Pat Holland

Avoiding, Preparing for and Dealing with HR and Other Unexpected Challenges:

Pat Holland joined South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association (SEMRA) in 1990 and has served as team chairman and leader, and chair of Mountain Rescue Ireland. He led the MRI leadership course for a number of years and was SARCALL development officer for MRI. He has published a number of articles and two books. Since retiring from his full-time job in 2022, he has worked on a number of projects including a book and walking the 836 km Camino del Norte in Spain. He has recently been looking at reviving the MRI leadership course and considering how it might need to change.

‘I realised that while the course was appreciated by participants, it might not address real and urgent needs. Talking confidentially to team leadership, I’ve found that most have had a major, unexpected and non-operational problem to deal with during their term. These problems are usually HR, finance or governance-related. I am examining ways to inform and prepare team leaders and team chairs for such problems in advance. The presentation will focus on the issues involved and possible ways forward.’