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Hello PPMA Members and friends,
As we celebrate our milestone 50th Anniversary, we’re sharing a special series: ‘50 Stories for 50 Years’. Throughout the year, we’ll be showcasing memories, insights, and reflections from members—past and present—along with our partners, sponsors, and friends.
Today, we’re delighted to feature Clive Mallon, OD Manager at Somerset Council, as he shares his experiences as a PPMA member.
How long have you been a PPMA member?
The organisation (Somerset Council) has a long relationship with the PPMA, with a previous HR Director of ours being a past President, I’ve personally been working in HR and OD for about a decade, all of which time I’ve been actively involved in the PPMA, and for the past handful of years I’ve been one of the extended Board Members.
What’s the one word that sums up PPMA for you?
‘Community’
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve seen in HR & OD during your career?
Continual change – even in recent years in our organisation it’s been fairly relentless; responding to COVID, creating a new Unitary Council, supporting the financial emergency, an all-organisation restructure, when will it stop? Probably never..!
Can you share a project or career moment you’re especially proud of as a PPMA member?
Following attendance at an annual conference, and connecting with so many inspirational peers, I was able to positively change the way our organisation viewed apprentices and apprenticeships; on the back of this work we were included in the DfEs list of Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers – I even managed to arrange for my annual appraisal to coincide with the live announcement of the list…cunning, eh?!
What does being part of the PPMA mean to you, personally and professionally?
It’s been great to make so many connections, whilst I work in a large organisation there’s only so many colleagues that ‘get’ my teams work – being able to liaise with likeminded others, across the country, via the PPMA network has been hugely beneficial.
What’s your vision for the future of the PPMA? What would you love to see us achieve or focus on in the next 50 years?
What a scary thought, I’ll be 90 wondering if the PPMA achieved my hopes! I suppose it’d be more of the same in the sense of that community and network; the world of work is rapidly changing; AI will dominate developments over the next decade and our approach has to change – but we’ve got to remember that people are at the heart of what we do – whilst AI is and will be life-changing we’re all humans and those personal and professional connections should continue. Ooh, and one other ‘want’…how about holding the annual conference back in the South West?!
If you have some special stories or memories that you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you. Contact [email protected] and we’ll get right back to you.
