Jane Piper CFHRINZ

How did your career in HR begin, and what was the journey like to get to where you are now?  

I started my HR career in employee relations, working at the Canterbury Employers Association, advising and training employer on employment law, good people management practices and solving employment disputes. I moved then into HR roles in companies, including moving overseas from USA, Norway and now living in Switzerland.  

I took roles in international HR for multi-national companies, ending my corporate HR career as Vice-President of Human Resources for a mid-sized consulting company. After 20 years in companies I set up my own company [https://pipsy.ch/] , and now work as a career coach and HR consultant. 

What do you love about having a career in HR? 

I really enjoy working with people and feeling like I am having an impact on people’s working lives and careers. Whether it is helping companies develop groups of people, or helping individuals with their careers, it is the same fundamental belief that we should enjoy our work, that it is part of what helps us develop as humans. 

What are some defining moments from your career journey so far? 

The decision to switch to running my own company was in some ways hard, and others easy. I had invested a lot of time in my corporate HR career, but I was at a level and in an industry where I felt I was spending more time dealing with headcount, personnel costs and restructuring. Starting my own company has taken time to build but given me back the energy to work on projects that I believe make a difference to people’s working lives 

What advice would you give to someone early on in their HR career?  

If you want to achieve in corporate HR roles then learn and understand the business. However, if working in corporate roles is not your area of interest then your skills can be applied to many other roles. 

Why is HRNZ important for the HR community? 

HRNZ is important for the development of the profession and professionals. For me it helped me to develop my skills and experience in a thoughtful and structured way. It also gave me a network to connect with fellow HR professionals to share ideas and knowledge. 

What was your path to Chartered Fellowship like? What did you enjoy about the process? 

To be honest I completed it many years ago but I do remember even now that I was surprised it how much I had achieved in my career when I had to complete the form 

What is next for you in this chapter of your career? 

One reason for setting up my own business is to have more flexibility in my choices of location, to be able to work in both Switzerland and New Zealand. My next goal is to spend more time in New Zealand working.