In our latest “5 Minutes With” blog, we spoke to Magdalena Jablonska El-Aasar, about her journey to becoming our HR & Compliance Director. She spoke about her personal and professional development at Corps, maintaining high positions in a male-dominated industry, and how she ended up back at Corps 10 years after her first role with us.
What does your role entail?
I’m responsible for setting and delivering our people strategy across the business. My role has also recently gone from Human Resources Director to HR & Compliance Director. Compliance, quality and health & safety are fundamentally about people and processes, and ensuring employees are engaged, safe, and satisfied at work. As an established independent HR voice, I bring direct experience in people matters, enabling me to approach compliance, quality and health & safety challenges in a practical, balanced and people-focused way.
At its heart, my role is about creating an environment where people feel safe, supported, valued, and able to do their best work. I cover TUPE and health and safety issues, as well as employee and management relations, organisational change and inclusion.
What roles have you worked in prior to joining Corps Security?
Before joining Corps, I worked across a variety of HR roles in different sectors, covering both operational and strategic HR. I actually worked for Corps Security in 2008 as an HR Manager for three years. I then moved to a private healthcare company, and shortly after joined a facilities management company where I was an HR Business Partner, working across security, cleaning, catering and more. So, when I returned to Corps and the security industry in 2018, it felt like coming full circle.
It seems that I’m like everyone else, because I got into security by accident! I was simply looking for a job and my friend had a lead. Still, after 21 years in HR in the UK, around 20 of them have been in the security sector in some form.
Tell us about your journey within the company
In 2018, I was nearing the end of my second maternity leave, and my previous boss at Corps phoned to ask if I’d come back as an HR Manager on a maternity cover basis. The job was closer to home, and I used to love working here, so I took it.
When the person I was covering decided not to return, I stayed. Over time, my role has evolved as the organisation has grown and changed, particularly after becoming a social enterprise in 2021. The way we approach people strategy, leadership and compliance all centre around our people and how we can help our charity partners.
I became HR Director in 2024 before taking up my new position as HR & Compliance Director in April this year. I now report directly to the CEO, which means I can raise urgent matters quickly and act without a middle layer when the situation calls for it. I’ve had the opportunity to shape how we do HR at Corps, ensuring it is practical, commercially focused, and people‑centred.
What steps has your development taken and how has Corps supported you in this?
Before joining Corps I already had two master’s degrees and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development accreditation, so I decided that I didn’t want to study again and would rather develop as a manager and a leader.
There was no internal mentorship programme suited to my position at the time, so Corps invested in an external mentor for me. As a senior woman in a male-dominated industry, having that external support be from a woman was invaluable. My mentor helped me grow — not just technically, but in how I lead a team of around 14 people with very different personalities and skill sets.
Whether through access to professional networks, leadership development, or giving me the space to lead major projects, I’ve been encouraged to grow and challenge myself. Corps supports development through trust as well as formal learning, and I’ve been able to take ownership and make executive decisions all while learning.
What’s been your biggest highlight in your role?
My highlight has been managing to sustain a senior position in a male-dominated industry, as a woman, as a foreigner, and while raising two children with limited family support nearby. My family is in Poland and much of my husband’s family is in Egypt, so our network here is very small. But I have a brilliant mother-in-law, a supportive husband, group of friends, and colleagues who have believed in me at every stage in my professional career.
Technical skills are one thing, but strengthening my leadership skills and managing a great team has also been a huge highlight. I couldn’t have achieved that without the many people who helped me on my way. I could name so many great people I’ve met throughout my career who uplifted and encouraged me when things felt like they were too much.
What do you love most about working at Corps?
What I love most about working at Corps is the people and the company’s heritage. There’s real pride in the organisation and a genuine commitment to doing the right thing. I’m incredibly lucky to work with an HR team who are not only brilliant at what they do, but also wonderfully human: supportive, caring, and always able to find humour, even on the toughest days.
We are a highly people-focused organisation, where open communication, trust, and meaningful dialogue are prioritised to ensure employees feel heard, supported, and engaged.
Sometimes we get things wrong, and that’s human nature, but as long as we work towards one aim and communicate well, we are a successful team. It’s a professional environment, but one where kindness and integrity truly matter, and where you can see the real impact of your work.
What are the key ingredients to finding happiness at work?
For me, happiness at work comes from feeling a sense of purpose, being treated with respect, and having positive relationships with colleagues. It’s also about feeling trusted and having clarity about what’s expected of you. When people feel supported, listened to, and given opportunities to grow, they’re far more likely to feel engaged and fulfilled in their roles.
The worst thing that can happen in any team is when people stop talking to each other and start firing emails instead of just picking up the phone or speaking face-to-face. Beyond that, feeling engaged, feeling valued, and knowing that your work has a purpose. If employees are happy and supported, that feeds into everything, from the quality of service to client relationships and team morale.
What helps you create a good work/life balance?
This is a difficult one, it is something I am still working on myself! For me, a good work/life balance comes down to setting clear boundaries, prioritising effectively, and recognising that you don’t have to be “on” all the time to be effective.
It’s a work in progress for me to try to be disciplined about switching off when I can, making time for my family and for things outside of work that recharge me.
Read more of our “5 minutes with” series, and if you are interested in working with us, please get in touch.
