Petrina Francis, a Senior Performance & Development Specialist, talks about growing into a role that merges performance and opportunity, and what that means for personal growth, community bonds, and maximising resources for learning.
“At Capita, the tools and resources at our fingertips and the support from my People leader has helped me in my current role, my career growth, my development and performance.”
An open door
It took some time to get here, but I joined Capita in June 2021 in our Experience division as a Performance Trainer, and, in less than a year, I was promoted to the role of Senior P&D specialist. Despite knowing that I had the experience and skills, several doors had been closed for me along the way, but it was Capita that opened them and broke down the barrier. This has given me the opportunity to excel in a role where you might not see many black women, in Learning & Development. It’s time for change and to build workplaces where we are seen, feel that we belong and can be our authentic selves.
Everyday impact
At Capita, I’m involved in several activities as an active Black Employee Network (BEN) member and in ways that are a natural extension of my role as a performance and development specialist. I’m a Black Lives Matter Advisory Sub-Group member. We meet twice a year to review progress against Capita’s commitments to supporting Black and minority ethnic colleagues to identify issues, help to problem solve, develop recommendations, and assist on specific topics or business challenges.
I’m also part of the Leavers Early Engagement Programme (LEEP), which aims to identify Black colleagues across Capita who are at risk of leaving and support them to realise their career objectives while remaining part of the organisation.I also support the BITC (Business in The Community) network, working with external individuals who require coaching and help getting back to work.
You might wonder how I have time to do all of this, alongside my day-to-day role and supporting my family outside of work, but it’s quite easy: I have a passion for Learning & Development and DE&I, and that motivates me. I love my role and supporting colleagues from all backgrounds, but in particular those who have had similar experiences to me. The key is plan, plan and plan some more! I organise my time in a very structured way and have a great tracker to keep me on target. It’s about clearly defining my key priorities to ensure everything else falls into place.
Always progressing
I wanted to continue my own development and sought out opportunities to improve my skills and knowledge and move further along my career path. I planned to undertake a professional development apprenticeship in Level 5 CIPD Learning & Development, Business Partnering, and I was able to start it in October 2022. If Capita had not encouraged me, I may have put this off for a while and not taken that first step so early on in my educational journey but I’m on track to complete it in the autumn of 2024.
I've also recently completed one year as a mentor on the Mutual Mentoring Programme, which creates a non-hierarchical development relationship between two diverse mentoring individuals. It has allowed us to discuss many of the issues that I have faced in and outside of the workplace and to learn from one another.
Growing holistically
I would say to anyone considering an apprenticeship: if the time feels right, go for it! Whatever stage you’re at in your career. If it isn’t right, focus on filling your time with positive energy, hobbies, and anything else that interests you. Most of all, seek happiness, stay healthy, be yourself and be proactive in working towards your performance and development goals - you only get one chance. I’m looking forward to my next goal and whether that is at home or work, I do know it will be something to keep me on my toes and keep me motivated!
#BeBrilliantBeYou
