‘It’s so rewarding seeing people thrive in their jobs’

The people director at one of Northern Ireland’s fastest growing companies has revealed staff retention strategies are a major focus as recruitment within the tech industry continues to be fiercely competitive.

To mark International HR Day (May 20), B-Secur’s Caroline Murdoch said employees are becoming much more focussed on the wider culture of a company rather than just the remuneration a position offers.

She explained: “Yes of course salaries are a key consideration for employees but increasingly people want to work for a company which can offer a clear roadmap for their career and where they can benefit from the right opportunities.

“Wellness and community engagement strategies are also important considerations for people joining a new company. They want to know you are a good employer who cares for employees, customers and the community and at B-Secur we are focussed on all these areas.”

Caroline joined B-Secur three years ago, bringing over 20 years’ experience in people development, having worked in the food wholesale, automotive engineering and financial services sectors. It’s been a busy period for the Belfast-headquartered heart health technology company. Earlier this month the company launched the latest evolution of its innovative HeartKey® technology in a significant scaling of global operations to target the multi-billion-dollar consumer and healthcare markets.

B-Secur also doubled its workforce in recent months to over 75 employees and continues to be on an upward trajectory with recruitment ongoing.

A natural people person, Caroline takes great pleasure in knowing people enjoy their work and are thriving in their workplace.

She said: “Our recruitment has been very successful, not only in terms of the number of people who have joined us but also in the talent and passion of our new hires. My priority now is to help our new staff members bed in with the company and support them in their career journey with B-Secur.

“We have people at the company who come from different sectors with varying levels of experience and having this diverse workforce makes an immediate positive impact as it supports fresh thinking and ideas, and this is something we are always looking to harness at B-Secur.

“When it comes to diversity, we are proud to say that a third of our workforce are female with many in senior roles.”

The theme for International HR Day 2022 is; ‘Shaping the New Future’ with a focus on more inclusion, flexibility and participation.

The pandemic has brought a number of changes to how and where people work and B-Secur is no different to other companies who have encouraged a hybrid working environment.

She continued: “I’m always very aware that it must be hard for anyone joining a new company while working from home which has been the case for many of our new employees. We focus on supporting our people and that is something which begins with the executive team and filters down through the company to every line manager and team member.

“That support continues to play a significant role in our culture as we want to ensure people stay with us for the long haul. We care about our people and helping them develop grow personally and professionally is a key focus for me and my team. At B-Secur we engage with our team in many ways, including a regular staff engagement survey which allows us to monitor how our staff feel around areas such as Connection, Wellbeing, Leadership and Fulfilment. 

“Our current Net Promotor Score is nine which is exceptionally high and testament to how valued and engaged our people feel.  The feedback we get from our team gives us an opportunity to listen to ideas on how we can make B-Secur an even better place to work. 

“For me it is a privilege to be able to support people through highs and lows, in my job you can’t help but get close to people and it is so rewarding to see people enjoy what they do and thrive in their jobs.

“Now we have a great team in place, with more recruitment planned, a big focus will be on staff retention as attracting and recruiting the best talent is one thing, we now want to ensure that as B-Secur continues to grow, we have the right culture and environment in which our people will want to stay with us and build the careers they want to have.”