Caroline Fanning

Caroline Fanning has been with Avanade for four years as a senior HR leader – first in Europe and then globally – and recently stepped into her new role as Chief Human Resources Officer.

As CHRO, Caroline through her thought leadership and sponsorship has driven the development of a number of key initiatives that have helped establish the company culture of inclusion. Her commitment to well-being and ensuring we have work life integration and our people have the ability to adapt their work around life changing events will ensure we can attract and support people from all backgrounds, and that Avanade is a place where everyone can thrive. Her investment in continued growth and training of the HR Team has led to improved understanding of the business so that all people leaders can support our people better, which in turn powers our sense of inclusion and belonging.

Caroline’s focus on true transformation of our business, while fostering a work environment of diversity, inclusions and belonging is evidenced in many of the initiatives she has been a driving force in creating:

• Flexibility: We want to be intentional about making flexible working part of how we work at Avanade. Flexible Working is an approach that enables real choice about when, where and how work is done to enable ongoing high performance and positive work-life integration.

• Redesigning the workforce of the future: We’re piloting an Alternative Work Week with a small number of teams across Avanade. The ambition is to work smarter, not harder or longer hours. It’s about taking back control of our time and being more intentional about how and where we spend it.

• Remote Working: Health and safety is our no 1 priority. And as we continue to navigate this global pandemic, we want to provide choice in where and how our people work. For those who wish to stay working remotely from home during FY21, we will support it. For those who are keen to get back into an office environment, as and when offices start to re-open, they will have that option available. Simply, Avanade will support the choices our people need to make for them to feel safe and secure whilst meeting client commitments.

• Well-being: Balancing work and home life became and remains a real challenge for many of us and can impact our well-being. To address this, we’re introducing the concept of Global well-being weeks. We’ll dedicate one week to a well-being theme each month. During that week, everyone will have the choice to spend quality time focusing on their personal well-being, whether attending a micro-learning session, signing up for a new sports membership, or creating space for some personal reflection.

• HR Advance Training Program: The HR Advance program has been developed to ensure that Avanade continues to invest in its HR functions, developing new skills and fostering growth. Operating in an ever changing business environment, and recognizing the important role HR plays in times of disruption, Avanade is positioning it’s HR team to capitalize on the opportunities these changes bring, while ensuring a people first focus.

• Stay Orange: Avanade’s Retention program. We’re starting to explore more detailed data to help us understand specific reasons employees stay and leave Avanade and put in place strategies to enhance our employee experience.

• Go Orange: Avanade’s Onboarding Program. Focused on integrating new joiners into our Avanade community be developing a sense of engagement and connection. We actively work to develop not just our new joiners skills, but their network of support to promote inclusion and belonging.

Creating a diverse, inclusive Future Ready Workforce is one of Caroline’s key ambitions and elevating our employee experiences is clearly priority one for her in FY21. These new ways of working, continued focus on developing a top of class HR function, and dedication to the moments that matter for all of our people, regardless of career stage, make her an ideal candidate for the Remote Transformation Leader of the Year.