Cork Networker of the Year: ‘I felt I had found people who got what I did, like-minded people’

THE idea of networking can have even the most capable and rational person running for the hills in horror, fear and trepidation.

But not Helen Wycherley who says, regardless of who she’s speaking to, she just sees them as a person, and she doesn’t over think things.

It’s clearly an approach that’s paying off as she’s recently been awarded Network Cork’s Networker of the Year award and Helen says she learned, unknowingly, from the best, her late mum, Nora May who was a superb networker.

“She was very involved in the tennis club in Kinsale, where she helped to develop the junior side and was president the year she died. She was always really open and friendly and always spoke to everyone, and tried to connect with people,” said Helen.

She passed away 17 years ago when Helen was working in Dublin for Ernst & Young.

“It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, but anyone who loses a parent probably feels the same. The years don’t really make a difference, it’s how you feel.”

Helen, who has always enjoyed her mum’s same ease with people, only realised in recent years that it was something that challenged others.

I never found it daunting to network. I’ve always respected people’s positions but I just speak to them as people. 

I remember working in Ernst & Young, where it was quite a structured organisation, and being at work events, and I’d have no problem speaking to a partner or a manager as I’d naturally find a connection.”

Helen grew up in Dublin and moved to Kinsale in 1991.

“It’s funny but I never say I’m from Dublin, I always say Cork/Kinsale!” she said.

It was a given that she’d join the family business, which she did after working for a time with Ernst & Young, and qualifying as a chartered accountant.

“It was always something I was working towards, even if I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d be doing. I came on board and joined the Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery and in my first year I literally worked in every department,” she remembers.

She now works in a strategic role in the West Cork hotel, and most recently is focused on their people development.

“It’s great to have a new passion and something to focus on and I think it’s really important to find new challenges,” she said.

The hotel has recently been awarded its fourth star, which Helen is very proud of but she admits that it’s a challenging industry to work in.

If you got bogged down in that challenge you wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning.

Her husband John came on board six years ago and manages the Marina Commercial Park, which is part of the family business.

Living in Crossbary, they are parents to Liam aged eight, Laura aged seven and Kate aged five.

As a working mum, how does she feel about managing the school holidays?

“My situation is unique in that I work all the time, but crucially I’m not full time. The hotel by its nature will hold me accountable but I’m lucky in that I enjoy a good balance of being at home and at work, and it being a family business, my family are used to me being needed in the hotel,” she said.

She enjoys a great relationship with her dad, Gerry.

“He works so hard and has such strong values. He has achieved a lot and gives so much back to his community and to society. He really uses his skills in a positive way. Our relationship has really developed and grown while working together,” she said.

Helen is not only an award-winning member of Network Cork, but she’s also a past president of Network Ireland, which she said has opened many doors for her professionally.

She remembers how she got involved with the group: “While I had my few school friends in Kinsale I didn’t go to college or work in Cork city, so when I first came home I didn’t have my own group of people here. I needed something for myself and I found Network Cork and it was so welcoming and friendly. It really was a light bulb moment for me: I felt I had found people who got what I did, like-minded people. It was huge.”

Significantly, Helen points out that it’s not a network that’s about selling: “It’s more about having easy conversations in a supportive environment.”

Her top networking tips are to slow down in the space when registering, which allows time to take in the space and the crowd; to visit the bathroom and to then join the group.

“But if an event is a networking type event then I will absolutely use it as this, otherwise I go and enjoy events and meeting and connecting people, building relationships. 

It is important though to acknowledge that some events are there to go to and to meet that person or connection that you have had your eye on. By being kind, personable and mindful of personal spaces this is not as daunting as it sounds.

“And it’s important to remember that no one gets it right all the time. Everyone can be socially awkward at times!”

Helen said that while she’s entered many awards for the Celtic Ross Hotel, this was perhaps her first time entering for herself.

The judges’ citation said she had shown a ‘phenomenal willingness to help others develop their network.’

“She did this not just by making deep and meaningful connections for others, but also by giving amounts of her time to help develop Network Cork and Network Ireland ensuring that Network Ireland will continue to be a sustainable and strong network for the next generation of female entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators,” it read.

“As cheesy as it sounds, it meant so much to win the Networker of the Year, from my peers. It really felt special, and even just thinking about it makes me smile,” said Helen who is now looking forward to the national awards in September.