MY CIPP
A day in the life of a CIPP board member In the latest of our series of summer articles, we introduce you to some more of the CIPP’s board members, and invite you to take a glimpse into a typical day in each of their lives…
9:00 a.m – 3 p.m: meetings l meeting 1: a catch up as I find my feet and build my internal network with the Evelyn Partners pension team. We all know and appreciate that pensions are a critical part of the payroll professional’s life. Working at Evelyn Partners means we talk and catch up virtually to discuss any issues being faced but also look at gaps in knowledge and understanding. We discuss setting up a ‘morning coffee and learn’ session on a Thursday for the payroll team l meeting 2: when I joined the team in October 2022, we established a morning catch up for payroll. This is an opportunity to share a message – good and bad, and to understand how the team is feeling the work of these diligent committees. Supporting all of this is the CIPP staff, and there’s a continuous stream of correspondence with the chief executive officer (CEO) and members of his leadership team. They provide the board with immense support, which I believe is reciprocated, as does Karen Boffey who, among many other tasks, acts as board secretary. There’s a good team at the CIPP, and they work together well. By the time this article is published, our current CEO, Ken Pullar, will either have retired or will be about to. I communicate with Ken more than anyone else at the Institute. I shall miss him because, to me, he represents a model of all that a good CEO should be. As I look back over what I’ve seen him achieve, and the way he’s done it, I realise I’ve witnessed something incredibly special. by professionals who are independent of the board. Work within our sub-committees involves intensive dives into the relevant areas of scrutiny. Their work goes unsung, but they fulfil hugely essential functions and have contributed much to the quality of board decision making. They also provide assurances to members regarding the stability and future of our Institute. Few days go by without some thought dedicated to
7:00 a.m: I typically get started at this time. The first thing I do is check my inbox and see if there’s anything urgent to be prioritised. Then I move to the emails which require a quick response or, even better, can be delegated! 8:00 a.m: As I read my emails, I’m constantly adding to my payroll and personal tracker. Today, I must ask my Partner for an update on two outstanding fee issues and seek approval for the team to have professional headshots taken. I also add an update to my manager’s tracker on how our on-boarding is progressing. We recently had great news, as four new payrolls joined us, and I need to ensure successful transitions and introductions to our business. l ensuring proper liaison between the CIPP and its subsidiary, IPP Education Limited l dealing with the occasional member complaint l preparing a paper for the board or one of its sub-committees. Board meetings represent the pinnacle of my board activity and I really look forward to them. Although board members don’t always agree, our discussions are respectful, friendly, professionally managed by our Chair and most important of all, they’re constructive. Being with people who share goals and have such passion and enthusiasm for our Institute is the best of experiences. This is only matched by the opportunities we get to meet members at education events, conferences and, above all, at our annual graduation ceremony. I doubt whether a day goes by when I’m not thinking either forwards or backwards in relation to such member engagement. Outside of board meetings and CIPP events, interaction between colleagues is constant through email and a shared WhatsApp account. Some of us sit on board sub-committees, of which there are currently two: The Audit and Risk Committee and the Nominations and Appeals Committee. Both are chaired
Cliff Vidgeon BA (Hons) CMA ACG ChFCIPP In terms of a day in the life of this board member, my days vary based on the work afoot, energy levels and the number and type of distractions encountered. Like most of my board colleagues, serving the CIPP as a director isn’t my full-time activity; however, a day rarely passes without me being involved in a CIPP-related matter. I combine my board director role with that of being Institute secretary and it’s an absolute pleasure to work with board colleagues. Not only do they share my vision and enthusiasm for our professions, but they’ve also been supportive of reforms to improve and strengthen the Institute’s governance, processes of decision making, transparency and external scrutiny. Typically, a day might include (but not necessarily all in one day): l interpretation of a sentence in our Charter and Byelaws l reviewing the process by which new board members are elected
Lou Gray ChMCIPPdip My weekend included keeping on top of my emails at the very least. Today was different for the payroll team because, despite being engrossed in our clients’ payrolls, we also had a financial spreadsheet to update. Running a managed payroll offering, while working in a practice (Evelyn Partners) means there are strict procedures in place and stringent recordkeeping policies.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | July - August 2023 | Issue 92 16
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