CAREER DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT
Diary of a student…
Michelle King-Bennett MCIPPdip Global payroll & benefits manager, SmartStream Technologies Ltd
departments, countries and levels of management. How did you cope with the work-life balance and your study? At times, it was difficult balancing work and life commitments while studying for my degree. I had some challenging life events along the way, but my tutor, Kelvin, was supportive and understanding. It took a lot of dedication, long hours and some tears! But, being stubborn helped. My husband and son were supportive and understanding. My husband spent a lot of time in his garage on Saturdays and Sundays when my assignments were due. There were a few times I wanted to throw in the towel, but I knew I could not give up with the end in sight. My tutor and tutor group were amazing, and we supported each other. It helped walking into a room of friendly faces when having to meet on a Saturday after a long week. We had a tutor group reunion after graduation and will be making it an annual event. Did the fact that the CIPP is Chartered or recognised within the industry influence your decision to enrol with the CIPP? And were there any modules which were of interest prior to enrolling? Absolutely, I chose the CIPP based on its reputation and Chartered status. I thought that if I am going to do this, I want the best qualification to excel in my career. Having a degree that is industry recognised increases my chances for career advancement. I was very interested in modules on effective communication and leading the team. It helped me to deal with some difficult situations and enabled me to become a more effective communicator within my business and personal relationships. n
Can you give us a brief background into your life? I’m originally from Canada and lived
Canadian credentials were not recognised. Also, payroll and legislation here in the UK are completely different to Canada so I returned to finance. I was working for a company that had a payroll gap in the business and the finance manager asked me to take it up. I agreed reluctantly, as I knew nothing about UK payroll. After liaising with our payroll provider for a few months, I missed working in payroll and realised this is the career I really wanted. I knew that if I wanted to excel and evolve in my payroll career I needed to become qualified in the UK. I put forward a business case to my manager and asked for sponsorship to obtain my UK payroll credentials. After a lot of research, I chose the CIPP, based on their professionalism and that the qualification was highly regarded by UK employers. How important is this degree in relation to your career? Gaining the Foundation Degree gave me the confidence and knowledge to pursue my career at the level I am currently working. When looking for career advancement, most employers now require you to have the Foundation Degree through the CIPP. This was a definite with my current position – it was one of the mandatory requirements to obtain an interview. It has given me the skills to deal with many different
there with my British husband until 2010, when we moved to the UK – as he’d had enough of cold Canadian winters. I am now a dual citizen and proudly call two amazing countries ‘home’. My son moved back to Canada two years ago when he completed his ‘A’ levels. I have two lovely grown-up stepdaughters and a cheeky Jack Russell named Bear. I love to travel and am seriously working on my bucket list of European countries to visit. Can you give us an insight into your career and qualifications background? I started my payroll career by ‘accident’ almost twenty years ago, working as an accounts assistant for a John Deer dealership in Canada. There was a gap in the business and I was asked to take it on. From there, I moved onto another company and again asked to take over payroll. I decided then it seemed to be my future career path, so I went with it. I took courses in Canada with the Canadian Payroll Association and moved further into my payroll career. Why did you choose to study the Foundation Degree? On moving to the UK I realised I could not continue with my payroll career as my
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | November 2018 | Issue 45 12
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