Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

The HR profession

My best and worst decisions: Guy Pink, HR director, Addaction

by Personnel Today 5 Mar 2010
by Personnel Today 5 Mar 2010

Best decision

Twelve or 13 years ago, I was working for Victim Support. I’d been there for a couple of years and had become incredibly inwardly focused on the organisation. My focus had become more and more narrow, and I didn’t even have time to do the reading I needed for my own personal development.

Then I came across and joined a group called Capital Network (now the London HR Connection). Within a few months I joined the board. Not long afterwards, the chair stepped down, and their replacement, Helen White, asked if I’d be interested in becoming vice-chair. And again, I thought ‘Why not?’.

Helen and I worked together to rebrand the organisation, and I ended up taking over from her as chair. I was fortunate that when this opportunity came up, I had been in a role for some time, and had the space and capacity to devote to my new responsibilities. I couldn’t do that now.

Being chair really helped me broaden my range of skills. Being a voluntary organisation, the board involved quite a range of people, who had a huge wealth of HR experience. Most of them were from the commercial sector, which I had never worked in, so I gained a great deal of transferable knowledge.

I don’t think I would have moved into my current role without the experience I’ve had managing a pool of very opinionated, truculent, but down-to-earth and committed HR professionals. It really gave me a chance to enhance and develop my skills.

Worst decision

My worst decision was failing to appreciate the power of the internet – twice. I wrote to the editor of Personnel Today a few years ago about the amalgamation of unions. The letter was published, and I thought no more about it. I also spoke to Personnel Today’s sister publication Employers’ Law about TUPE transfers, and I brutally but flippantly said I would like to see TUPE legislation disappear. I even said it was the worst piece of legislation ever drafted.

But years later, there I was in a consultation meeting when someone said ‘Mr Pink, we’ve been on the internet, and have seen what you said about unions – you seem to be very anti-union’. And at a later meeting, it was ‘Well, Mr Pink, we know your views on TUPE – how does that apply to us, when we’re transferring into your company?’

It was a salutary lesson on the power of the internet – you really never think someone will Google your name, read something you said three or four years ago, then throw it back in your face at a meeting. But I’ve learnt from it.

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
On the move: Kirsty Saxby, Clare Hayler, Tea Colaianni, Sarah Steele, Carolyn Oliver-Hall, Michelle Quest, and Andrew Harley
next post
Friday Podcast: Graduate recruitment and degree qualifications; Government efficiency ’10-point plan’

You may also like

ESG for HR: Emma Burrows talks to Oven-Ready...

5 Aug 2022

Personnel Today Awards 2022 shortlist announced

26 Jul 2022

CIPD Festival of Work: ‘Use crises as catalysts...

15 Jun 2022

HR Director of the Year: Ruth Busby on...

31 May 2022

‘It’s International HR Day – wait, you didn’t...

20 May 2022

Squishy, flabby, foggy HR? Andrew Bartlow talks to...

20 May 2022

Movers and shakers May 2022: John Lewis and...

20 May 2022

Movers and shakers April 2022: Santander UK appoints...

22 Apr 2022

Time to kill off the HR business partner?...

8 Apr 2022

HR careers survey: three in four confident about...

30 Mar 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+