A fulfilling career and quality time with family – Meet Regional Director Debra Lee

The beauty of the role for Debra, is seeing the impact our team have on overall business performance, yet giving her precious time to enjoy with her family.

In what way has People Puzzles helped you to thrive? 

When I first joined People Puzzles, my daughter was only 2 and my sons were 9 and 12. I felt like I had missed a lot whilst the boys were growing up, as my career in corporate retail meant I was working 60+ hours a week, as well as doing a lot of travel with my job. I wanted to create a world where I could spend more time at home and with the family but still have a full and rewarding career.

Working as a Regional Director has given me a really fulfilling chapter in my career, working with fabulous clients and amazing People Directors, with the luxury of some quality time with my family. I love what I do at People Puzzles don’t get me wrong, but equally I love all that I get to do outside of work. For me, it’s the right balance of work and family.

 

 

Have you had one stand out moment when you have felt lucky to work with People Puzzles? 

When I joined 10 years ago, there were less than 20 People Directors (versus 85+ today!) and no presence north of Watford. I feel so lucky to have been part of this business from such an early stage and to have experienced the growth of the business, alongside the escalation of the team.

It was challenging at the start, as there was no brand awareness of People Puzzles in the North when we launched. The year we hit £1m turnover was a huge milestone, the original four Regional Directors, two of whom were the Founders, travelled to France to Champagne to drink Champagne! It felt like it took us a long time to reach that milestone, but now, the sky’s the limit.

For me it isn’t just one stand out moment, it is an occasion, every year when we all come together for our conference. The face-to-face conference every year sparks a massive feeling of pride. The energy and inspiration from having over 60 People Directors in a room, all with the common desire of doing what’s best for our clients, the passion inspires and lifts you.

Additionally, I was really proud of the way we responded when Covid hit and we entered lockdown. As a team, we explored ways of supporting not only our clients but also anyone we were connected with professionally. We saw it as a time to give back to the business community, and it was wonderful to be associated with a company trying so hard to be helpful and useful, at a time when it was needed most.

What have you found most meaningful about your work with People Puzzles and their clients? 

The beauty of being a Regional Director, is that you are in touch with the client base but not in the businesses every day. So, when we receive client feedback about the impact the People Director is having and when business owners describe their People Director, as their trusted advisor, and so much more than HR, it’s just fabulous. The work our teams do with Senior Leadership Teams, driving overall business performance, is truly transformational and I love hearing from clients about the value they place on the work our People Directors deliver.

What areas are you passionate about outside of your work?

Travelling – My husband and I devised a list of 50 places to visit 7 years ago – from the UK to Europe and some further afield – we are currently working our way through the list and have only ticked off 8 so far …. Top of the list? Australia!

Football – we are all huge football fans in our house (although as a Liverpool FC supporter married to a Man City supporter – it can get heated!). All our children have played football, including my daughter who was absolutely inspired by the Lionesses and currently plays for Wigan, therefore for the last 15 years we have spent many hours at the side of a football pitch, cheering on their teams, at the weekend.

I am now also a devoted dog Mum. It took me 20 years to persuade my husband to get a dog but can’t imagine life without Diesel (our Cockapoo) now.

What excites you most about the next 5 years of your career with People Puzzles?  

Seeing where the People Puzzles brand and model grows to and making sure that People Puzzles is the go-to company, for fractional people support.