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Why Brexit means CIPD membership matters

Published on: 26 Jul 2016

 

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Employers across the UK will be turning to their HR departments for support and guidance on the way ahead following the Brexit result of the EU referendum. Having support of a professional body like the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) provides much needed guidance for HR professionals that in turn need to advise their own employers. Now, more than ever, is a great time to join the organisation and benefit from a collective voice, a network of professionals, an ongoing dialogue around Brexit and frequently asked questions that will help support the everyday practical issues around employment law, labour market policies, skills, talent and movement of workers.

Commitment to best practice: Membership of the CIPD and the associated qualifications it provides is a mark of professionalism and signals a standard of best practice in all areas of HR. Working within an agreed framework of professionalism gives employers the reassurance that advice on many of the Brexit issues that will surface in the following weeks, months and years will be arrived at with the right level of attainment in the necessary fields of expertise.

Inspiring confidence in employers: These are unchartered waters which have implications for many workplace issues and may precipitate workplace change. With delay and uncertainty ahead, HR will need to prepare employers for all eventualities. Much will depend on the negotiations that lie ahead. A big concern for employers that rely on large swathes of EU workers, including the NHS and many other organisations is the impact Brexit will have on the free movement of workers. A key challenge for HR professionals is to prepare contingency plans for these unprecedented outcomes. Having membership of the CIPD offers a guiding force and gives employers confidence that the advice they are being offered is given with authority and credibility in this specialist area of practice.

A collective voice: Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, recently emphasised the benefits of a collective approach: “The CIPD will ensure we have a strong voice as a profession and as a professional institute in the ongoing consultation and dialogue about changes from everything from migration and access to skills and talent, labour market policies, employment law and so on and we will play our part in that and we will engage and represent our profession as the voice of the profession in all of those sorts of discussions.”

Trust: In the times to follow, HR professionals will be offered much advice. A challenge will be where to turn and which sources to put their faith in. The CIPD is a professional body of 140,000 worldwide members. It has been setting the benchmark for excellence in people and organisation development for more than 100 years. It is also independent, not-for-profit and holds a highly respected Royal Charter. Employers that know their HR professionals are using a primary source of trusted HR advice will be reassured they are benefitting from the latest and updated guidance as well as the opportunity to unlock valuable content, information and tools and access a network of senior professionals.

When all that is solid melts into air, you need people with a sound professional background who you can trust to use their knowledge, judgement and creativity to navigate the new circumstances…indeed, to be a joint author of the new context. One element of judging a person’s capacity in that regard is whether they possess a professional qualification, and that applies as much for us in HR as it does in medicine, nursing and elsewhere.

Dr Mark Cole, head of learning & development, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.

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