A
story of 40 rising stars. They stand
out from the crowd. But who are
they? Where do they come from? Where are they going?
It’s
an impressive cast: 40 top HR power players, identified by Personnel Today as
stars who are driving change and impacting significantly on business in 2003.
There
are 21 new entries to this year’s countdown of influential performers,
reflecting the degree to which Government, policy makers and CEOs are becoming
increasingly enmeshed in broad people management issues.
These
are the movers and shakers operating in the HR space and, in their own
inimitable styles, they are all making a difference. If you find yourself
disagreeing with our top 40, why not have your say? Is someone too high or too
low on the list, or have we left someone out altogether?
40
New entry
Richard Houghton, Managing director, Xchanging HR
Services
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 2
If
there was ever any doubt about the relevance of business process outsourcing
(BPO) to the profession, then Richard Houghton fronts an organisation that
effectively puts pay to any such notion. Xchanging, as the UK’s leading
pure-play BPO company, has secured £50m funding (adding to a previous £60m)
from General Atlantic Partners to expand internationally in a market that
Gartner estimates is worth $119bn. Although no new business has been secured
since the landmark 50:50 joint venture with BAE Systems last year, the company
claims to be in ‘detailed discussions’ for business worth a potential £700m
over 10 years.
39
New entry
Guru, Management thinker and diarist, Personnel
Today
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 46
Dorset-born
guru makes his debut as the result of an enduring relationship with the
magazine’s back-page readers. A classic case of ‘always the bridesmaid…’, the
‘Blue Yin’ as he is endearingly referred to in the former City of Culture,
yearns to be the next Michael Porter or CK Prahalad. Despite his somewhat
‘traditional’ views and lengthy discourses on conjugal relationships, he fares
consistently well in reader research. "He’s like a friend to me,"
said one HR manager in a focus group held last year. Best not tell Mrs Guru –
lest she gets the wrong idea.
38
Rita Donaghy, Chair, Advisory Conciliation and
Arbitration Service
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 4
The
former union chief continues to lead the 26-year-old organisation into a new
employment era with fresh initiatives. But her plan to slash tribunal levels
through high-speed fixed conciliation periods could backfire, particularly in
light of the enhanced rights in the new Employment Act. Employee relations
experts warn that limiting the conciliation process could lead to more claims
if things are rushed. Acas is also reviewing its voluntary arbitration scheme
because of a low take-up from business. More positively, provision of a free
online training package on discipline and grievance received 2,000 registered
users in the first two months of availability, and Acas is offering 10,000
seminar places to dispense practical guidance on implementing the Employment
2002 New Rights for Working Parents.
Position
last year: 36
37
Imelda Walsh, HR director, Sainsbury’s
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 1
If
promotion to the main company board isn’t enough, Walsh has also managed to
deliver a number of other HR successes in her first full year at the second
largest supermarket group in the UK, which may also herald a closing of the gap
on its arch rival, Tesco. Retention rates have improved by 10 per cent on last
year, and new measurement and reporting tools have been introduced, including
‘peer group clustering’ based around four similar stores, rather than previous
sole geographic comparisons. Changes in reward include a new pay and contract
deal for store colleagues which seeks to find a better balance between when
customers want to shop, and when staff are best able to work.
Position
last year: 30
36
Susan Anderson, Director of HR policy,
Confederation of British Industry
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 1
Anderson
moves down a slot as she divides her time between four key profession areas:
employment, skills, Europe and pensions. The CBI has directly influenced much
of the Government’s skills strategies and initiatives of the past 12 months and
can take credit for helping to shift focus from education for education’s sake
to addressing real business needs. With £24.5bn being spent on training by UK
employers annually, Anderson believes a regulatory approach is not what is
required, and employers and staff have to do the training and be more motivated
by it.
Position
last year: 37
35
New entry
Andy Gilchrist, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 26
Although
this star has been waning of late, 2002 undoubtedly provided Gilchrist with his
15 months of fame. We think he deserves a place in our Top 40 Power Player list
for several reasons, including:
–
Trying to raise union-government battles to a pitch not seen since the miners’
strikes
–
His audacity in demanding a 40 per cent wage increase for firefighters at a
time when most settlements were running at 3 per cent or less; and
–
His courage in making demands that were always doomed to fail.
34
New entry
Michael Porter, Professor of Business
Administration, Harvard Business School
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 30
The
world’s leading strategic thinker returns to these pages after a one-year
hiatus thanks to a little bit of work he carried out for UK plc. His unerring
ability to lay companies (and countries) bare and expose where their real value
lies, means his services have never been more in demand, and the Department of
Trade and Industry secured a major coup late last year when it enlisted his
help for a mere £50,000. His three-month study inevitably found that management
failings were a major factor in the UK’s poor productivity levels, and
concluded that the country must build on past success and move towards a more
private-sector driven phase of economic development.
33
New entry
Paul Pagliari, HR director, Scottish Water
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 13
Pagliari
could write the script when it comes to demonstrating how HR should become a
business partner. In a sector where there is intense economic, environmental,
regulatory and competitive pressure, the company formed from the merger of
three former water authorities has increased productivity and reduced operating
costs by more than £30m in its first year – and HR is credited with playing a
vital part in this. The function is also committed to reducing its own
operating costs year-on-year to achieve a 45 per cent reduction by 2006. To
mitigate the risk of post-merger bad feeling, the Scottish Water Council was
set up, which now brings management, union representatives and employees
together to discuss staff issues.
32
New entry
John Connolly, Chief executive & senior
partner, Deloitte & Touche, and global managing director of Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 6
Few
CEOs have positioned HR as high up the board’s agenda as Connolly, who played a
career defining role in the successful integration of 3,500 Anderson UK
partners and staff in August 2002.
The
exercise was distinguished by the introduction of a communication framework
that engaged all of those affected during each stage.
Connolly
is personally big on HR benchmarking and performance measurement and his HR
team’s talents were recognised last year, when they won the SHL Award For
Global HR strategy award at the Personnel Today Awards.
31
New entry
Trevor Phillips, Chairman, Commission for Racial
Equality
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 3
Phillips’
high-profile appointment as chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality
(CRE) has catapulted him into the limelight. HR has been left in no doubt about
his commitment to diversity as one of his first acts after the appointment in
February was to go gunning for the private as well as public sector in his
quest to see a rapid uptake of a more racially mixed workforce. He considers
private sector firms delivering public services to be bound by the same moral obligation
to improve diversity targets – although they are not actually covered by the
Race Relations Amendment Act. Phillips also charges HR with the task of
aggressively selling the business case of a racially mixed workforce to the
board.
30
New entry
Allan Leighton, Chairman, Royal Mail
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 5
One
of the first tasks Allan Leighton set himself when he took over as chairman of
the Royal Mail in January 2002 was to sample life at the sharp end of the
business by going back to the floor. He probably learned first hand that the
company had terrible workforce morale along with its other problems, which
included losing £1.5m a day, the threat of increasing competition and chronic
industrial relations. The company subsequently announced plans to cut 30,000
jobs and came under investigation by the Equal Opportunities Commission over
sexual harassment at its sorting offices.
However,
under Leighton’s stewardship the struggling firm has made significant steps
forward. The firm’s leadership coaching budget has been doubled, the number of
days lost to strike action has dropped dramatically, and the company has
appointed a diversity director and its first ever company-wide HR director.
29
New entry
Stan Fraser, Vice-president international, compensation
and benefits, PepsiCo International
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 1
PepsiCo
can now precisely calculate the cost of people at its operating companies as a
result of Fraser and his team’s pioneering work in the sometimes murky area of
comp & bens. It is currently rolling out a total compensation planning
process, which offers its HR vice-presidents around the world total
transparency when it comes to their costs. This is a critical step in his
strategic re-engineering and change management process, shifting the emphasis
to global operations. At the HR Forum, he alerted HR to the need to adopt more
flexible approaches to meet huge changes in employment relationships.
28
Tracy Myhill, Personnel director, Gwent Healthcare
NHS Trust
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 1
Following
a successful term as AHHRM president, in which diversity, equality and race all
moved up the NHS recruitment agenda, Myhill was appointed to the board of Gwent
Healthcare Trust. This has placed HR centre stage at the £39m turnover trust,
engaging it in all top table decision-making at the 12,500-employee
organisation. "This is my greatest career achievement to date – within the
last year nothing else compares," she says.
Position
last year: 23
27
Ruth Spellman, Chief executive, Investors in
People
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 4
The
take-up in Investors in People (IIP) standard has increased by 47 per cent over
the past two years, and the tireless Spellman continues to break ground with
initiatives and campaigns that will fulfil her vision of positioning IIP at the
heart of the Government’s workforce development agenda (she was personally
consulted for the White Paper on skills). In March 2003, £30m was made
available to help small businesses develop their workforce using the IIP
standard. Spellman considered this as recognition of IIP’s ability to affect
the bottom line – nevertheless, the standard continues to have its detractors
over its commercial impact.
Position
last year: 39
26
Bob Crow, General secretary, Rail & Maritime
Transport Union
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 23
It
is a reflection of how much the dynamic between unions and employers has
changed that when this list was first compiled in 1999, every major union chief
was included. Now the golden era of ‘partnership’ has well and truly been
ushered out, Bob Crow’s sole inclusion here is for all the wrong reasons.
Frequently designated public enemy number one, the unsubtle, bullet-headed
Millwall supporter is at the centre of a new collective of hard-left union
leaders, who make no secret of their willingness to disrupt the workplace – a
TUC document links him to 30 strikes in 10 years.
Position
last year: 28
25
New entry
Jean Tomlin, HR director, Marks & Spencer
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 1
It
was a surprise when Jean Tomlin took up the post as director of HR at Marks
& Spencer in March. The job has traditionally gone to people who have risen
through the M&S ranks, but chief executive Roger Holmes stated at the time
that management had been swayed by Tomlin’s "very strong and varied HR
background". She joins the company at a time when several M&S HR
initiatives have been hitting the headlines, particularly its anti-ageist
stance -M&S won the Department for Work and Pensions Award for Age Positive
at Work at last year’s Personnel Today awards and has been active in corporate
social responsibility innovation.
24
Francesca Okosi, Director of change at the Department
of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 11
Francesca
Okosi, recruited to a new hot job at Defra this year, remains one of the bright
young HR stars to watch. While her
departure as HR director at Brent Council was slightly marred due to a damning
report on the council’s diversity strategy, Okosi remains an ambitious, dynamic
HR champion.
She
is certainly one of the most capable exponents of HR in the public sector. Only
36, she has already been the HR director of two London boroughs and was the
first black president of Socpo. Her latest job – Director of Change at the
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – places her at the centre of
an organisational overhaul in one of the key government departments; a
political hot potato that she will relish. Okosi is a no-nonsense,
clear-speaking individual who thinks, eats and sleeps the role of business
partner, and disagrees with traditionalists who believe the CIPD qualification
is the key to reaching the top.
Position
last year: 4
23
New entry
Brendan Barber, General secretary, TUC
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 34
Brendan
Barber was elected general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in
April at a critical time for unions, and was faced with a plethora of new
workplace directives and regulations. Ninety-six per cent of the TUC’s members nominated him to replace John
Monks, who previously knocked him from the list through sheer weight of power.
No longer. Barber, who joined the TUC as a training policy officer in 1975,
earns his slot as the most influential player representing trade unions in a
period where staff consultation is not only governed by law, but is being
recognised as key to organisations’ future success.
22
Vance Kearney, Vice-president of HR EMEA, Oracle
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 2
While
he admits the last year has been more about cost-cutting, Oracle’s colourful HR
chief remains vocal about and on behalf of the function. His current
preoccupation is with the tide of European social legislation, contending that
while the UK will have the best protected jobs in the European Union, there
just won’t be very many of them. Involvement in the CBI’s policy committee
affords him another chance to harangue the Government. The globe-trotting,
Ferrari-driver’s appearances on the conference circuit have seen him adopt a
different stance – portraying the current economic climate not so much as an
aberration, but as "the new normal", post-scripting it with
characteristic realism, "so get used to it".
Position
last year: 12
21
New entry
Mike Cutt, HR director, B&Q
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 6
A
good year for handyman Mike Cutt as he moves into the top 40 list following
extensive media coverage on the DIY chain’s people policies. Cutt has emerged
as one of the sector’s golden boys after winning two honours at the Personnel
Today Awards in 2002, and introducing a
raft of forward-looking HR initiatives. B&Q seems to be at the forefront of
people management, with initiatives including psychometric testing, a £25,000
staff recognition scheme, disabled- and elderly-friendly recruitment policies and
e-learning.
20
Geoff Armstrong, Director general, CIPD
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 10
After
presiding over what last year’s judges described as an uneventful year,
Armstrong has scored several prestigious coups for the body. Notably,
recruiting Duncan Brown, the former Towers Perrin consultant, and most
recently, CIPD members are set to win the right to use the title ‘chartered’ on
an individual basis in the same way as accountants, lawyers and engineers. A
highly effective leader, but he has not had a high profile in the past 12
months. This may be a deliberate move to stand back and bring others on within
the institute, which still faces major challenges appealing to the UK’s most
senior HR executives.
Position
last year: 15
19
New entry
Neil Roden, Group director, HR,
Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 0
Despite
a whopping 64 per cent pay rise for its chief executive and other substantial
bonuses paid to executives in the aftermath of the acquisition and integration
of NatWest, employee morale at the UK’s second largest bank has never been
higher. This is affirmation of Roden’s considerable influence and compelling HR
strategies. An employee survey, which had an 83 per cent response rate,
recorded ‘significantly’ improved scores in 11 out of 16 categories and scored
ahead of the financial services norm in every category. The bank’s benefits
scheme RBSelect, introduced in October 1998 for 25,000 people, is now the
largest of its kind in Europe, with 72,000 eligible staff ‘spending’ an annual
£35m through the plan.
18
New entry
Martin Tiplady, HR director, Metropolitan Police
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 5
Tiplady
blasts straight into the top 20 on the back of an impressive year for the
Metropolitan Police. At a time when most HR professionals are worrying about
laying staff off – Tiplady has been
employing as many as he can. Since joining the force early last year, he has
presided over one of the largest police recruitment campaigns ever, and with
additional funding from London Mayor Ken Livingston, has managed to exceed
tough recruitment targets. Around 3,489 fresh-faced new officers signed up last
year (well above expectations) despite the tight labour market. In a workplace
condemned as institutionally racist, he has also driven diversity up to about
5.53 per cent from 4.9 per cent.
17
New entry
Elaine Way, President, Association of Healthcare
Human Resource Management, and Chief Executive Foyle
Health and Social Services Trust, Northern Ireland
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 9
Never
has the NHS been in more need of good HR management and since Way took over
presidency in October 2002, she has been putting the framework and strategies
in place that she believes will help promote the importance of HR to the chief
executive community.
Strategic
links have been forged with the CIPD, Socpo, the NHS University and the
Institute of Healthcare Management. Internally, the team has been strengthened
by the appointment of its first ever executive officer, Peter King, a former HR
director in the NHS.
Initiatives
since Way took over have included research into staff morale, carried out with
the CIPD and Department of Health/Modernisation Agency, and the launch of the
Excellence Awards with a prize fund of £20,000.
16 Colin Povey, Chief executive, Carlsberg Tetley
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 0
The
second HR director who has made it to CEO in this list continues to draw on his
years spent in the profession to bring refreshing new management initiatives to
the fore. These include a new style company conference themed around six
must-win UK battles, which saw BBC sports presenter John Inverdale dropping by
to interview directors on forthcoming key challenges – different, to say the
least. Open forums are now run twice a year, giving staff no-holds-barred
access to senior management, while Povey’s focus on the brand has seen
development of an interactive training tool in the style of a board game, which
enables workers to learn more about group brands.
Position
last year: 6
15
New entry
Derek Higgs, Author, Review of the role and
effectiveness of non-executive directors
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 9
Higgs
is this year’s contender for the one-hit wonder award. In the wake of Enron and
WorldCom, when people began asking whether large-scale corporate governance
scandals could hit the UK, Higgs was appointed by Patricia Hewitt to
investigate.
In
his review to clarify the role and increase the effectiveness of non-executive
directors, the former investment banker recommended a raft of changes that
could impact on HR. They included broadening the pool of candidates that
non-executive directors are selected from, greater transparency and a wider
range of skills – including HR – in boardrooms.
14
Julie Mellor, Chair X Equal Opportunities
Commission
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 22
As
a mark of the enduring role the EOC performs and its relevance to employers,
Mellor has the distinction of being one of just three power players who have
made the top 40 list every year since its inception in 1999 (the others are
Ruth Spellman and Geoff Armstrong). Marked down in previous years for its lack
of wallop, the formidable Mellor has put the EOC squarely back on the map having
launched a formal investigation into sexual harassment at Royal Mail sorting
offices, its first in several years. It is also investigating the Government’s
Modern Apprentice scheme due to a lack of female applicants.
Position
last year: 18
13
New entry
Fernando Pereira, Senior official X European Commission
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 8
The
hitherto unknown commissioner merits a place because he could have a
devastating effect on the length of our working week by the end of the year.
Entrusted to review the Working Time Directive, Pereira is likely to compel UK
employers to restrict working to a 48-hour week by removing the UK’s unique
opt-out clause. Canvassing the views of Personnel Today readers and members of
the Employment Lawyers Association, he received an emphatic response: eight out
of 10 HR professionals wish to keep it.
12
Will Hutton, Chief executive X The Work Foundation
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 27
He
may well dress like the Milk Tray man, in his black shirt and tuxedo, but you
certainly won’t find him breaking into your home with boxes of chocolates. He
may be regarded as a sweetie in HR circles for campaigning research at The Work
Foundation and for constantly pushing employers to rethink their people
policies to make staff more productive, but he is far from sweet when he turns
on the criticism – which ranges from greedy corporates to Blair and Iraq.
Research from The Work Foundation is highly relevant to HR, but still has to
make a real impact in wider circles.
Position
last year: 10
11
New entry
Alan Johnson, Former employment relations
minister, now minister for lifelong learning, further and higher education
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 29
It’s
been a busy year for the Government’s former industrial relations man. Strikes
have not been far from the news, with firefighters recently accepting the
government’s 16 per cent offer. Johnson understands the union line on
industrial relations. He became the youngest general secretary in the history
of the Union of Communication Workers when he was elected to the post in
January 1992. Tony Blair has recognised his contribution by recently promoting
him to minister of state for lifelong learning, further and higher education in
his latest cabinet reshuffle. As for HR, Johnson wants it on the board and
shaping EU legislation. For this, we applaud him.
10
New entry
Andrew Smith, Secretary of state for work and
pensions
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 20
Smith
should have been higher, but his avoidance of pension fund managers and
actuaries in the wake of the continuing pensions mess has done little to
enhance his standing. Disappointing, since his appointment last year was
welcomed by the CIPD as he was considered a prime mover behind the New Deal.
Given the Government’s previous failure to involve HR in key legislation, it’s
a relief that two senior HR directors have been appointed to the Employer Task
Force on pensions (Graham Oakley, group secretary, chief legal adviser and head
of HR, Marks & Spencer; and Anna Edgeworth, group HR director, George
Wimpey).
9
New entry
Mary Mallett, President, Society of Personnel
Officers (Socpo) and strategic director of organisation and development at Kent
County Council
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 11
Even
before her appointment, Mallett was a vociferous campaigner for HR to be
granted a voice at the top tables in the public sector. With Mallett in the hot
seat and equipped with Comprehensive Performance Assessment League tables as a
tool for highlighting poor performance in local government, Socpo has its best
ever chance to raise the bar of HR management and deliver improved service
levels. Also high on her agenda is to open up Socpo to the Civil Service –
completing the pursuit begun by her predecessor Francesca Okosi.
8
New entry
Duncan Brown, Assistant director general, CIPD
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 17
Although
he’s only been at the CIPD for little over a year, the former Towers Perrin
consultant is already being credited with making the institute more proactive,
and providing a much-needed injection of corporate realism. More initiatives
are emerging from its SW19 headquarters and research in key areas is being
conducted under his guidance. He is media savvy and is prepared to take on the
institute’s critics, such as Getty’s Ralph Tribe and consultant Paul Kearns.
The CIPD is benefiting from his profile in the industry and his leadership. One
of his key goals is to develop the appeal of the CIPD to more senior HR
directors.
7
John Sunderland, Executive chairman, Cadbury
Schweppes
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 2
Sunderland
remains in this year’s top 40 as his commitment to good people management
continues. He was recently elected deputy-president of the CBI, beginning in
May 2004, and is a member of the trumpeted Accounting for People Task Force.
Cadbury Schweppes employs more than 40,000 people and had a major structural
re-organisation in February. As executive chairman, Sunderland now oversees
five geographical regions and just 10 key executives. Under his command, the
company has overhauled flexible working and diversity policies, staff benefits,
reward schemes and training.
Position
last year: 11
6
Clare Chapman, HR director, Tesco
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 3
An
employee share scheme (Shares in Success), which saw staff who had worked at
the country’s leading supermarket for two years or more share £48m in May 2003,
was just one of several key innovations introduced by Chapman. Retention rates
are up and diversity levels have improved (one in six employees are over 50 and
nearly 1,600 are over 65). Chapman, who arrived four years ago from PepsiCola,
has long since earned her spurs as a heavyweight HR strategist. All of the ‘big
four’ supermarkets have demonstrated that competitive edge comes from employee
satisfaction, but it’s Asda and Tesco that fiercely vie for the mantle of being
the most innovative.
Position
last year: 9
5
David Smith, People director, Asda
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 2
Asda’s
people director holds on steadfastly as number one chief innovator in an
organisation, ably demonstrating that superior people policies do deliver
significant business results.
The
company reports that its internal measure of morale, the ‘We’re Listening Index’,
has never been higher. It was also ranked top UK employer in the FT’s Top 10
European Employers’ survey, and has notched up a top 10 position for the third
year running in the Sunday Times’ Best Company to Work For list.
Smith
has recently become an EOC Commissioner to lend more weight to the company’s
business case for equality.
Position
last year: 1
4
Jim McKenna, Chief executive, LogicaCMG UK and
Ireland
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 1
Formerly
group HR director of Logica, McKenna earns his place for joining a select, but
steadily growing, band of HR directors who have made it to CEO. His appointment
follows Logica’s merger with rival technology firm CMG last year, and will see
his merger and acquisitions skills deployed to the max. As one insider
commentated: "It is powerful that we now have a guy with such an HR
background and an understanding of integration in charge." Following
LogicaCMG’s posting of a £445m loss for the six months to 31 December, it
remains to be seen whether he will maintain his status as one of the countries
most highly paid executives.
Position
last year: 3
3
Denise Kingsmill, Chair, the Government’s
Accounting for People Task Force
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 12
Personnel
Today isn’t exaggerating when it says that Denise Kingsmill, chair of the
Government’s Accounting for People Task Force, could hold the key to the future
of HR. She is a major power player by virtue of her role heading up the group
that will decide how companies should report their human capital management in
future. Her recommendations to the DTI Secretary Patricia Hewitt this autumn
may determine the profession’s destiny. Kingsmill believes the standard of
people management in this country is generally poor, and she is on a mission to
improve things. A formidable lawyer, she is a strong advocate for the HR
profession and ethical practice.
Position
last year: 7
2
Steve Harvey, Director of people and culture,
Microsoft
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 8
Five
years ago, Harvey set out his aim to make Microsoft the employer of choice in
the IT sector. Earlier this year, the software giant was ranked number one in
the Sunday Times’ Best Company to Work For list. It receives 2,000 job
applications a month and 95 per cent of the workforce claim they love going to
work every day. It doesn’t leave Harvey much scope for improving recruitment
and retention but he’s not resting on his laurels. His image as a hard-nosed
ex-finance director is somewhat softened upon learning that the opening of
Microsoft’s day nursery was his personal highlight of the year.
Position
last year: 2
Personnel
Today’s 2003 Top Power Player is……
1
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of state for trade and
industry and minister for women & equality
Mentions
on personneltoday.com: 74
Patricia
Hewitt earns the number one slot in this year’s power list for a number of
significant reasons. She is proving to be a formidable DTI secretary,
relentlessly challenging employers and the establishment in her bid to create
the best environment for business and for employees. In the Employment Act
2002, her department is responsible for the biggest raft of workplace
legislation ever introduced in one Bill.
The
new rights – which cover flexible working, paternity and parental leave, equal
pay, grievances and learning – have been described as the most radical to hit
the HR profession.
Her
strong leadership includes efforts to address the UK’s poor productivity
figures, to tackle the performance and severance pay of directors, and to
improve human capital management. Not surprising for a mother of two who has
written a book on changes in work and family life, she is forcing employers to
see the benefits of work-life balance and to embrace diversity.
As
she is one of only 18 women ever to be a cabinet minister in the UK, it is a
huge achievement on her part that women’s issues remain firmly at the top of
the political agenda.
While
her policies may not always be popular with business, Hewitt is a brilliant
role model for the thousands of women who want to make a difference in public
life. She is transforming the workplace and her impact on all aspects of the HR
scene should not be underestimated.
Position
last year: 5
Top
40 power players 2003
Last
years position in ( ) NE = new entry
1 Patricia Hewitt (5)
2 Steve Harvey (2)
3 Denise Kingsmill (7)
4 Jim McKenna (3)
5 David Smith (1)
6 Clare Chapman (9)
7 John Sunderland (11)
8 Duncan Brown NE
9 Mary Mallett NE
10 Andrew Smith NE
11 Alan Johnson NE
12 Will Hutton (10)
13 Fernando Pereira NE
14 Julie Mellor (18)
15 Derek Higgs NE
16 Colin Povey (6)
17 Elaine Way NE
18 Martin Tiplady NE
19 Neil Roden NE
20 Geoff Armstrong (15)
21 Mike Cutt NE
22 Vance Kearney (12)
23 Brendan Barber NE
24 Francesca Okosi (4)
25 Jean Tomlin NE
26 Bob Crow (28)
27 Ruth Spellman (39)
28 Tracy Myhill (23)
29 Stan Fraser NE
30 Allan Leighton NE
31 Trevor Phillips NE
32 John Connolly NE
33 Paul Pagliari NE
34 Michael Porter NE
35 Andy Gilchrist NE
36 Susan Anderson (37)
37 Imelda Walsh (30)
38 Rita Donaghy (36)
39 Guru NE
40 Richard Houghton NE
Top
40 power players authors
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Scott
Beagrie, Sue Weekes, Penny Wilson, Jane King, Sally Avery, Ben Willmott,
Quentin Reade, Ross Wigham, Andrew Rogers, Martin Couzins