Despite prime minister David Cameron's recent comments on cutting HR jobs within the UK's police forces, suggesting the Government views HR as a disposable 'back-office' asset and indications that he may not fully understand HR structure within the police, Gibson insisted "the Government does recognise people management is important".
"People will always feed ministers information," Gibson asserted, also saying that "HR and senior management within the public sector need to be clearer about who is doing what", in order to avoid confusion over roles and ensure ministers have an accurate grasp of the true picture.
Commenting on the changes sweeping the public sector, Gibson said "strong HR is needed to put them [the changes] in place". With regard to the PM's views on HR, Gibson said: "The prime minister's support for the Employee Engagement Scheme shows there is no reason for HR to worry." The Employee Engagement Task Force launched in March 2011, following the 2009 MacLeod Review, Engaging for Success.
"Should people in public sector HR be worried? Not yet," Gibson added. "We shouldn't be worried about people drawing a soft conclusion from raw data," she added, saying it was something politicians often did in the heat of the moment and may explain the prime minister's comments on HR in UK police forces.
The PPMA serves and represents the professional interests of members working across the HR/OD professions within the public sector.
