For the next year, Personnel Today will be following the careers of two HR
professionals at financial services company Standard Life. The series started
on 4 February with HR graduate Coleen Paterson and now HR services manager
Duncan McIntosh outlines the basics of his role
Joined: November 2000
Qualifications: MSc in Personnel Management, Strathclyde University;
member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland; and member of the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Role: Managing HR services. This encompasses payroll, staff benefits,
HR helpdesk, HR administration and HR supplier management.
Most rewarding: Being a member of a project team that implemented
flexible benefits into the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Most challenging: Having to manage and co-ordinate a number of HR
areas in which my experience is limited at Standard Life.
Need to know: Understand customer experiences and requirements in a
constantly changing environment, and remember that customers are individuals
and that they expect us to get it right first time, every time.
I joined RBS in 1979 and moved to HR in 1992. I worked in training and
development roles delivering courses and undertaking training consultancy work.
I enjoyed training, particularly interacting with staff.
I then worked on the implementation of flexible benefits. This really opened
my eyes to the area of reward. I went on to manage a team of trainers via a
matrix structure, developing project and management skills. In 2000, I moved to
the HR delivery services area responsible for HR supplier management and
training administration and worked on integration with National Westminster
Bank.
I joined Standard Life in late 2000 as a group training and development
consultant, followed by managing a training team for six months. I was involved
in developing a management training framework, undertook an investigation into
training across the company and developed training supplier management.
My current role involves bringing together a number of HR areas that have
previously existed separately and developing the concepts of self and assisted
service. I work closely with colleagues who develop our HR intranet site,
gather customer feedback, benchmark with other business areas and
organisations, analyse our management information and stay in touch with all
the staff in the HR services area.
I am fortunate in having worked for two successful financial services
companies who are very forward-thinking and innovative. I have been supported
in my personal development, both academic and job related.
My personal development plan includes developing my business awareness,
continued benchmarking and networking activities and developing strategic
planning capabilities. I am fortunate that I have a challenging mentor and a
supportive manager. This role stretches me by bringing new challenges and ‘I
did not know that’ moments.
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In the coming months: Developing HR key supplier management,
integrating the recruitment operations area into HR services (increasing staff
numbers by about 25), supporting the development of the HR helpdesk and
ensuring we make the best use of technology to support customer service.
Every six weeks we’ll be revisiting Standard Life to alternately check on
the progress of the graduate and the manager. Read the previous article on HR
graduate Coleen Paterson at www.personneltoday.com/careers
