Professional December 2020 - January 2021

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu (1931– ) (https://bit.ly/33d4U4i)

Recently, while wondering how people react in awful times, I researched the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, and remembered watching in my teens the

weekly applause for NHS staff, during lockdown. Well, it’s that annual moment to extend my thanks to all those at the CIPP and beyond, without whose support and input production of the magazine would be impossible. Particularly meriting of my appreciation are the designers Sam Parkes and James Bartlett, the policy team for their continual supply of great articles, and Dawn Baxter and colleagues for their support and timely delivery of in-house content. Bring on 2021!

film The Seventh Seal , in which a desperate group somewhere in Europe strive to avoid

the plague and evade death (depicted as a stalking grim reaper). During this horrible year I have found comfort and cheer in doing simple things, such as Skype-ing my grandchildren, and in the inspirational actions of countless people – especially the following individuals. Marcus Rashford, a highly paid professional footballer, who triggered government policy turnaround on school meals provision. Annemarie Plas for initiating Clap for Carers, the UK-wide

Mike Nicholas MCIPP (editor@cipp.org.uk) Editor

Chair’s message

I hope this finds each of you safe and well and adjusting to the new ways of working. The feature topic this issue is customer and client fulfilment. Whether providing a service to an external or an internal client, I have some thoughts and messages to help

The key link here is communication. Very often once a commercial agreement is made, or objectives set for the service, those items may be parked. It is especially important to revisit and refresh them and keep the priorities front of mind for all delivering the service. Transparency and regular communication help to resolve items quickly and highlight where either the internal or external customer maybe hampering the service team, by not delivering information for action, either in a timely manner or to a quality expected. Client fulfilment can only be achieved if both parties are willing to listen, keep an eye on what is important and work together to overcome obstacles. This in turn, moves a service agreement to a partnership approach. I hope you find the articles contained in this edition of interest and of benefit to you, and please drop me a line if you want to discuss anything in more detail.

either situation. Very often in an external outsourced arrangement the most senior members of both businesses begin the process of tender response, pre-sales activity, system demonstration and contractual discussions. All this often happens either without anyone from the operational side of the business working alongside the team or perhaps from a distance. Therefore, any handover to operations once an agreement is made, and is in service, must ensure that all the finer points from the earlier conversations are documented and understood. It can be the smallest nuance in the early discussions that, if not transferred, can make a big difference to the service management and the expectations of the client and the service team. Take this scenario to an internal service provision, and you have the same issue if what is discussed in the boardroom as expectation is not then communicated to the team operating day to day services.

Jason Davenport MCIPP MIoD (jason.davenport3@cipp.org.uk) Chair, CIPP

What a year! I’m sure it’s one which we will not forget, personally or professionally. I am writing this as we hear the news that the coronavirus job retention scheme has been extended and the job support scheme CEO’s message

dominated by MS Teams and Zoom (other platforms are available!), where human interaction in celebrating our profession has been almost non-existent. Let’s focus on next year – may 2021 be the time when we get together for the Annual Conference and Excellence Awards at the Celtic Manor Resort, a ‘double’ Graduation celebration to celebrate 2020 and 2021 successes, National Payroll Week, and the chance in our 41st year to actually celebrate our 40th anniversary in person! Finally, on behalf of all the staff and board here at CIPP, I wish you all a well-deserved break over the Christmas and New Year period. May it be spent with family, friends and loved ones. Keep safe and well.

postponed as we move into another national

lockdown. Payroll professionals; key workers indeed. Certainly, our Advisory Service has had its busiest year ever; hopefully, we have been able to give you help and assistance during these turbulent times. May I thank all who have availed of the assistance as, despite thousands of calls and emails at times and having to wait to be answered, I have been assured by the team that not one angry or unkind comment has been made by members in seeking help and guidance. That’s really appreciated, and it is a testament to your professionalism during these challenging times. This is a time when I normally reflect on the events we have delivered to you, our members. Well – it’s been a virtual year –

Ken Pullar FCIPP (ken.pullar@cipp.org.uk) Chief executive officer, CIPP

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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |

Issue 66 | December 2020 - January 2021

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