MY CIPP
Spotlight on...
Jason Davenport MCIPP MioD Chief executive officer (CEO)
Tell us a little about your career and background so far. It was while delivering in-house payrolls within construction that I decided I wanted to grow my payroll career, and move into outsourcing to gain more experience within a variety of industries. CMG provided that grounding for me. Taking on payroll outsourcing contracts in a variety of industries such as financial services, oil, gas and many more provided a much broader understanding of the different complexities within payroll. I then joined their management development prorgramme, which, for 12 months, provided a fantastic grounding in people, project, sales and contract management, as well as financial control, contract negotiations and all aspects / challenges of running your own business. Becoming an associate director with CMG then gave me the opportunity to take on international work. Soon after that followed my move to NorthgateArinso as an operations director to: l support their global payroll growth plans l develop service delivery contracts with clients who followed the sun in terms of global support and services. It was also at this time (working alongside what was then the IPP) that Chris Williams, one of the founding members of the Institute, encouraged me to stand for board. Becoming a non-executive director added a new set of skills and provided additional experience, which has proved essential when I look back at my career. You’ve recently joined the CIPP as the new CEO, what are you most looking forward to in this role? Building on the foundations in place. For any organisation, it’s important not to rest on your laurels. Ensuring progress is maintained in all that we do. Covid-19 forced a pivot towards
online and remote delivery models, and this will now become an expected delivery model for many. This is great, as it allows a lot of individuals who previously may not have joined training courses due to location or travel implications to gain access to education. It also means all the hard work undertaken by the instructional designers to create digital-first content was the correct strategy to follow pre-Covid. However, there’s still a place for face-to-face learning. Universities expect it as part of the learning approach and many still get so much from sharing and reviewing progress in a traditional classroom setting. Investment in the education portfolio review is well underway across all our payroll, pensions and reward offerings, and this was a long-term strategy set in motion some years ago, to deliver across many years to come. As a membership organisation, it’s essential we’re delivering what our members want and need, which is why we continually seek feedback and opinions on a whole variety of matters impacting the industry. The special interest groups are a great way of bringing that all together in one place, so they’ll continue to grow and develop. Reviewing member benefits and ensuring what’s offered is of value is also essential. I continued to use my payroll reference books recently as I ran my own consultancy business. The Advisory Service and Professional magazine are two great sources of information, which alongside News Online and other available resources, we’ll continue to invest in and develop for the benefit of the membership and the industry. You’ve worked in the payroll industry for most of your career. How do you think the payroll profession has changed during that time?
I’ve worked in the industry since the pre- computing days of manual calculations, carbonised paper and writing out payslips by hand, filling them with notes and coins. So, the move from mainframe to wide area network servers to cloud computing has all happened during that time. Now of course, alongside global delivery capability, there’s artificial intelligence to consider and how that will impact future delivery models within the industry. Within all this time, I’ve witnessed a greater desire for information sharing, working together and collaboration across businesses, industries and countries. Data privacy and security is foremost in consideration now in an ever-digital age, and payroll, pensions and reward has always had a part to play in ensuring data is managed correctly and appropriately. What does the future hold for the CIPP? The CIPP is recognised as the foremost professional body supporting the industry in the UK. To stay that way, we’ll continue working with partner organisations in the UK and alongside international associations, such as the Global Payroll Assosication and other Institutes across the globe. We’ll continue to review our offering to individuals and businesses. To stay relevant, it’s important to ensure new entrants to the industry are aware of the support to be gained via the Institute, and that businesses are aware of the standards that can be shared, plus the benefits of having fully qualified payroll practitioners in their organisation. I’m extremely proud and excited to now be leading the profession for this next period of growth, and recognise that as CEO of a Chartered body, my time and legacy will be proven by handing over a successful business to my future successor. n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 94 | October 2023
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