Five minute profile: interview with Wendy Fraser

What’s your background and how does it give you additional insight to your work at RDS? 

Like many people, I have worked in a few different sectors and done a range of ‘generalist’ and ‘specialist’ HR roles. I have had the pleasure of managing teams both when I worked in retail operations and in HR. This broad range of experiences helps me understand how different organisations and their people ‘tick’, so while I’m still learning lots about the data landscape, I’m able to apply lots of that knowledge to the people side of things.

What’s a highlight and a challenge of your role?

The people who work at RDS are just fab and make my job interesting and fun. They are super talented and passionate about the work they do. It’s serious and important work but nobody takes themselves too seriously. I’m excited to see how we’ll develop as an organisation over the next few years. There’s loads of work to do to make that happen well, but I know we have the right basics in place. 

What difference do you hope RDS will make?

When the complexity of the work we are doing feels overwhelming, I often think about the end point. The difference that having faster access to good quality data will make to researchers’ work. And how that research will give insight to the organisations and policy makers which ultimately could impact on the length and quality of our lives.

What would be your "Mastermind" specialist subject?

This is a tough question. I know lots of bits of information across a broad range of things. I am also very forgetful, so I’d be comically bad on Mastermind. However, if I had to choose, it would be ‘The novels of Thomas Hardy’, as I would love to go back and re-read them all.

Who, real-life or public figure, has inspired or motivated you in your career or life?

Before I worked in HR, I worked as a retail manager and had a large team of staff so reached out regularly for HR support. I worked with a HR Director, Paul Sayers, who has sadly passed away now, but his pragmatism and kindness has stuck with me. Over the years, whenever I have come across a new situation and not known what to do, asking myself ‘What would Paul do?’ has served me well.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

I really like the saying, ‘If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well’. Hear hear to that!