Meet & Greet: Emily Abbam, Diversity & Inclusion Business Partner at Rapport Guest Services

In this week’s Meet & Greet interview, myGwork member and Rapport Guest Services' Diversity & Inclusion Business Partner Emily Abbam talks about the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusion and education in the workplace. She also provides insights into her role and how she maintains a work-life balance.

myGwork: Can you tell us a bit about your career journey to date?  

Emily: After graduating from Bournemouth University with an BA Hons degree in Tourism Management, I was able to gain experience working in hospitality industry at a four diamond Inn within the United States and I instantly knew this industry was for me. When I returned from the US, I was accepted to be part of a Graduate Management Programme with PPHE Hotel Group, finishing early to become Guest Relations Manager at the Park Plaza County Hall Hotel. Fast forward... I  worked at Firmdale Hotel, five-star luxury properties in front of house management roles making my way up to Head office and the L&D Team. I am now proud to say I work within the Head Office Team at Rapport Guest Services in my new role as Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner, where I have found a true passion in supporting the business, but more importantly our people to ensure our workplace is inclusive. 

myGwork: What's the most challenging aspect of managing people right now?  

Emily: In my opinion, a challenging part of managing people in the current climate is ensuring we are all providing enough time and space to listen and acknowledge the individual needs our teams will have. I am a firm believer that the best leaders make sure they think not only about the team as a whole, but also about the individual. This of course can be a tricky balance with the day-to-day operations, but goes such a long way in making sure our teams feel they belong and are truly included. None of us are exactly the same and therefore we may need to tweak our leadership style to get the best from our people. 

myGwork: What attributes do you look for in new recruits and why?  

Emily: I do not have my own team, but when supporting our hiring managers, I always encourage the hiring process to be fair and consistent and for our teams to look for attitude sometimes over aptitude. Someone who comes and seems very connected with our company and our values, or someone who asks a lot of powerful questions, but doesn’t necessarily have all of the experience or skills, doesn’t mean we should instantly exclude them. We need to think differently about hiring and provide people with different backgrounds a chance to shine and be supported. We love working with our current partner organisations and charities to attract people with different needs into our workplace to support them with their careers. 

myGwork: How important is LGBTQ+  inclusion in the workplace for you personally?  

Emily: Creating an inclusive workplace takes work. We know that the diversity of our teams is one of our greatest strengths and therefore we continue to ensure LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace is prioritised. Our Pride Network is doing a lot of great work to provide safe spaces for our teams, as well as highlight important topics and celebrate this community. Our partnership with myGwork is also ensuring we have discussions and think about LGBTQ+ inclusion and how we provide the right level of education and awareness. 

myGwork: How do you encourage staff to have a work-life balance, especially with the increase in remote/hybrid working?  

Emily: Work-life balance is incredibly important and something that I continuously try to work on – you can’t pour from an empty cup! I would personally encourage people to take continuous breaks through the day, especially if you are working from home. It can be so easy to stay sat at your lap top the whole day. I have a smart watch which helps and remind me to do this. Try and set boundaries – some days will have to be longer than others, but can you take some time back or finish earlier on another day? I also try and make some nice plans during my time off and at weekends, to feel refreshed and ready for the week ahead.

myGwork: What's the biggest highlight of your career to date and why?  

Emily: One of my personal highlights is self-funding and completing my CIPD level 5 in Learning and Development. I was able to complete this along side working full time. It was such a great experience meeting and listening to other like-minded professionals and continue my professional development. Closely followed is becoming Diversity and Inclusion business Partner for Rapport in August 2021 and the work we have done thus far on our inclusion journey. 

myGwork: What podcast series are you listening to right now for your career development? Are there any DE&I-related podcast series you would recommend?  

Emily: I am dipping into and out of ‘The Element of Inclusion’ hosted by Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey. I would recommend this for anyone in a D&I or People role. 

I would also recommend ‘Blacklisted’ by the creative agency, Nuff Said. They have very interesting speakers and have uncomfortable conversations surrounding race, creativity and diversity – an interesting listen. 

myGwork: What was your last holiday destination and where do you plan to visit next? 

Emily: My last holiday destination was Krakow, Poland – we visited my partners family.  Krakow was beautiful and green and we were very active, doing hiking, cycling and kayaking. It was great!

No specific holiday plans booked in just yet – but Croatia is firmly on the list – my parents visited a while back and came back glowing!

myGwork: What do you do to relax at the end of a hard-working day?  

Emily: I typically try and motivate myself for a run (or at least a walk). Other than this, making some dinner and chilling with a movie or catching up with my partner or friends. 

 You can find more about Emily and connect with her here.

Check out some of myGwork's other recent Meet & Greet interviews, including:

• Booth-Laird Investment Partnership’s CEO Jonathan Booth shares why there are so few ‘out’ CEOs and leaders in the corporate world. 
• Business Disability Forum’s CEO Diane Lightfoot shares the importance of being able to work in an environment where everyone is able to bring their whole selves to work, without having to conceal any aspect of who they are. 
• Parexel's LGBTQ+ ally and Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Aida Sabo shares her career journey on how she made it to the top in engineering as a Latina woman.
• CTS Group CEO Tom Ray shares why the LGBTQ+ community is "very important" to his company, and how he is promoting inclusion to ensure that all staff are “welcome, feel safe and can be themselves” at work. 
• London-based DJ, radio host, filmmaker, social influencer and CBK CEO Krystal Lake explains why organizations need to take homophobic remarks and labels seriously, and do more to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. 
• Criteo's SVP of Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Rachel Scheel on how and why she supports diversity and LGBTQ+ inclusion as an ally, as well as workplace wellbeing.
• The Galaxy Trust’s CEO Garry Ratcliffe shares how being an 'out' leader with a collaborative and inclusive leadership style helps to promote equality, belonging and a blame-free culture. 
• RS Components’ Group Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement Jessica Chu highlights the 'huge' importance of LGBTQ+ inclusion at work and shares why being an LGBTQ+ ally is really important to her.
• Swapi CEO Pete Howroyd who talks about workplace equality and LGBTQ+ inclusion, and the importance of ensuring that every voice is heard. 
• Unilever’s HR Vice President Richard Sharp shares why leadership has a duty to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community feels supported and included in the workplace.
• Greenhouse Software CEO Daniel Chait shares why belonging is one of the company’s core values, as well as a powerful business strategy. 
• Burberry's Global Diversity & Inclusion Manager Safia Ann Kukaswadia highlights how she is addressing key challenges facing minority communities to gain fair representation within fashion and why the industry needs more LGBTQ+ role model leaders. 
• Dish Dash Deets’ Founder Sunni Patel shares why he founded his holistic wellbeing business, specialising in gut health and eating addictions, which he started after coming out.
• Protiviti’s Director Belton Flournoy talks about the importance of Pride Month, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and the power of being 'out' at work. 
• CEO of Vexed Gaming Sonny Waheed shares how his empowering and inclusive leadership style helps him to run a successful company.
• CEO of Wonder Industries Vlady Vyshnevetskiy shares how he is helping to make the fashion world more sustainable and inclusive. 
• Oracle's Sara Morley talks about her roles as Account Director and UK Lead for the company’s LGBTQ+ OPEN ERG network.
• Hearst UK’s Chief Commercial Operations Director Gianluca Ena shares the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace, and maintaining a work-life balance.
• HSBC’s Senior Group Inclusion Advisor Jack Guest shares some of the challenges of being an openly gay professional in Asia.