Name: Dean Shoesmith
Current position: Joint head of HR 
Organisation: London Boroughs of Sutton and Merton

What roles have you held
Working backwards:

• Executive head of HR, London Borough of Sutton
• Head of HR (Social Services) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Head of learning and development, Mediciens Control Agency (part of the Department of Health)
• Head of HR (Housing ) London Borough of Lewisham
• Principal employee relations officer, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Recruitment manager (Social Services) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Employee relations officer (Social Services) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Personnel assistant (Social Services) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• Trainee personnel officer, Dalgetty Spillers

HR POWER

What attracted you into the world of HR
I studied a business degree at university and went on to a post-graduate diploma in personnel management with Graduate IPM (as it was then called). From the business degree I was really interested in two main areas – organisational psychology/behaviour and employee relations (then known as industrial relations) and I wanted to put theory into pratice.

What are your key skills
Leadership, common sense and bags of general HR experience, together with being able to manage the political environment – I would argue a special skill set in Local Government.

What areas of HR do you specialize in
None now. As joint head of HR for Sutton and Merton boroughs I have to take a strategic overview. In the past I’ve specialized in a number of HR areas such as: learning and development, employee relations, recruitment etc.

What value do you think HR plays in an organization
The ‘Ulrich’ concept of the HR strategic business partner sets out a clear added value role for HR. Support the business through strategy and action to deliver the organization’s aims through its people.

Is the name HR as a function still relevant - what would you rename it to
I think so, although I know the term human capital is gaining some credence.

LEADERSHIP

What kind of leader are you - describe your leadership brand
An emotionally intelligent one with an adaptive leadership style.

How do you develop talent
Empowering others through coaching and supported delegation.

How do you reward your staff 
Through good quality support and development opportunities (we don’t have any cash in Local Government but anyway I think enriched job opportunity is much more motivating than cash!)

What do you think are the most popular rewards and benefits
More cash and flexible worklife opportunities

What do you think HR professionals need to get better at doing
Understanding the business the operate within and then applying HR ideas to solve the problems of their internal customer.

How are you driving change
Partnership work (eg Sutton and Merton role, 22- borough partnership for shared recruitment services) introducing systems to replace transactional HR to allow for more added value.

How do you keep ahead of trends
Networking, reading and keeping in touch with leading thinkers in the field. I’m a visiting fellow at Kingston University Business School

What is the greatest threat to the HR industry
Lack of skills and conceptual thinking coming through from grass roots HR practitioners. I’m the national IDeA Innovation and Development Agency for 2008. We’re in a global skills race (Gordon Brown’s speech 28 January 2008) and we have to take action to tackle the skills deficit in the UK.

What has been the most important professional lesson that you have learnt so far?
Active listening allied with good problem-solving skills will take you a long way.

What inspires you
Cheesy, but making a difference for the better.

What would you eliminate in the workplace
In Local Government, less hierarchy and in the UK in general the ‘can’t do’ attitude that sometimes prevails.

At the end of your career, what significant HR achievements would you like to be remembered for
Championing skills development both in HR and in the public sector.

IN THE BOARDROOM

What have you done tp put HR at the front of every boardroom agenda
Workforce strategies that solve the board’s problems can be a great way to grab their attention and show solid added value.

What has been your greatest challenge in the boardroom
Not being seen as a ‘fluffy’ HR ‘bod’. Dealing with firm evidence to present a robust business case to support what I’m trying to achieve.

What is the quirkiest HR people initiative you have ever introduced 
Abandoning traditional interviews to ensure we could recruit more disabled people into the Council (radical for us!) Yes it was accepted and yes it worked.

What’s on your people agenda
As covered above, skills development is the BIG issue. Other big issues are workforce planning, and partnership working.

IN 2018

What will the role of HR look like
Less transactional. More strategic and business- focussed.

What will the world of work look like
Even more technology based than we are now. I hope we have the skills coming though in the UK to ensure we maintain competitive in the global economy and I hope we have high calibre public sector people who add value to the communities they serve.