised the profile of People as critical business assets and aligned HR and business agendas, participating as a key member of both the Store's Executive & team and serving as Business Partner to the Operations and Commercial Directors.
- Cultural Transformation Initiative - Improved customer satisfaction scores, through project that removed commission from store colleagues.
- Organisation Restructuring - Saved the business £500,000 by re-organising its store management structure.
Head of HR
DIXONS
London
11.2004 - 04.2006
- Led eight-member HR team servicing 4K employees across 200 stores providing operational and strategic advice to Executive leadership. Spent one year leading the team to reduce costs and improve productivity through effective management of the organisation's people assets. Reported to the Managing Director for the Chain and served as member of the Chain's Management Committee, providing both strategic and tactical advice.
- HR visibility - Enhanced the HR team's organisational significance as a strategic partner by developing a commercial HR plan that aligned with the business plan and reflected the importance of the people element on organisational performance and productivity.
- Performance Management Programme - Implemented a robust performance management process that enabled Regional Managers to deal effectively with the 10% bottom performing Store Managers by releasing these managers and freeing up time and money.
- Business Restructured - Led the HR function in the transition of Dixons into Currys, digitally restructuring of the associated Head Office functions and saving £10 million sterling in advertising costs.
HR Manager
PC WORLD
London
09.1998 - 11.2004
- HR Manager for PC World, London.
Resourcing Manager
DSG INTERNATIONAL PLC (DSGi)
London
01.1998 - 09.1998
- Resourcing Manager for DSG International PLC (DSGi), London.
Area Personnel Manager
DIXONS
South Wales & South West England
01.1995 - 01.1998
- Area Personnel Manager for DIXONS, South Wales & South West England.
Graduate Trainee
DIXONS
Bristol
08.1993 - 01.1995
- Graduate Trainee for DIXONS, Bristol.
Education
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Public Administration
Polytechnic of Wales
Postgraduate Diploma - Personnel (CIPD)
Gwen College of Higher Education
Affiliations
- DSG Executive Development Programme (part MBA) - Selected for and completed programme limited to 20 candidates annually and preparing Directors level successors.
- Alumn of the McKinsey Remarkable Women’s Programme
Timeline
Executive General Manager, People & Culture
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
12.2016 - Current
General Manager People & Culture, Resourcing & Energy Markets Division
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
07.2015 - 12.2016
Head of People & Culture, Integrated Gas Business Unit
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
04.2012 - 07.2015
People and Culture Manager, Upstream
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
02.2011 - 04.2012
Retail Executive, People and Culture
ORIGIN ENERGY LTD
07.2009 - 02.2011
Talent and Performance Manager
TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD
11.2008 - 02.2009
Human Resources Manager
TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD
01.2008 - 11.2008
Head of Recruitment, Head of Office
DSG International PLC (DSGi)
03.2007 - 01.2008
Head of HR
CURRYS, CURRYS.DIGITA & DIXON'S TAX FREE
04.2006 - 03.2007
Head of HR
DIXONS
11.2004 - 04.2006
HR Manager
PC WORLD
09.1998 - 11.2004
Resourcing Manager
DSG INTERNATIONAL PLC (DSGi)
01.1998 - 09.1998
Area Personnel Manager
DIXONS
01.1995 - 01.1998
Graduate Trainee
DIXONS
08.1993 - 01.1995
Postgraduate Diploma - Personnel (CIPD)
Gwen College of Higher Education
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Public Administration
Polytechnic of Wales