People and the expertise is what makes PXP Financial tick. Our HR team is co-lead internationally by an incredibly passionate and dynamic team, Madeleine Reynolds, and Mouhcine Azizoun, who share their role across time zones, with Madeleine based in the UK and Mouhcine in Austria.
They take the helm on our development and retention, and recruitment, ensuring we have a positive culture where people can thrive. As they describe it, Madeleine and Mouhcine are at the heart of “all things people at PXP.”
Our name, PXP, stands for Platform x People, so we are kicking off our Q&A series with HR.
Q: What drew you to the HR profession?
Madeleine: “I have always been fascinated by people, so when I learned about HR, the variety it would bring to my career and the daily opportunity to work with so many different people, businesses and professions, that really excited me.”
Mouhcine: “It was seeing the possibility of positively impacting individuals’ lives, and the company’s bottom line in the process, which made HR the perfect career choice for my personality.”
Q: What excites you about working in HR today, what are the issues that motivate you?
Madeleine: “Our understanding of the world of work, as well as psychology and how you can apply it, is always changing and this is incredibly interesting. I enjoy building relationships, which is vital as HR professionals have to work with so many stakeholders to make great things happen for businesses and people. Another big motivator is that I can help the business and colleagues navigate through experiences, to positively impact commercial, professional and personal futures.”
Mouhcine: “Building a strength-based culture at work means creating an environment where employees can use and develop their strengths to achieve the organization's goals. This culture emphasizes what employees can do, rather than what they can't, and focuses on building on strengths, rather than trying to fix weaknesses in a way that could create a negative culture where people feel demotivated because their contributions are not valued. This way of seeing things is all about realising potential”
Q: Recent years have meant a lot of changes in the HR world, with more hybrid and remote working and a greater spotlight on mental health. How have you been responding to these changes?
Madeleine: “I feel the move to hybrid and remote work has not caused major issues to us as a company because it is something we had fostered way before the pandemic. We’re a truly international business, so multiple teams were spread across multiple locations and being the tech innovators that we are, the whole company had home office possibilities before 2020. This made us slightly immune to the sudden change in work dynamics.
Even though we were well-prepared, we have certainly continued our key focus on supporting our people with hybrid and remote working. For example, we went even further, with exciting opportunities for our employees to move around different locations, utilising concepts such as the nomad visa and Employer of Record.
Our culture has always been about supporting our people and I’m proud to say wellbeing and mental health are at the top of our agenda in 2023. We’re really excited about the new developments in this area we’re currently working hard to bring forward this year, so watch this space.”
Q: What HR issues are specific to or most prevalent in finance and payments? How have you seen PXP Financial respond to these issues?
Mouhcine: “Compliance is a hot topic, seeing as we are a regulated business, we all must ensure we remain up-to-date with compliance and regulatory requirements. Equity and diversity are also a widespread focus in both HR and finance, along with wellbeing.
We have a great, forward-thinking compliance team, which we in HR collaborate very closely with on all kinds of things from our mandatory training portfolio and methodology to better processes and policies for the Group. When it comes to equity and diversity, we have a number of projects in the pipeline, many utilising our wonderful international culture and enhancing the experiences colleagues have in their careers at PXP.”
Q: As you’re involved in the recruitment process at PXP Financial, what would you say you’re looking for in new people joining the business?
Mouhcine: “Passion to learn is one of the most important things a person can bring to their role with us, as well as an openness to adapt to the ever-changing FinTech environment. Having the ability to contribute towards new, innovative ways of doing things, that spark of creativity in problem solving, is another core PXP attribute. As everyone in the business is key to our future success, we want to work with people who are passionate about gaining and sharing expertise within our industry and our customers’ industries, whilst working closely with people across all parts of the world.”
Madeleine: “We get great feedback from candidates that go through our recruitment process on how friendly and supportive a culture we have at PXP. This is something that comes naturally to us, probably because the company itself is made up of so many cultures. In our team alone there are more than seven languages spoken, and even more across the company. We are all about creating a safe, supportive environment for everyone, where people can be their real selves. We’re looking for people who want to be part of that culture.”
How could we support you to be your authentic self in a role at PXP Financial? Join our global team of innovators by visiting https://www.pxpfinancial.com/careers
