We had an amazing talk with Sian Keane, Chief People Officer at Farfetch and the FMA Education/Community team!
Let’s talk about the beginning of your career. How did you get started in fashion and what first ignited your passion?
I spent 15 years in a career that wasn’t really my passion in terms of the industry it was in. I decided I need to change to something that I was really excited about, so I found an amazing career coach who focuses on trusting your intuition and that confirmed my love for fashion and people. Through this coaching, I realised it’s never too late to change. So I took a leap of faith, and started my own consultancy in Human Resources for start-ups and I pursued building a network in the fashion/tech industry – which in itself was a really interesting experience and new for me.
Why is the People Officer role one of the most important in the fashion industry and what inspired you to become one? How did you open the door to get in?
The role of the People Officer has the responsibility and influence to set not just the people strategy, but also to work with the rest of the executive team in championing the culture and values of the company. When we think about influencing change within the fashion industry, this role is pivotal to bringing to life what companies really stand for, and ultimately for the experience people have during their tenure with the company. My goal when starting my career in Human Resources – I prefer the terminology People function – was not to become a ‘People Officer’ but to do work that was purposeful to me, and meaningful for the people I work with. Although my role has evolved significantly over time, that’s still the case today. I opened the door by networking. I had friends of friends who worked in fashion start-ups and I took a big step back in career level to get a foot in the door. I cared less about how senior I was or wasn’t; just because I was getting such a buzz out of the work I was doing, the industry and the people I worked with. I also studied my CIPD at night when my children were very young as I knew it was important to ensure I had the right professional qualifications.
What has been your best learning experience to date working within the industry?
I think this whole year has been quite an incredible learning experience and something I will take with me no matter what I do next. We have always had a very open and transparent culture at Farfetch, but when the pandemic started, we realised we needed to be more accessible as an executive team to all of our Farfetchers, be communicating more regularly than usual and we needed to learn even more on one of our existing company values – which is ‘Be Human’. We took a more ‘lo-fi’ approach than we had used in the past because we needed to – we couldn’t gather people together in a room anymore, so we switched to more frequent, but less formal catch-ups with the whole company. Rather than formal communication, we instead encouraged everyone to ask any questions they had on regular video calls with the whole company and we answered all of them live. And we listened. Then, in May as the Black Lives Matter movement became ever more important, we also realised we needed time to listen to our Black employees, and hear more about their experience both in the world, but also at Farfetch. I learnt that I don’t always have – or have to have – the answers straight away. By being heartfelt in your intentions, connecting with people and REALLY listening to what’s important, especially the uncomfortable things – can help you then put in place plans that will actually make a difference and improve everyone’s experience.
If you could go back in time, and give some advice to your younger professional self, what would it be?
I believe that everyone brings perspectives to the table that are a combination of life, personal and professional experiences. That results in everyone assessing situations in their own unique way and means we all have valuable insights to share. My advice to my younger professional self would be to speak up and be heard – don’t be afraid to share your perspective, even if it feels obvious because it is very likely the people sitting around you are not seeing the situation with the same lens as you.
Do you have any funny anecdotes you would like to share with us?
When I started at Farfetch it really was the very beginning of our people function. Our office looked like a converted apartment in East London – with about 20 people in total in the UK. One of the first things I did was to make sure everyone had valid employment contracts. However, we didn’t have a printer that worked so I had to take them on a USB stick over the road and have them printed out at the off licence! We have come a long way since those very early days…
What would you say were your “milestone moments” so far?
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few great milestones in my career at Farfetch. The first was the project to develop our company values. It was the first thing I actually worked on when I joined, and it was a really powerful process. Those values are still in place today, and very much a part of our global DNA. The second one was our 10-year anniversary. For our first ten years, we held a ‘Gathering’ where we would get all our people together for a one-day event of celebrations, recognition and learning experiences. Our 10-year Gathering felt like a major moment for Farfetchers from around the globe and we all still talk about how incredible the experience was a couple of years on – and likely for many years to come. Finally, I loved working with my team to put in place our employer brand promise which is around the theme of ‘Do What’s Never Been Done’. Crystallising this means we step into our second chapter, now as a public company, but still with our values at the core. It speaks clearly to the part our brilliant Farfetchers – current and future – play in changing the fashion industry.
What has driven your success?
To start with, it’s been my family. My parents are Sri-Lankan and they worked unbelievably hard to give me as many opportunities as possible. As a result, I am very driven because of them, and now I also have my own children. I want to be a positive role model for them, and pass on the incredible foundation that I learnt from, and that is part of our heritage. I also thrive when I’m able to build great teams and watch others succeed. I invest time in trying to understand what drives people in my team, and how we can pave the way for them to succeed. Seeing people grow is without a doubt one of the biggest perks of my job! It’s incredibly rewarding.
Why is intersectionality important for the future of the industry e.g. ethics, sustainability, intersectional feminism?
I think it’s crucial. The world is increasingly global. People care that the companies they buy from or work for have similar values to them and care about social issues beyond their immediate scope of business and also beyond their own geography. Something I see more and more and which I admire greatly is that different generations are entering into work and they are able to blend both the corporate world and the social world in terms of values. People don’t want to just want to earn a salary somewhere where they can’t align to the ethics of the company and people want to (and should) bring their whole selves to work. We should all feel like we are recognised first for who we are as individuals and secondly for the jobs we do.
Speaking of challenges and change, what would you say were the main hurdles that you had to overcome working within an industry which is predominantly homogenous and how would you like to see the industry evolve?
I still find it difficult to separate feelings of being marginalised because of my gender or colour. Either way, the main hurdle I have had to overcome is finding a voice in a room of white men more senior than me. Fortunately, our Executive team is more balanced, which creates a safe space to be heard, but it has still taken time, effort and a lot of support and encouragement from people around me to feel comfortable as a leader. I would now like to see a greater representation of minority groups – still including, but not limited to gender, have a seat at the table. All part of my main reason for joining the FMA. So I can contribute positively to making a difference but helping to pave the way and identify opportunities for much broader representation in the fashion industry.
Do you have any hints or tips you can share for young people within the Black and minority community wishing to become a people officer?
My advice would be to tap into your own experiences, good and bad, and try to apply them to every new situation with empathy. In a previous role, I had a very challenging experience of being isolated out of opportunities, largely because I was a new mother returning to work and during my second pregnancy. I found that experience to be incredibly upsetting, and I will never forget how I felt during that time, and the impact it had on me personally. However, I now use that experience in an empathetic way in my own role. I do not want to stand for anyone feeling the same at work, evolving our policies, processes and decision-making to ensure we treat everyone in line with our values.
You are a founding member of the Fashion Minority Alliance. What are you hoping it will achieve?
There is an African proverb that says ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ By working together as a united force to increase minority representation – and to ensure fair and equal treatment of people in the fashion and beauty industry, I believe we will have much greater impact and more meaningful progress if we all work together. I want to do everything I can to play a role in that change.
We had an amazing talk with Sian Keane, Chief People Officer at Farfetch and the FMA Education/Community team!
Let’s talk about the beginning of your career. How did you get started in fashion and what first ignited your passion?
I spent 15 years in a career that wasn’t really my passion in terms of the industry it was in. I decided I need to change to something that I was really excited about, so I found an amazing career coach who focuses on trusting your intuition and that confirmed my love for fashion and people. Through this coaching, I realised it’s never too late to change. So I took a leap of faith, and started my own consultancy in Human Resources for start-ups and I pursued building a network in the fashion/tech industry – which in itself was a really interesting experience and new for me.
Why is the People Officer role one of the most important in the fashion industry and what inspired you to become one? How did you open the door to get in?
The role of the People Officer has the responsibility and influence to set not just the people strategy, but also to work with the rest of the executive team in championing the culture and values of the company. When we think about influencing change within the fashion industry, this role is pivotal to bringing to life what companies really stand for, and ultimately for the experience people have during their tenure with the company. My goal when starting my career in Human Resources – I prefer the terminology People function – was not to become a ‘People Officer’ but to do work that was purposeful to me, and meaningful for the people I work with. Although my role has evolved significantly over time, that’s still the case today. I opened the door by networking. I had friends of friends who worked in fashion start-ups and I took a big step back in career level to get a foot in the door. I cared less about how senior I was or wasn’t; just because I was getting such a buzz out of the work I was doing, the industry and the people I worked with. I also studied my CIPD at night when my children were very young as I knew it was important to ensure I had the right professional qualifications.
What has been your best learning experience to date working within the industry?
I think this whole year has been quite an incredible learning experience and something I will take with me no matter what I do next. We have always had a very open and transparent culture at Farfetch, but when the pandemic started, we realised we needed to be more accessible as an executive team to all of our Farfetchers, be communicating more regularly than usual and we needed to learn even more on one of our existing company values – which is ‘Be Human’. We took a more ‘lo-fi’ approach than we had used in the past because we needed to – we couldn’t gather people together in a room anymore, so we switched to more frequent, but less formal catch-ups with the whole company. Rather than formal communication, we instead encouraged everyone to ask any questions they had on regular video calls with the whole company and we answered all of them live. And we listened. Then, in May as the Black Lives Matter movement became ever more important, we also realised we needed time to listen to our Black employees, and hear more about their experience both in the world, but also at Farfetch. I learnt that I don’t always have – or have to have – the answers straight away. By being heartfelt in your intentions, connecting with people and REALLY listening to what’s important, especially the uncomfortable things – can help you then put in place plans that will actually make a difference and improve everyone’s experience.
If you could go back in time, and give some advice to your younger professional self, what would it be?
I believe that everyone brings perspectives to the table that are a combination of life, personal and professional experiences. That results in everyone assessing situations in their own unique way and means we all have valuable insights to share. My advice to my younger professional self would be to speak up and be heard – don’t be afraid to share your perspective, even if it feels obvious because it is very likely the people sitting around you are not seeing the situation with the same lens as you.
Do you have any funny anecdotes you would like to share with us?
When I started at Farfetch it really was the very beginning of our people function. Our office looked like a converted apartment in East London – with about 20 people in total in the UK. One of the first things I did was to make sure everyone had valid employment contracts. However, we didn’t have a printer that worked so I had to take them on a USB stick over the road and have them printed out at the off licence! We have come a long way since those very early days…
What would you say were your “milestone moments” so far?
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few great milestones in my career at Farfetch. The first was the project to develop our company values. It was the first thing I actually worked on when I joined, and it was a really powerful process. Those values are still in place today, and very much a part of our global DNA. The second one was our 10-year anniversary. For our first ten years, we held a ‘Gathering’ where we would get all our people together for a one-day event of celebrations, recognition and learning experiences. Our 10-year Gathering felt like a major moment for Farfetchers from around the globe and we all still talk about how incredible the experience was a couple of years on – and likely for many years to come. Finally, I loved working with my team to put in place our employer brand promise which is around the theme of ‘Do What’s Never Been Done’. Crystallising this means we step into our second chapter, now as a public company, but still with our values at the core. It speaks clearly to the part our brilliant Farfetchers – current and future – play in changing the fashion industry.
What has driven your success?
To start with, it’s been my family. My parents are Sri-Lankan and they worked unbelievably hard to give me as many opportunities as possible. As a result, I am very driven because of them, and now I also have my own children. I want to be a positive role model for them, and pass on the incredible foundation that I learnt from, and that is part of our heritage. I also thrive when I’m able to build great teams and watch others succeed. I invest time in trying to understand what drives people in my team, and how we can pave the way for them to succeed. Seeing people grow is without a doubt one of the biggest perks of my job! It’s incredibly rewarding.
Why is intersectionality important for the future of the industry e.g. ethics, sustainability, intersectional feminism?
I think it’s crucial. The world is increasingly global. People care that the companies they buy from or work for have similar values to them and care about social issues beyond their immediate scope of business and also beyond their own geography. Something I see more and more and which I admire greatly is that different generations are entering into work and they are able to blend both the corporate world and the social world in terms of values. People don’t want to just want to earn a salary somewhere where they can’t align to the ethics of the company and people want to (and should) bring their whole selves to work. We should all feel like we are recognised first for who we are as individuals and secondly for the jobs we do.
Speaking of challenges and change, what would you say were the main hurdles that you had to overcome working within an industry which is predominantly homogenous and how would you like to see the industry evolve?
I still find it difficult to separate feelings of being marginalised because of my gender or colour. Either way, the main hurdle I have had to overcome is finding a voice in a room of white men more senior than me. Fortunately, our Executive team is more balanced, which creates a safe space to be heard, but it has still taken time, effort and a lot of support and encouragement from people around me to feel comfortable as a leader. I would now like to see a greater representation of minority groups – still including, but not limited to gender, have a seat at the table. All part of my main reason for joining the FMA. So I can contribute positively to making a difference but helping to pave the way and identify opportunities for much broader representation in the fashion industry.
Do you have any hints or tips you can share for young people within the Black and minority community wishing to become a people officer?
My advice would be to tap into your own experiences, good and bad, and try to apply them to every new situation with empathy. In a previous role, I had a very challenging experience of being isolated out of opportunities, largely because I was a new mother returning to work and during my second pregnancy. I found that experience to be incredibly upsetting, and I will never forget how I felt during that time, and the impact it had on me personally. However, I now use that experience in an empathetic way in my own role. I do not want to stand for anyone feeling the same at work, evolving our policies, processes and decision-making to ensure we treat everyone in line with our values.
You are a founding member of the Fashion Minority Alliance. What are you hoping it will achieve?
There is an African proverb that says ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ By working together as a united force to increase minority representation – and to ensure fair and equal treatment of people in the fashion and beauty industry, I believe we will have much greater impact and more meaningful progress if we all work together. I want to do everything I can to play a role in that change.