About me

Lorraine Petken, Founder & Coach

I founded The HR Coach to help support HR professional in a way that I would have welcomed during my years in HR.  HR are very good at look after everyone else in their organisation but often forget to look after themselves.  Coaching is a great way to ensure that you are supported professionally and emotionally and challenged to be able to meet the demands of your role but also thrive in it. 

My Background

Like you, I come from an HR background operating at Head of HR level, with a career spanning over 12 years (plus a 14 year career break to raise 3 children and a dog). I worked in standalone roles as well as teams, in a large corporate and SMEs, across several sectors and industries including financial PR, financial services, property management, and HR consultancy. 

During my HR career, I set up and managed several HR functions acting autonomously as a key decision-maker.  My experience working closely with the C-suite offered valuable insight into top-level business operations. I also coached managers and leaders, guiding them to maximise their team’s potential as well as helping them to develop their own management skills. 

My Credentials & CPD

I am certified by the Association for Coaching,  I have a Master's degree in Human Resource Management and was an Associate member of the CIPD. I am also a certified user of the behaviour profile Everything DiSC®.  I keep up to date with my CPD having recently received an accredited certificate in group coaching and completing a Beliefs and Limiting Beliefs NLP Masterclass.  I also undertake coaching supervision.

Where you can find me

I'm an active member of the HR community and keen contributor on Linkedin. I have a regular feature called Pain in the HRS,  an honest take on the some of the 'pains' I experienced during my HR career.