What do CIPD members have to offer?
HR professionals have in the past not been sources of talent for NED positions, but with their skills and core competences relevant to board working, they have much to offer. Geoff Armstrong, then the Director General of the CIPD, is quoted in the Tyson review, saying ‘There is a vast pool of talent within the HR profession. Such individuals would bring a new dimension to the non-executive role and ensure that an organisation’s key driver of value – namely its people – is taken seriously at board level. They would bring a fresh and much-needed perspective to the decision-making process.’ The following are core skills possessed by HR professionals which would make them suitable non-executive directors: • understanding that the key to a company’s success is its people • focusing on the convergence and divergence of employee and management priorities • communicating the link between people and profit – a committed and skilled workforce boosts profitability • people management and developm
