My name is Ruben Elendo and I am a Business Computing student at the University of Greenwich. I would like to be a project manager in the future and work in the civil service.
Starting at CIPD commenced by being shown around the building by Jackie Dedman (in the HR team) who was very welcoming and pleasant to speak to. Last year I worked in the content strategy and communications team with Derek Tong, so I already knew where everything was but there were still changes in regards to where I was located to work. Mandy from the strategy team settled me in where I received my log in and password for my designated computer to start working on my first task. Which was to give feedback on the PSF (Professional Standards Framework) prototype, it was very interesting and fun to see the projects CIPD are currently working on and give an external perspective to what they can change on them. Finally I had the chance to meet Aleyna Singh the Project Manager at CIPD who gave me the opportunity for the work experience as I was eager to learn and gain an insight to get into project management and strategy. To be working with the strategy and transformation team this year round which I was honoured. Then she explained about the CIPD aims, vision and structure with other newly members at CIPD in the Thirdspace.
Tuesday, I had an insightful conversation with Christina from planning and performance team. She kindly explained what the P&P team does and how it relates to strategy, as well as talking about the transition from a graduate to a full time worker which was good. It was very interesting to learn that each team at CIPD works towards their main aims and objectives. I attended the Discovery Hour which was about ‘Is HR ready to make the most of people data and people analytics’ it was very intriguing as at first, I thought it was going to be about statistics and that I thought it wasn’t going be interesting. When in fact I was very engaged by answering all of the questions proposed, which surprised myself but was also proud of myself for being open to ideas. Then Aleyna gave my second task to find out the market perception of Engage for Success and what do people value about the website which is an amazing organisation that corresponds with CIPD values.
Wednesday, I had a meeting with Oli the Transformation and communication lead which was really good. He explained the importance of internal communication and challenges at CIPD. By finding mutual understanding and creating a dialogue in the organisation between the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and CIPD members which is very fascinating. My third task from Aleyna was to update the list of people in CIPD on the Transformation resource tracker (excel) adding new members and removing people who have left which was an administrative task. I ended the day with Kristian Adams, the Editorial Executive discussing the People Management survey and giving an analysis from the thoughts from people in the junior, middle and senior level on their responses.
Thursday. I had a progress check with Aleyna for an hour discussing my thoughts and the tasks given. I had an amazing conversation with Justin Stahley the Project Executive about the Workspace page and on strategy and planning the CIPD’s futuristic goals. He also spoke about how CIPD carries out its projects and sprints in order to create a sustainable and healthy organisation that aligns with the CIPD values and strategic goals e.g. Professional Capital, Professionalism and Operational Excellence that delivers for the 5 years ahead as well as helping the society in general. As well as speaking to Ruth Stuart (Head of Strategy) who gave me exceptional advice about being very strategic and the benefits for a company’s strategic goals and plans to achieving the ultimate goals.
Friday was my last day where I completed all of my tasks and showcased to Ruth Stuart and Aleyna Singh which was very amazing.
I am grateful for Ruth and Aleyna giving me this experience to work in the strategy and transformation department at CIPD. As my long term career is to be a Project Manager in government and changing policies and regulations in the society. I have been taught all the project management techniques and strategies that I will continue to utilise for the greater good of this world.
You can find more about Ruben's last day on his LinkedIn post here.
