Career Stories is an article series about the people who work at Kindred. For this article, we sat down with Alexia Frendo, HR Lead based in Malta, to talk about passion, learning and internal career mobility
Tell us a bit about yourself, what is your passion?
I treasure my family above everything else and my passion is anything that gives me inner peace. For me, that entails everything from reading a good book to taking a walk along the seaside or practising yoga.
How would you describe what you do?
I’ve been at Kindred for 14 years and my work has become much more than just “a job”. I support managers and employees with anything they need within the scope of competency development, employee relations and recruitment. My work revolves around people and people management. As all individuals are different, my days are never the same. That’s one of the things I love the most about my job.
How did you end up in your current position at Kindred?
After I finished my master’s degree in Italy and came back to Malta, I struggled to find a job in line with my organisational psychology studies. The concept of organisational psychology hadn’t taken off in Malta at that time, so I applied for a Customer Support Agent role for the Italian market at Unibet. From there on, I worked my way up to become an Office Manager and, subsequently, an HR Manager.
Kindred emphasises the possibility to change career without changing employer. How would you say Kindred supports and invests in its employees?
We’re constantly given opportunities to develop ourselves and pursue new interests. Kindred puts a lot of emphasis on offering ways for employees to embark on new career paths and explore alternative fields. Internal career mobility is an actual thing, not just empty promises in a personnel manual (just look at me!).
What is one moment that you will always remember from your time at Kindred?
I’ll always remember our kick-offs. Getting the opportunity to meet colleagues from all around the world and celebrate the success we’ve achieved together is really something special. What’s even more noteworthy though, is the great support I’ve gotten over the years from my colleagues. George Debrincat’s guidance and dedication is something that I’ll always cherish. I don’t think I would be where I am today if it weren’t for him.