Rachel K. - HR Business Partner

Title: HR Business Partner
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Joined: 2017
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Resilience, pragmatism, resolve and an ability to work well with cats. Rachel talks about some of the surprising secrets to success at Groupon.

Tell us about your Groupon story so far.

I have been in Groupon 10 months now and work as HR Business Partner in the Dublin office primarily supporting the Tech, Marketing and Coupons teams in EMEA. Most of my teams are located in Dublin however I am also responsible for some of our teams in Poland, Netherlands, Berlin, Italy, France, and London.

What’s the secret to succeeding at Groupon?

In my opinion the key to success in Groupon is resilience, pragmatism and resolve. Groupon moves fast so it is important that you can keep up with the pace while driving your agenda. On the flip side you need to have a focus on making things fun. We believe in making our lives less boring which means we all have a responsibility to build a great place to work. You need to have a sense of humor, and a commitment to excitement.

What is Groupon like for women? Does it feel like a diverse, inclusive space to work?

I truly feel that Groupon is a great place to work for women. Achieving a high number of women in leadership positions is a challenge that many firms face. However within the Groupon office in Dublin, and indeed the wider business, we are very fortunate to have a strong female leadership team. These inspirational leaders not only pave the way for our female employees but also instil a culture of inclusion within the entire office. We celebrate difference and know that having a diverse workforce changes the way we work and leads to greater success. As an employer Groupon has a lot to offer women.

“We celebrate difference and know that having a diverse workforce changes the way we work and leads to greater success.”

How significant is it that we are launching Women@Groupon?

This group will not only offer a fantastic resource to empower our staff but also provide an avenue to encourage more women to consider a career in Tech, specifically at Groupon. By making employee stories and profiles such as mine available to external audiences, people can get an authentic sense of what Groupon has to offer as an employer. We have also committed to making connections with local schools and show kids what a future in Tech has to offer.

These initiatives are owned by our employees and we all see the significance and are energised to make a difference. We want to add value not only to the Groupon community but the community as a whole.

What excites you about your work? What’s on the horizon that keeps you engaged and interested?

I am excited to learn more about the business, ensure that our people strategy supports our success and ultimately continue to make Groupon a great and fun place to work.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in the office?

This one is more unique than strange … Within my first week of Groupon it was discovered that a cat had given birth in one of our meeting rooms. Our lovely office Manager Kathleen stepped up and hand-reared the cats for several weeks. When they were ready to be adopted they were given a loving home with one of our Managers, Seamus!

What does your mother think you do?

My mother thinks I interview people all day even though I haven’t worked in recruitment for at 5 years.