Part of his plan for improving the function
involves strengthening HR from the bottom up.
During the interview with HR magazine a third
person, Emily Gupwell, has been quietly listening to
her boss. Gupwell is one of three HR degree
apprentices BP has hired in the past year, and
hearing Schuster proselytising is today’s lesson.
“I realised I wanted university-level education
but without the debt this leaves you in,” explains
Gupwell. “I also wanted to experience business but
not just in a silo, and I believe HR gives me this
broader remit.”
The scheme is run by WhiteHat – a 2016-launched
apprenticeship provider, which this Summer made
headlines for securing £13 million in investment
and which counts Google among its clients. While
the company might be unfamiliar to some, most
will have heard of its co-founder Euan Blair, son of
former prime minister Tony Blair.
“Euan is a great person, a real tech visionary, an
example of just the sort of young talent this country
is producing,” says Schuster. “Emily will be rubbing
shoulders with people that might have joined us
from Cambridge or Oxford on our typical graduate
schemes, proving that real social mobility and
learning in HR can both happen if you trust in it.”
Surrounding himself with and supporting young
talent is an obvious pleasure for the 58-year-old
HRD. Refreshingly he also takes the view that the
relationship he has with his younger team members
shouldn’t be one way.
Levi Lundgreen (in his twenties) is Schuster’s
executive assistant, and also sits in on our interview.
Picked very deliberately – “because he’s a
Millennial” – Lundgreen has quickly become a
colleague Schuster holds in very high regard.
He often acts as a second pair of eyes, giving
Schuster advice on decisions. “He takes my notes
then improves on them. We’re brutally honest
with each other,” he says. “The only rule we have
about working on documents is that after every
exchange what we produce has to be better than it
was before.”
Lundgreen has also ‘Appleised’ Schuster. “I’ve
finally been brought up to technological speed,” he
says. “All my files are now in the Cloud; in shared
folders that anyone on my HR team can access. Any
data, any request for insight, any facts and figures
that people want can be accessed by me on my
phone there and then. I no longer have to say ‘I’ll get
back to you’. It’s part of my own journey to
becoming more digitally native.”
As an organisation BP has run reverse-mentoring
schemes for the past five years. According to
Schuster the benefits of this are really coming
through now, with young employees educating the
older generation about what needs to change.
“We must all accept that we can learn much more
from each other,” he says. “Two brains are always
better than one. You have to connect people from
different generations now. It’s just the way it is. I’ve
partnered up our global services head with a new
hire from Brazil – just to talk about ‘stuff ’. It’s as
valuable as any formal L&D.”
So it’s with verve and very evident energy and
passion that Schuster approaches creating a new BP
ecosystem (and the type of business he wants BP to
morph into). And there’s no doubt he’s equipping
his HR team to make sure this happens.
As our interview draws to a close Schuster has one
last thought to impart: “Don’t whatever you do talk
about ‘people strategies’. I hate this phrase as much
as I hate the word ‘HR’.”
He adds: “What you need to have is a corporate
strategy. The people part of it is simply the people
agenda. Now get on with it.” HR
Swimming and
hot yoga
These two practices are
essential to my physical
and mental wellbeing.
Some of my best ideas
come while doing both
Five thingsI can’t live without
Good books
I’m a bookworm. I’m
always reading a
handful of books – on
business, biography,
fi ction, philosophy
and beyond
Contemporary artwork
Learning about the story of
humanity through the
imaginative lens of artwork
fuels my creativity
Profile Strategic HR
Dark
chocolate
When a bowl of
dark chocolates
is within reach a
good meeting
becomes great
Inspiring
conversations
with inspiring
people
Enjoying a lovely
meal with interesting
people (including
my 92-year-old
mother) is one of
my biggest sources
of inspiration
hrmagazine.co.uk October 2019 HR 27
/hrmagazine.co.uk