Who am I? 

Great to meet you! My name is Katie Cartner, I work at the Workington Mill and live nearby, on the coastline of the Solway Firth.  I am a mother to two boys, and most of my free time is dedicated to them.  When I do have some free “me” time I like to go walking in the beautiful Lake District fells with my husband, paddleboard or swim in the Lakes (my favourite Lake is Buttermere or Crummock), or catch up with friends.  I have also recently been involved in a community project to build a Skatepark in the local town, a project that has been around 5 years in the making and started with a social media post which gained traction.   

At Holmen I work as part of the HR team in the role of Head of HR.  I am also part of the Workington mill management team.   

My Workplace   

In the HR team there are 10 of us covering HR, Payroll, Occupational Health and Close Farm, which is our local guest house for visiting customers.  Two members of our team are celebrating an impressive 40 years of service, a remarkable milestone that speaks volumes about the kind of workplace we have. 

Taking HR in particular, our mission is to support organisational goals through our people.  We  aim to be a sustainable and attractive employer, first and foremost for the dedicated people we employ.  We want to ensure that our employees reach their potential and have the best possible experience at work.  Then it is about attracting and retaining the right talent to ensure the future goals of the mill are realised.   

A typical day at work  

Working in HR means that you we have involvement in all areas of the Mill.  This gives the role variety and depth.  We are a support function which means a large proportion of our role is about supporting managers.  A function I am particularly passionate about as our managers influence everyone in our mill.  A typical day could involve working with employee relations, recruitment and onboarding, performance management, training and development, health and wellbeing, policy and compliance work, payroll and benefits, communication, reporting, or all of the above!  The role involves networking with our partners in the Mill therefore meetings can form a large proportion of the day.  However, I feel it is really important to get out in the Mill and talk to people and I do this as often as possible.  

Why Holmen?   

I recently had a new team member join the team and they provided me with some feedback on their experience only weeks into joining the Company.  They said that people go out of their way to help you, to greet you, to let you know they are there to be of assistance should you need it.  The fact that we support and help one another is one of our greatest strengths at the Workington Mill.  The people are good people and this is what matters.   

This ethos extends to our colleagues in Sweden too, I can arrange a call with a contact in Sweden I have never met or spoken with and be greeted like an old friend with openness and willingness to cooperate.   

Three inspiring quotes I live by  

“all we have is now”  Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now  

“Change is about noticing what’s no longer working and stepping out of the familiar, imprisoning patterns.”  Edith Eger, The Choice   

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”.  Oscar Wilde 

Hobbies: 

swimming, reading, watching movies, improving my community, visiting new places.    

Something not everyone knows about me:  Aged 23 I travelled solo to New Zealand and backpacked around the country with friends I found along the way!    

Closing  

Thank you for reading and I hope my words have given you insight into the life at Holmen and inspired you to join our friendly and supportive team.