Donna's blog

Hi. I'm Donna and I've been with HSBC for 7 years. Since I joined the branch management trainee programme, I've had a fantastic range of jobs. From cashier through to branch manager and at one stage a trainer on our major implementation team, I've worked both within the UK and globally and loved every minute of it!

Currently, I'm a Regional Community Manager - I work across 9 retail regions and 15 head office departments and manage our local community projects from Chester to the north of Scotland. It's a privilege to work with the charities, schools and local communities and I enjoy supporting them with their funding applications and staff volunteering schemes.

The really great thing about HSBC is that the organisation is ever changing! There are so many opportunities available to progress across the business - to support you both personally and professionally.

Changing for the climate

Over the last few months, we've all been working on our Climate Partnership scheme and now we're ready for launch. We're aiming for this to be the largest ever employee engagement scheme on climate change, so the challenge is huge. Though we've already got the technology in place - all employees will be able to access an online learning programme that outlines what they can do in their offices, homes and communities to lessen the impact of climate change.

So here in the UK, over the next 5 years, we're hoping that around 5,000 employees will take part in practical activities. We'll also make 400 people Climate Champions, who'll go on two-week residential research projects in Oxford.

I've also been working to source some 400 individuals a year from the North of the UK through 3 projects supported by Earthwatch: Kirkstall Valley Leeds with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Outdoor Laboratory Monitoring at Edinburgh Zoo, and Wetland maintenance at Martin Mere with WWT. This has involved generating an intranet site, producing an e-form to enable individuals to register online, and meeting with the charities to arrange and confirm dates and experience to be gained from the events. In the first 2 weeks, over 300 people registered as volunteers.

Virtual Donna

Now I love my job, and one of the reasons for this is the diversity - I never thought 6 months ago I would be managing an intranet site but here I am, doing just that. The HSBC in the Community intranet details information about the department and ongoing projects, and I've been updating the information so it's accurate for staff. It's been grueling, but the sense of achievement is fantastic. It's a bonus that I've developed a whole new set of skills - and I'm now training others to maintain their own sites too.

Race for Life

This year 3 others and I registered to complete Race for Life - my first charity race. I'm not one for exercise normally (I did go to the gym - to relax in their steam room and sauna, and dip my toe in the pool), but then I qualified and can proudly state I've trained for Race for Life. Nothing can prepare you for the emotions that come with seeing 6,000 women wearing pink and racing for one reason and one cure. 1 in 3 people are affected by cancer, and many were running for more than five of their friends and family - they had their names written on their sheets, like Nan Mac, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Tom and many more. There was a real feeling of solidarity that overwhelmed me - I'll be signing up again next year and I'm already looking forward to it.