While completing a psychology degree, Pam Finnie became interested in the way people construct their identities.

Since 1995 Pam has had a training and development business and has been working with individuals and businesses as they change their behaviour. A few years ago Pam was listening to a radio interview in which a woman made the comment that she hoped the rest of her father’s life would not be defined by the recent death of her mother. This notion of what we let define us, combined with an interest in identity construction, led to the development of Redefine.

Pam has worked with hundreds of people undergoing transition as a result of organisational restructurings, and the people she worked with were frequently at a loss as to how to redefine their identities as they went through the change process.

The business’s focus is on working with individuals or teams as they redefine themselves in relation to the issues they face.

She has a particular interest in older employees in the workplace, specifically:

• job change
• performance management
• policy development.

New Zealand’s changing demographics suggests that these two areas are going to become an issue for employees and employers An employee aged 50 may have another 25 years in the paid workplace. It is predicted that this will lead to a number of issues around workplace expectations and career development within organisations.

For her Master of Philosophy (2010) Pam wrote a thesis on ‘Factors that Contribute to Successful Job Change for Women Aged in Their 50s’. She has an interest in older workers in the workplace, in particular around job change and performance management, as these two areas are going to become an issue for employees and employers. She has also completed post-grad research around the impact of aging and appearance on older workers.

Pam has worked with: government departments, tertiary institutions, local authorities, and multinational, trans-Tasman and New Zealand companies. When required, she calls on a professional network of skilled co-facilitators