Trace Peckett, people development partner
Article Type: Practitioner profile From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 3
HR executives share their experience in human resources
Glasgow’s renowned East End market, The Barras, where deals are made and the patter flows, was where Trace Peckett, the people development partner for Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank, started to learn the skills needed for her career in people development. She explains: “ I was only 14 when I worked at the Barras. There were all walks of life down at the market and you had to learn how to deal and interact with people straight away – it was a great learning experience.”
Peckett made a conscious decision not to go down the academic route following school and, while she did not enter a coaching role immediately, the various jobs she worked in were all conducive to her current post. She says: “After leaving school in 1991 I had the option of going to university to study English,attending college to study teaching or going straight into business. The latter won out and I spent nearly nine years with Bank of Scotland progressing from team leader roles into more technical positions. During this period I was able to move into people leader roles within a project environment, helping me to explore and gain a better understanding of different types of people, their motivators, strengths and weaknesses.”
After leaving the Bank of Scotland, Peckett spent the next three years working in field sales overseas and in the healthcare sector, as well as running a franchise business, all of which helped her develop her people skills. Returning to the financial sector with Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank in 2003,she identified an opportunity to further establish herself as a coach and provide leaders with the support, guidance and coaching required for them to develop their teams effectively. Now working across Scotland for Clydesdale Bank and regions of Yorkshire Bank, she has responsibility for working closely with regional directors and managing partners in coaching and developing staff across the UK.
The role of coaching in a challenging market
Despite the challenges facing financial institutions, Clydesdale &Yorkshire Bank has remained open for business and Peckett believes the bank’s commitment to staff development is one of the reasons for this. She comments:“In coaching we invest in our talent, supporting people’s development across a wide range of activities across education, exposure and experience,resulting in an improved experience for our members. We are also seeing an increased number of mentoring relationships across our business at all levels and this adds great value to the company.
“I believe coaching will have an even bigger presence at the bank over the coming years. Everyone has different priorities and we can often be time challenged, meaning self-development can move down the priority order. However,I have to say this has absolutely not been the case at Clydesdale Bank and people development remains a top priority in our future plans.”
Peckett is qualified in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and she feels these techniques add significant value in supporting individuals with their self-development. She says: “Whilst I do not often refer to myself as an NLP practitioner, the skills I have developed from this provide me with the tools that are the basis of many of my coaching sessions. I think the skill in coaching, is the ability to listen, probe and support the individual through their thought process to reach decisions that they may have been struggling to address previously. It is a great feeling when senior managers who were not ready to engage in the coaching relationship now see the value and encourage a coaching culture within their teams.”
A reflection of commitment to people development
Peckett’s role within the bank is quite rare as many organizations do not have in-house coaching resources and she believes this emphasizes the importance the bank puts on its people. She says: “Our investment in people development demonstrates to our members the importance we put on ensuring they are dealing with individuals who are continuously improving. This ensures professionalism and expertise are part of the service we provide.”
“Customers are central to everything we do and it is important that in the changing economic environment our people maintain and develop new skills and always look for ways to enhance their relationship management abilities.”
Having established a desire for people development in Clydesdale &Yorkshire Bank, Peckett thinks there is value to be gained by all businesses introducing such methods. She concludes: “I think organizations across all industries are becoming more people focused and recognizing people are core to achieving goals and ultimate success. It is vital companies invest in their talent and tailor an approach to ensure that they are being developed in the appropriate way to add value for the individual, the customer and the business.”
Trace PeckettPeople development partner for Clysedale & Yorkshire Bank.
About the author
Trace Peckett is people development partner for Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank. She previously worked at National Australia Group, where she was a coaching partner, business change manager and deployment logistics unit manager,and has also worked in the healthcare industry and at the Bank of Scotland,where she started her career in 1991. Trace Peckett can be contacted at: trace.peckett@eu.nabgroup.com
