Title: Head of corporate services
Company: Isle of Man Constabulary
Job responsibilities
To provide strategic leadership in the constabularys bid to attain world-class status; also responsible for finance, IT, communications, property and facilities management, criminal administration and HR.
Previous jobs
My career developed in three stages: company administration, then personnel and training, now general management.
What attracted you to HR?
The volume of law that regulates the working environment and the need to find a common-sense way of dealing with people.
What is the most important contribution that HR makes to the business?
It should develop efficient processes and procedures that encourage people to maintain a high level of motivation and effective performance in the pursuit of organisational goals.
What are the key skills that you need to succeed in your current role?
Leadership, followed by management skills backed by experience and ability to be innovative with scarce resources.
Which of your previous jobs have had the most impact on your current role?
Working with Kelco/Merk, I learned much about performance management. Later, at Ciba Geigy and then at Enron, I developed practices which linked empowerment, innovation and quality all of which are essential in modern policing.
What has been your greatest achievement in work?
Taking the best HR practices from the private sector into the public sector to facilitate improved results as measured by publicly stated performance indicators.
Who has been the greatest influence on your work?
The Scots poet, Robert Burns, who said, A mans a man for all that. Its very important in people management to remember were all human.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love being a business partner, ensuring that the people practices I devise when working in project teams meet the commercial and best-value goals of the organisation.
What do you enjoy least about your job?
Occasionally working with line managers who do not appreciate that HR management makes a strategic contribution to the success of an organisation.
Which business person do you admire most?
Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie who supported the development of individuals through his philanthropic work.