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By his own admission, CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese – who has actually spent most of his career (30 years) in the talent and organisation practice at Accenture – only intended to stay on as head of the HR sector’s professional body for a maximum of five-seven years. But later this year – at the end of June to be precise – some 14 years later, Cheese is finally calling it a day. It’s time for new blood, he says, although don’t expect him to completely disappear from the HR scene just like that.
Cheese is joining HR Grapevine at a central London hotel, to reflect on his longer-than-expected tenure at the CIPD, but it won’t surprise many who know him well that he’s just hop-footed it from somewhere else, The Worshipful Company of HR Professionals, in fact – one of the newest (and 114th in total), of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Only a few years old, this is one organisation at the very least – whose core value is to advocate and promote the HR profession – that he still very much plans to be involved with. The same can also be said with Engage for Success (which he chairs) – the movement promoting employee engagement – as well as a non-exec role on the board of the College of Policing for England and Wales.
“I’m not the sort of person who can fully hang up my boots and properly retire,” he winks mischievously. “I can’t suddenly stop supporting and advocating many of the big things in work that I’ve campaigned so hard for,” he says. “But I had to choose ‘a’ time to bow out, and now – I think – is the right moment.” He says: “Most weeks I’m invited to as least two evening events; I’m always tearing up and down the country, and I think it’s time for me to focus more on HR-related things without the intensity and the pressure that comes with being the figurehead of the CIPD.”
Admitting that he is slightly in that closing period of his tenure, where he is more wrapping things up than starting anything new, Cheese is naturally in reflective mood, and there will be plenty who will be sorry to see him, and the verve he has applied to his job go. For some though, the anointing of a new chief potentially marks the start of a new period of reflection for the CIPD itself, in terms of taking the chance to decide what it still needs to do, and what the HR profession needs to stand for. Because if there’s one thing about Cheese that’s refreshing to see, is that he’s self-aware enough to not say everything he’s touched has turned to gold.
An ambition to build confidence, credibility and capability
“When I joined the CIPD, my vision for it was for HR was to build confidence, credibility and capability; for professionals to have more of a strategic voice, to be more influential, and not just a place people went to get their professional qualifications,” he says.
“But I’m also not going to sit here and say everything is wonderful.” He says: “Whilst I feel like HR has become more professional, and more influential, if you asked me if we can still do more, then I would absolutely say yes.” He continues: “HR still has so much more to do. I think it still has a sense of refrain about it; and it should be influencing business policy more. If I were being critical, I would say there are pockets where HR is still very inward-looking, and not looking across disciplines and not investing in their own skills more.”
I had to choose ‘a’ time to bow out, and now – I think – is the right moment
We need a 'pull' from members too
Amongst the many things Cheese says he’s most proud of is the work the CIPD has done around redefining and modernising the skills and competencies for the profession – as captured in its ‘Profession Map’.
But he is also realistic too that these (and other initiatives), may not always hit the mark if HR professionals have still to ‘step up’.
He says: “Part of the problem of some HR professionals being inward-looking still is that it can sometimes be hard for us [the CIPD] to get their engagement. There has to be a pull from members too.”
Cheese adds: “We know that people consume our content [the output of which has increased considerably in the last few years], but we also know that too many aren’t doing their Continuous Professional Development. Other institutes are far more prescriptive about demonstrating this for their members’ continued license to operate. I’ve often talked about whether we should be more harsh on this. In the end, I’ve preferred that the CIPD becomes more of a ‘career partner’ for practitioners. But learning doesn’t just come to people, they’ve got to come a get it.”
Timing is everything
The fact Cheese is stepping away just as the profession is arguably at its own new critical juncture (with AI and all the change this is likely to bring), is not lost on Cheese.
“Existentially, I know some are even asking what the point of professional bodies more broadly are,” he says. “I’ve wanted to leave at a point where our future fitness is assured, but when people are consuming content different, and from other sources, it’s almost like our very existing is being questioned.” He continues: “The future for us could be very profound. We can no longer say that we deserve to exist, just because we have done for more than 100 years. We’ve got to prove our need to exist, to shift to a point where we don’t get disintermediated. We’ve got to step boldly into this new space.”
Cheese argues him stepping away is less about him not being confident to take the CIPD into a new direction, but more about it being the right time to get someone in that will have a long enough new tenure to really see change come through.
HR still has so much more to do. I think it still has a sense of refrain about it; and it should be influencing business policy more
He reflects: “There’s fundamental questions that need to be addressed – like what does ‘good work’ look like and what does this mean for skills and competencies. I think these are massive agendas that the profession should be at the heart of but we are not yet. I’m not saying this with gloom. This is an exciting future I see ahead. Would it be great to hang around and see how this plays out? Of course, but I think this new challenge isn’t for me. It needs someone who can really drive it. I don’t have a say in who comes next, but I would say that whoever it is needs a breadth of experience to understand the breadth of the problems HR needs to sole. Whoever is here next needs connections.”
Cheese is probably playing this last aspect down – he is tremendously multi-connected [he says he’s already had lots of people reach out to him to see if he can do non-executive or chairmanship roles], but his sentiment is that this probably is the right time to step off the bus.
