Kerry Tattersall CMHRNZ

What led you to a career in HR/ the position that you are in currently?  

I originally wanted to train as a doctor, then a lawyer; finally settling on undertaking my tertiary qualifications within Human Resource Management specializing in employment law and employee relations.  A little later, I went back to study for health and safety post graduate qualification, and I trained to be an accredited workplace coach.  Whilst I may have been a little unsure of my career path at the start; there was always one constant – and that was to work with people. 

I moved into consultancy 5 years ago.  It was something I had considered for quite some time before I finally took the leap of faith and I haven’t looked back since.  I enjoy meeting different people from different industries and partnering with them to provide support, advice and guidance on the whole HR spectrum. 

What do you love about working in HR?  

I’m naturally curious so as an HR/ER/OD Consultant I can get into the nitty gritty when I’m business partnering with my diverse range of clients I work with.  I also love that my work is extremely varied; one day I could be in collective bargaining or at mediation and the next day providing leadership coaching or team development programmes. 

Are there any specific highlights of your career that you wish to share?  

Prior to me being a consultant and in my previous role as Head of HR for a not for profit organisation in the UK, employee engagement was a critical success factor.  Each year we held a staff conference to celebrate our successes and key achievements.  Some staff didn’t enjoy the conference and so with a bit of persuading, I choreographed a burlesque dance routine.  The look on everyone’s faces when they realised that the people, dressed in basques and fish nets, performing were actually their male work colleagues.  I cannot put into words how captivated and engaged the audience was – it was utterly brilliant! 

More recently, I have begun to learn Te Reo Māori.   Being British, this has been no mean feat, but I’m comfortable now in a little speaking and writing of te reo and I am starting to understand the spoken word more and more.  I have a number of    iwi based clients and so learning Te Reo Māori and understanding tikanga practices is helping me to build great working relationships. 

What motivated you to work towards becoming a Chartered Member?  

I was already a chartered member of CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development – UK).  It seemed the logical step to become a chartered member with HRNZ. 

What are your next steps now that you are a Chartered Member?  

Since becoming a Chartered Member, I have become an Assessor for Chartered Membership Applications.  I also plan to stand for HRNZ Board next year.