‘Legs eleven’ and ‘Naughty forty’ – as a former Bingo caller, Burch certainly showed an aptitude to numbers but never thought in his wildest dreams that one day he’d be working as the Head of Reward and Performance for a slightly more sober organisation, the Crown Prosecution Service – here’s his story.
1. What is your current job title? Briefly describe your current role.
I am Head of Reward and Performance at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). My main role is to develop reward, job and individual performance management structures that support the changing nature of business for the CPS. I also take the lead in employee relations issues.
2. What challenges do you come across?
Change is a constant within the work that we do at the CPS and wider criminal justice system. My main challenge is therefore to develop structures that are flexible enough to help deliver that change and properly recognise the contribution of individuals at the same time. In the public sector, achieving the right balance within a limited budget certainly helps to focus the mind on what is most important to achieve.
I think the other main challenge is one of communication. It’s often difficult to explain to a member of staff that changes to their pay are linked to a wider strategic approach when their own focus is more short-term.
Thirdly, facilitating discussions between senior management and our Trade Unions is often quite challenging. Finding a solution to HR issues emerging from key business projects can often mean the difference between successful implementation or not.
3. What activities do you spend most of your time on?
With 8,000 staff most of whom have knowledge of the law as a feature of their job descriptions, it’s perhaps not surprising that a lot of my time is spent dealing with individual casework where staff have asked for a detailed explanation of their current and future reward prospects!
That said, my day job is really to develop a pay and workforce strategy that will provide the CPS with the right people in the right place at the right time.
From a reward perspective, that means setting the right terms and conditions to enable recruitment and retention of the best people and at the same time promoting the CPS as an employer of choice.
4. Describe your initial training within the profession
I started my career as a trainee leisure manager in a Bingo Hall! As well as calling the numbers, I learned some useful things like budget and staff management, advertising and how to avoid getting my bottom pinched by some of the punters.
From there, I moved to the Employment Services Agency and I have to say that the induction programme I received there was a fantastic grounding for a career in HR. As I was to work in a Jobcentre, we were taught how to interview people, how to manage your time, how to value and treat people as individuals and how to deal with difficult situations.
When I joined the CPS in 1986, it was my first specific role in the HR profession but I found that many of the disciplines required by the CIPD I had covered in previous employment. Consequently, converting theory into practice did not hold too many fears for me.
5. What positions have you held?
As I have said previously, these range from Bingo Caller to Senior HR Manager but in between I have worked as a Disablement Resettlement Officer, Employment Advisor, Court Clerk with the Director of Public Prosecutions and a variety of HR roles.
6. Is there a significant event you can tell us about which had an impact on your career?
I’m sure like most people there have been a number of events that have shaped my career. One that stands out was leading my first set of pay negotiations where all the preparation we had made was set aside by the hard line taken by our Trade Unions. The achievement of a negotiated settlement forced me to do some creative thinking in order to prevent a dispute. That taught me the value of keeping your options open as well as the need to be clear about your priorities.
7. What has been your greatest achievement?
Following the introduction of an ICT based Case Management System, our staff raised a number of concerns about both the system and the way it was being used in an operational context. The Trade Unions called for a suspension of the system while management found it difficult to accept that the project had not been delivered properly.
Acting in an arbitration/conciliation role, I helped both sides to agree an independent review of the project which turned out to be a good model for management and unions working together. The outcome produced a number of key business and HR-related recommendations which have significantly improved acceptance and use of the new technology.
8. What is your biggest career mistake?
I can’t really think of one. Working for the CPS has been incredibly rewarding and varied.
9. Which of your colleagues played the biggest role in you getting where you are today?
I think it’s important to learn from everyone you come into contact with as each will have different strengths. In general, I have found it more rewarding to work for people who have been prepared to provide me with more freedom to develop my ideas.
10. What influences do you think have had the greatest impact on the HR sector in recent years?
Changes in employment legislation have had a profound effect on the way in which we operate. I’m also grateful to those HR professionals who have been able to demonstrate the contribution of HR to the bottom line. In this way our role in business decision making has been enhanced.
11. What advice would you give to someone thinking of entering the profession?
Read, learn and inwardly digest. Only when you have mastered the basics can you throw away the rule books and be truly creative in your contribution.
12. What are your plans for the future?
Delivering a new reward structure for the CPS will take some time yet and then I’ll take stock of my own career position. There are many HR opportunities in the public sector to look at and an HR Directorship would be a logical step.
Previous career profiles can be seen on the How Did I Get Here? page.
