In this episode of the HR Uprising Podcast, Lucinda is joined by David D’Souza, the Director of Membership at the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). He sat down with Lucinda for a frank and honest conversation, in which he answered questions from the community about the behind-the-scenes goings-on at the hub of personnel and development, as well as their intentions for the future. And, ultimately, what did the CIPD ever do for me?!
 
It’s a fascinating look behind the curtain, and throws considerable light on some of the concerns that UK-based HR professionals may have, as well as the solutions that may be on the way.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

The profession needs a fantastic professional body, something that David is keen to promote and be a part of. Many have their skepticisms about the CIPD, but David believes that he can promote positive change from the inside.
The CIPD needs to drastically improve its technology and infrastructure. It also needs to be a key provider of content for the profession.
The CIPD conducts many surveys in order to speak directly to professionals about their concerns and wishes. They also pay attention to all of the social channels, as well as the voices on the ground levels through visits and real interaction.
The biggest challenge for the CIPD is that it currently requires a new hybrid integration platform in order to prevent data from arriving in pieces, and in a broken state.
Community forums are swift resources of information but can be one-sided. The CIPD needs to be that one-stop-shop in terms of impartiality, quality, and speed-of-response.
The CIPD needs to be more aspirational in terms of vision, but similarly, it needs to spend more time “clearing out the gutters” than reaching for the stars. It’s a hard balancing act.
In terms of diversity, we need to increase the diversity of the sector as well as the diversity of background and voice. Diversity is one of David’s key drivers.
Conferences and networking events run by the CIPD need to increase their reach in terms of diversity. They sell out, but rather than this being a positive, does it not mean that smaller and less affluent professionals are not being represented there?
It can feel from the outside that the CIPD are standing still when in reality, much work is being done on infrastructure and internal systems and processes.

 
BEST MOMENTS

‘I think my wife did the hard work’
‘I’m lucky enough to work in a profession that isn’t backwards in coming forwards’
‘We’re a far more connected world’
‘We need to make strides in credibility, community, and content’
‘What do you get for your money, and why?’
‘When it comes to renewing each year, it’s a no-brainer'

 
VALUABLE RESOURCES

Join the HR Uprising LinkedIn Group
Host of The HR Uprising Podcast, Lucinda Carney, is also the founder and CEO of Actus Software, where you can find additional free HR Resources: https://actus.co.uk/free-performance-management-resources/

 
ABOUT THE GUEST
David D'Souza: Director of Membership, CIPD
David joined the CIPD, the professional body HR and people development, in 2014 and has been its Membership Director since 2018. He is responsible for growing membership and ensuring the CIPD connects effectively with the profession to understand how it can continually improve its support offer.
 
He previously worked as an independent consultant and has also held roles across a range of financial services and retail organisations.  
 
In addition, David is a respected and in demand speaker and writer on progressive HR and business practice, with his commentary regularly featuring in national media. He has expertise in a wide range of areas, including organisational development and culture, learning and development as well as corporate ethics and the future of work.
 
Furthermore, he is a Fellow of the Learning Performance Institute, the Centre for Evidence Based Management and the RSA - as well as being a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.
 

David D'Souza