Peer Networks Across Industries: The Essential Complement to Mentorship (Reanne's story)

In today’s ever-evolving professional landscape, success is no longer just about finding the right mentor. While mentorship provides essential guidance, connecting with peers across industries is equally crucial to fostering growth, sharing ideas, and building a community of support.

Let's explore how Reanne Medill, our People and Culture Business Partner, and her industry network influence her career growth.

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Can you briefly describe your industry circle? What motivated you to start ‘collecting’ people?

We are a close-knit group of HR professionals, each working in standalone roles across various industries. Together, we’ve created our own peer network that’s become a vital resource for all of us.

It all started as an End-of-Year people's Party—essentially, our own version of a ‘Christmas party’ just for HR (those who often plan Christmas Parties for others). I had been connecting with individuals one-on-one, but I decided to bring everyone together by floating the idea in a LinkedIn chat. From that simple beginning, we created something so special.

Everyone genuinely enjoyed the event, and we realised the value of continuing our conversations. Over time, our chat evolved into a space where we share ideas, work through challenges, and celebrate exciting initiatives. (Katie, for instance, blew us away with her rap video encouraging her team to complete a survey!) We now meet up monthly to keep this energy alive.

At one of these catch-ups, after I had introduced a few new faces, someone jokingly said I was someone who "collects people." At first, I didn’t see it that way—after all, this network came together so organically. But now, I embrace it. Our connections feel natural, and we’ve built a truly supportive community.

Do you find the diversity in industries within the group beneficial for you?

Absolutely. People are people no matter what industry we work in. While legislation impacts industries differently, we are all working within the same legislation and HR practice.  The diversity in our group really broadens our perspective and allows us to sense-check best practices. We’re able to unpack changes in legislation together and approach them from different angles, which is invaluable.

Sure, there are times when our industry differences mean we can’t completely relate to each other's specific situations. But even then, the benefit of having a sounding board—someone to talk things through with—is immense. It helps us view things from a different lens, ensuring we’re covering all bases.

How has collaborating with others in similar roles broadened your professional skills?

Collaborating with my peers has been crucial to my growth. When you’re in a standalone HR role, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to stay on top of everything while also delivering the best possible experience to your employees and managers. Having this network is like having a lifeline. We share resources, from webinars to tips from industry events, and it’s so helpful to see how others interpret and implement new ideas.

What’s truly powerful is the way we challenge each other’s thinking. Conversations like, “Have you considered this?” help me zoom out and question my own assumptions. Plus, seeing how organisations of different sizes and life cycles handle things gives me insights into what’s worth investing in and where we should focus our efforts.

And sometimes it's nice just to have people cheering you on and who get as excited as you over your new performance management cycle, or policy rollout, which to be fair, is just annoying admin to others.

‍When thinking about industry support, mentorship often comes to mind. How do you differentiate the role of industry peers from traditional mentorship?

I've had mentors as well and they're fantastic! The knowledge, support and guidance they provided me was invaluable, I am very grateful for their role in my journey.

So much so, that I even connected our marketing coordinator (who helped edit this piece) with a mentor!

However, having a peer group is just as important. While mentors have the wisdom of experience and can guide you through challenges they’ve already overcome, peers understand where you are right now. They’re in a similar position with you, navigating similar paths in real time, facing the same challenges and opportunities.

When you’re doing something for the first time, having peers beside you who can resonate with you and understand exactly where you're at can make all the difference. Mentors can tell you that you’ll get through it, but peer-to-peer connections are like having a colleague sitting next to you, offering validation and understanding at the moment.

Sometimes we just need that validation, that we're on the right track and we haven't missed anything. We've become sounding boards for each other. It’s comforting to know that if I need advice or encouragement, I have a group of people I can turn to who truly understand and care.

They give you support. They challenge your ideas. They question you. They champion you.