{"id":108166,"date":"2026-03-02T08:11:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T11:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/896826277"},"modified":"2026-03-02T08:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T11:11:42","slug":"how-i-got-here-a-career-in-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/how-i-got-here-a-career-in-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"How I got here: A career in technology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stephanie Kelly, chief people officer for IRIS Software Group, shares her career journey in tech, and her top leadership tips. <\/p>\n

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My first job in HR happened entirely by accident. I\u2019d just returned from travelling across south-east Asia and Australia with no money. After landing at Heathrow I walked into a recruitment agency<\/a> and said: \u201cI\u2019ll do any job but I need to start tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

They placed me in the payroll department at St Peter\u2019s NHS Trust. Within a few months that temporary role<\/a> turned into a permanent one in the hospital\u2019s HR team.<\/p>\n

After a few months, I moved on to a graduate scheme with the Burton Group, which I had arranged before my HR role because I originally thought I wanted to be a retail manager. I realised on my first day that it was not the right path for me.<\/p>\n

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Read more: <\/em>How I got here: A career in sport<\/a><\/p>\n

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After two years I made the switch, joining a tech company in an HR role<\/a>. I then moved to a large international organisation where I worked my way up to global CHRO and relocated to the US.<\/p>\n

When I arrived in the US, I went from being a European HR manager to sitting in a corner office in the C\u2011suite of Chicago\u2019s financial district. This wasn\u2019t the only difference I noticed. The employment relationship felt different in the US. Everything moved faster and expectations were higher on both sides. People would do what you asked with far fewer questions, but if you were not giving them what they needed, they could just as easily walk out and find another job. It created a very different dynamic from the UK, where there is generally more give and take.<\/p>\n

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Read more:<\/em> How I got here: Helen Beurier, Zopa<\/a>
<\/span><\/p>\n

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I found the culture to be very egalitarian at that time: your demographic didn\u2019t matter. I felt my voice carried more weight there than it had in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

After having three children, I decided to return to the UK and look for a role in a smaller company so I could balance work and family life<\/a> while staying in the tech sector. I joined a company called Torex. When the CEO retired, the COO moved to another organisation and invited me to join him there at Symphony RetailAI. I stayed until my children were a little older, and then moved to IRIS.<\/p>\n

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Read more: <\/em>How I got here: Patrick Caldwell, Send<\/a><\/p>\n

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HR leaders in tech need to elevate certain skills while embracing the freedom to be truly innovative. You have the space to try new ideas, fail, examine what you did, and then try again until you create something amazing. It is an environment that rewards creativity and innovation. You also feel as though you are constantly at the cutting edge, surrounded by motivated, intelligent and switched-on people who bring out your best because they are operating at the top of their game.<\/p>\n

Working in HR in a tech company is a deeply data-driven environment<\/a> where technology underpins everything. You are encouraged to use tools and systems to your advantage, and to continually look for ways to work smarter. We take a tech-first approach to every project, whether it\u2019s an HR chatbot, a career framework or core HR processes. We ask ourselves: how can we enable this through technology?  Increasingly the answer involves using artificial intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\n

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HR in tech: How to succeed<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Make peace with the pace<\/strong><\/p>\n

Choose tech only if rapid change energises you. The industry demands constant pivots, fast learning and adaptability. Make sure this is an environment for you.<\/p>\n

2. Understand the business<\/strong><\/p>\n

Really understand and know the business: where the organisation is now, where it aims to go, and how to help move it from
A to Z.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Refine your craft<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay reflective about what works and what doesn\u2019t. Continually adapt. Pivot when needed, and keep your skills sharp so your craft evolves with the demands of the role.<\/p>\n

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This article was published in the January\/February 2026 edition<\/a> of HR magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Subscribe today <\/a>to have our latest articles delivered to your desk.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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… her career journey in tech<\/span>, and her top leadership … Send HR leaders in tech<\/span> need to elevate certain … tech<\/span> company is a deeply data-driven environment where technology<\/span> … technology<\/span>?\u00c2\u00a0 Increasingly the answer involves using artificial intelligence. HR in tech<\/span> …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}