‘Don’t fear the unknown’… In conversation with Victoria Sprott

When Victoria Sprott left school at the age of sixteen, with “one or two exam results” to her name, she didn’t realise severe dyslexia had negatively influenced her experience; her enjoyment of education was marred by a learning difficulty that wasn’t recognised by teachers and went undetected as a young teenager.

Her working life started with personal assistant roles, but she continued to struggle, unaware of the spelling errors she was making and confused about where she fitted in. Unhappy with life in the U.K. at that time, she decided to go travelling, getting on a plane for Australia to spend some time thinking about the future. An important door was about to open.

“In Australia, I got a job selling encyclopedias door to door and quickly discovered I could do it,” she says. “It didn’t require any academic qualifications; it was about influencing people to spend money on the education of their children. It was that job where I found my calling.”

After working in various sales roles back in the U.K., Victoria joined Robert Half in 1996. Initially, she thought it would be a good place to work for a couple of years, but in the first few months she remembers being able to see a future, surrounded by like-minded, driven people, in an industry always changing and evolving. The boredom she’d experienced in other roles quickly dissipated.

The early part of her career with the business was spent at the front end of recruitment, working with clients and leading teams in the South West region of the U.K. But in 2010, she became the head of talent acquisition helping Robert Half to recruit people across the country; in 2019, her role has expanded to become talent director of the international business, working with seventeen countries to proactively recruit for the business.

Rhianne Williams: Thanks for sharing your story. It must have been tough to face that kind of adversity as a teenager, but positive to discover those sales and influencing skills when you went travelling. What sort of adversity have you faced in your career since?

Victoria Sprott: Over 26 years, there has been plenty of adversity, but two moments stand out: The transition from a senior sales position into corporate services was tough, partly because I had to accept that my previous role wasn’t right for me anymore; the transition from making money for the firm, to providing services, sounds easy; but it was reidentifying what success looked like.

Expanding my role internationally was also challenging, learning the cultural nuances of different countries: there have been many times when I misjudged a room when presenting, for example. At the time, all these things felt scary and uncomfortable; but, when I reflect, they always resulted in career progression or personal growth.

Williams: You mentioned the cultural nuances of international teams. It got me thinking about working with people remotely, and the additional elements of body language that we see in person. Has that been a challenging element of your role?

Sprott: During the pandemic, I took on a couple of teams that I hadn’t managed before, and we hired lots of people who I never met. Over the past year, I have started to meet those people, and what has surprised me is how much I know about them. I understand it can be challenging to create a culture virtually – and people say you can’t – but I disagree.

Rhianne Williams: Now you have an international team, how do you manage work-life balance?

Victoria Sprott: Travel is coming back, definitely; and working across time zones does require calls outside of traditional hours. But I try and balance work and personal priorities, whether that’s family and parental commitments, or exercise and wellbeing. I am more productive and successful if I strike that balance.

I focus on what needs to be done, by when, but not when I do it. I might start my day at 6am with calls to Asia, and then go for a run, or ride my horse, working later into the evening, for example. Nowadays, it’s called ‘window working’, a working pattern that keeps me motivated and energised. It’s important to be open and transparent about this with colleagues, and to not feel embarrassed or guilty.

Williams: What is the best work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Sprott: Fear of the unknown can inhibit you from doing the right thing, or completely stop you doing anything. I try and embrace that fear, and deal with the consequences, while standing by my values. Sometimes I end up in some really great places; sometimes it can be uncomfortable, but nevertheless, I’ve done the right thing in the process.

Williams: I think that will really resonate, especially with our younger readership. People in their first job often want to impress others and fear making mistakes. But what’s the worst that can happen if they put themselves out there? Just give it a go… What advice do you have for the next generation of women?

Sprott: Some people say you can’t have your cake and eat it, but I think you can have both: a healthy family life and a progressive career. When you have a happy mother, you have a happy family; so, don’t let society, stigma, or history dictate what you should and shouldn’t do. Do what you want to do.

iGROWW is Protiviti’s internal women’s network group and stands for ‘Initiative for Growth and Retention of Women at Work’. It has a strong voluntary membership that tackles women’s professional issues through forums, and facilitates networking events and community service activities. For more information, please contact Rhianne Williams [email protected].