Accelerating careers

Meet the people at RELX who have taken their personal development by the scruff of the neck

For many, having the opportunity to grow and develop at work matters more than other aspects of working life. Here we talk to people across RELX who have taken their personal development by the scruff of the neck and are reaping the benefits as a result.

“No one thinks that since they now have a job, that’s the end of their learning journey,” said Gunjan Aggarwal, RELX’s Chief Human Resources Officer. “We believe there’s always more to learn. But a big part of how our people develop their careers with us is up to them - in whatever way best suits their career goals and the needs of the businesses, both now and in the long term. After all, no one should care about it more than they do.”

"At RELX, we see our job as providing our people with the resources, tools and experiences necessary for them to perform and grow. Last year we invested over $14m and 347,000 hours in training. We take it seriously."

How structured programmes can give people the edge

Sometimes there’s no substitute for structured programmes designed to help people grow their careers. For Sumita Singh, managing director in STM, this has certainly been true. “I am proud to have been part of an Elsevier training programme which has accelerated my development. The business has also provided learning and development possibilities for me by creating opportunities to lead exciting transformation initiatives,” said Sumita.

It’s the same story for Taharka Beamon, security analyst in Exhibitions who works in the US. “Never was the feeling of collaboration, innovation and community more obvious than when I took part in our International Talent Exchange Program in 2016, when I visited the IT department in London. Although my team works very closely with our counterparts in the UK, getting to meet them face to face and have more in-depth, individual conversations allowed me to learn more about each person’s expertise. The Talent Exchange Program has already proven to have strengthened my relationships with my global team members and has made working together since my visit that much easier and more enjoyable,” said Taharka.

Ben Gilbert, security engineer in Legal, has had multiple training opportunities to advance his skills as a developer: “Most notably when I was given the ability to travel to attend a cyber-security training conference in Florida. This experience, along with RELX-provided training in advanced programming topics, has given me a significant head start in many projects I’ve been brought into,” said Ben.

Retraining can take our people to new places

Increasingly we are seeing our people retrain - building new skills in new areas.

Stephanie Kirby, senior analyst at Risk & Business Analytics said: “I thought I would find my job difficult given my background in journalism rather than science, but our business supports learning and growth and has encouraged me to be confident in a very niche industry. There is definitely an ‘aha’ moment, when you feel that light bulb switch on. It's a bit like ‘ah it all makes sense now’. It's a good feeling.”

anywhere, ANYTIME learning with digital tools...

Juan Angel Gonzalez Diaz

Juan Angel Gonzalez Diaz

For Juan Angel Gonzalez Diaz, systems engineer in STM, using digital tools has made a real difference. “Our digital learning platforms have allowed me to learn different and new technologies to support the changing needs of the business. Since I joined RELX, these tools have enabled me to increase my skill level, help other teams and become more successful in my work,” said Juan.

Graduate schemes offer that all-important launchpad

Each of RELX’s businesses tailors their graduate schemes to their unique needs and Lidija Janmeijs, graduate software developer at Risk & Business Analytics, has benefitted from that, saying: “There’s a lot of opportunity to learn and grow for someone starting out in their career. The graduate scheme has allowed me to take part in all kinds of development opportunities, from technical education to communication skills and relationship building workshops, often with external speakers. All of this, along with knowledge sharing within my team, is really helping me to develop my skills as a programmer and pursue the career path that I aspire to take.”

Continuous learning from colleagues

Often it seems the best way to learn is to ask your colleagues as Chante King, software engineer in Legal has discovered: “I plan to continue gaining the necessary skills from knowledgeable individuals and peers to carve a career path that will allow me to put these skills to the test. Working at LexisNexis has made me a confident employee with boundless ambition, that I am sure will steer me in the right direction within the company for many years to come."

Gaby Appleton, managing director in STM agrees: “I have learned even more from colleagues I have worked with who have deep expertise in all kinds of topics in science and health, and also in functional areas like technology, marketing and pricing. They have shared their expertise to help me solve problems and taught me along the way.”

And having a line manager who supports you in your development is worth their weight in gold. Elaine Luk, global product owner in Exhibitions said: “My line manager encourages both career and personal growth. Richmond is a beautiful location with many parks and a sense of tranquillity. Our office is Agile set up while the product development teams follow Scrum Agile disciplines to allow continuous development and learning. Hence, I am still learning and enjoying it.”

The power of promoting from within

Greg Leech, sales director at Risk & Business Analytics said: “There are great opportunities at RELX and it is definitely true that what you put in, you get out. What we do helps reduce risk in the world, so people genuinely care about their jobs and that makes a real difference. There is real transparency of aspirations and sometimes these don’t fall within your particular role, department or even company. Rather than forcing a square peg in a round hole, development plans are agreed which creates a real trust in the team. Promoting from within is also a real motivator and we have some great success stories of this happening.”

Secondments can offer new horizons

Anita Chandraprakash

Anita Chandraprakash

Anita Chandraprakash, EVP of global operations in STM shares her thoughts: “Prior to my role in Chennai, I was on a secondment in Amsterdam for about a year and a half where I headed teams in both Amsterdam and St. Louis. I enjoyed working with our colleagues in different geographies as I learnt and benefitted from capitalising on their skills, styles, perspectives, opinions, ideas and experiences. The secondment not only helped me mature as a manager with a global outlook, but also made me more independent and self-reliant.”

And Zach Bassett, development lead in Risk & Business Analytics has also benefitted from a secondment: “I was fortunate enough to travel to China several times to work in collaboration with one of our out-sourcing development partners. This later led to me being given the opportunity to embark on a three-year secondment in one of our Shanghai offices. This was a truly enriching experience both in and out of work. I am now working with a new team in Alpharetta in the US, which I think really highlights that RELX is a truly global company with lots of opportunities."