I was interested to read Orme’s interview she makes a point that HR must ‘stop wasting its time by trying to justify its worth’. I would say that it is not about the profession justifying its worth it’s about clarifying its role and contribution. The danger being if we don’t, we default into vague statements of achievement without evidence, which undermines the whole objective.
The CIPD represents itself as much as the profession, and I would like to think that under her regime it will show a little more inclusion rather than continuing to be the exclusive club it has become – particularly in terms of professional expertise. There is a danger that people are operating in a CIPD bubble.
For any chief executive, the first 100 days are critical, so I was little dismayed to find that the rest of her year is going to be taken up with planning the obvious. I suspect that the membership would like to see some action now, particularly given the drawn-out replacement of the CIPD’s top management and the current economic environment.
I agree with her on ‘HR pulling the levers of competitive advantage’, since it’s a phrase I’ve used several times. Maybe she is a secret reader of some of my articles?
Nicholas Higgins, chief executive, Valuentis
