This February, we hosted the HR and Payroll Network at our Mitie’s offices in Birmingham..........can you believe between us there was 496 years of HR and Payroll Experience in the room!!!
The day kicked off with our Mitie team giving an overview of our Shared Services structure and ways of working – hearing about how the model has evolved to include some offshored and outsourced working. We had some fantastic discussions about the challenges facing Mitie and other organisations and spoke about our roles as HR and Payroll professionals in facing into these challenges. It was clear that there’s be a shift away from ‘tears and tissues’ and we have to have a much more commercial mindset, tackling issues and challenges in new and innovative ways.
James King, Account Director at Zellis took to the floor in the afternoon to share insights on the wider environment and attitudes to work and the implications on Shared Services. It was fascinating to hear that 15% workers have or will have a mental health condition, and that UK workers lose 3 hours a week on average due to money worries. In recent years, we’ve seen a hard focus on flexible working patterns, part time working or casual working, and James flagged that the rising retirement age and attitudes of Gen Z is about to flip that on it’s head again – with us about to see retirement happening throughout the employment lifecycle, as career breaks, rather than at the end of the working life. Really fascinating stuff!
Royal London’s member contribution was a fantastic addition to the agenda – hearing from Ann Dean and Derrick Porritt about how the team have transformed their shared service function, but also embedded themselves into the business with colleague surgeries and Service Reviews. Insights into the ‘premium service’ offered by Royal London for high risk areas with big impact shared a different way of thinking and gave real food for thought.
We ended the session with a focus on how we are going to make the network even better in the next 12 months.Members listed what they could share with others, and also where they needed help / guidance. This was a great way to end the day as we know what a members need and want for the next 12 months, so can make our future sessions even more valuable!
We crammed a huge amount into 5 hours, and the discussions had, and new connections were invaluable. We’re already looking forward to our next event in taking place online this!!!
