HR heads in top law firms show other titles the way in terms of equality and job mobility

HR heads in top law firms show other titles the way in terms of equality and job mobility

Posted: 25 November 2009 | Provided by: legalsupportnetwork.co.uk | Browse more news

Overview

The HR director research results are the big surprise of the three (HR, Finance & IT) - in every area we're concentrating on, this title breaks from the norm: in gender splits in the top 100; in the number of titles with 'director' in them (or equivalent) compared to the others; and in the sheer level of mobility in terms of moves in the top 100 firms in this position.

Job mobility and title-holder background

The difference between the job mobility of HR heads in the two decades covered by the research is stunning - the number of moves in the top 100 almost tripled between the current decade and the last: from 23 moves in 1990-1999 to 61 in 2000-2009 (and of course this decade is only eight and a half years old). This is far higher than the change between the decades for IT directors or finance directors, and is also the highest number of moves in the current decade out of the three titles.

HR is also an area that, over the last decade, has consistently pulled more people in from non-law firms than from within the legal community - and is in direct contrast with the research results for IT and finance directors. It's not quite clear from the research whether the next two year period (2010-2011) will see more HR chiefs being hired from within the legal community but it doesn't look like it's trending that way. The overall split in the top 100 on law firm/non-law firm background (i.e. which firm was the person's previous employer) for HR directors is skewed quite far in favour of non-law firm (66% non-law firm versus 34% from law firms) and this backs a 'no change' prediction.

Helen Anthony, HD director for Clifford Chance, says there are reasons law firms are pulling in people from outside law - but probably not too far outside. "I would guess that even though non-law backgrounds are more prevalent many moves into the law are from professional services rather than, say, retail, etc. I can understand the mobility across this sector because the attraction, true in my own case, is the make-up of the workforce - so bright young lawyers or accountants who are ambitious and make the role much more intellectually challenging.

"I also think that law firms have been playing catch-up with other sectors as far as their HR practices are concerned and have started to see the value add. HR have been at the centre of the restructurings that have been going on over the last couple of years and as a result the reputation of the HR function has shifted from 'tea and sympathy' to value-add. This means that, when law firms recruit for senior HR posts now, they are looking for something different or a new perspective and experience gained outside of the legal sector helps bring a new dimension."

John Lucy, HR director at Simmons and Simmons, says the outside inflow is good news. "Over the past 10 years the trend towards sourcing HR professionals from outside the legal sector (primarily, but not exclusively, from other professional service firms) has been an extremely positive move. It has brought a breadth of perspective and a richness to the HR community. In firms where this has been fully embraced, it has allowed the HR practitioners to transfer their knowledge and accelerate the process of change, thus increasing the credibility of both the individuals and the function as a whole."

So, if you combine the exceptional mobility in this job title 'sector' - 61 moves in the top 100 in this decade - compared to other job titles, and near constant 'rule' of non-law firms in providing the candidates, it looks like HR is an area that is competitive and lively in terms of hiring.

Gary Jones & Debbie Collett are both ex law firm senior HR professionals who now work at First Counsel, the legal recruitment business, and they think this is representative of a trend. "People don't tend to stay in jobs as long as they used to. There are more opportunities, firms are more innovative and forward thinking and want change and people need fresh challenges. The expectation is that any new HR director will not be there for as long as the previous incumbent was, and within three or four years or so they may be looking again. It is just the way things are - it is the same story with marketing directors."

The numbers on the most recent period back their view: HR is a job title that has been at its mobile in the last four years - 34 moves since 2006 - and the current two-year period has seen half of those moves (and it's not over yet) and is the highest number of moves in any two-year period for 20 years.

Let's let Mike Orton, HR director at Ince & Co, have the last word on HR job mobility and background: "Law firms are essentially 'people' businesses. More of them are realising that this calls for a sophisticated approach to HR. Since some of the skills needed may not exist within the sector, they may need to look elsewhere. This may account for the high level of movement and for the number of senior HR professionals coming into the sector from outside."

Gender in the role

The gender mix in HR as a title 'sector' makes a bit of a mockery of some received wisdom, and makes the IT and finance positions look positively antediluvian in their approach to women. Exactly two-thirds of top 100 law firms have a woman at the top of the 'talent department' - compare that to 15% of top 100 law firms with female IT directors and just 12% of top 100 law firms with female finance heads.

Mike Orton at Ince & Co says we shouldn't be so surprised by this difference between HR and other senior support roles: "Women have always had a higher level of penetration for senior roles in HR than in other business functions - the legal sector to some extent reflects the general position. Firms may also find that having a woman heading the HR function may be helpful in attracting female trainee and qualified solicitors, where the number of available candidates who are female outnumber those who are male."

But the number of women in senior positions in law might be telling us something. Normally the reasons given as to why women aren't in senior positions in law firms (or elsewhere) is that their life choices make it hard for them to climb the corporate ladder - that is, having children means you never get to devote enough time to your career to make it to the top.

This would ring more true in legal, however, if HR, FD and IT areas all had low numbers of women - but that's not the case. It's been said that people think HR is more a 'soft skills job' than the others we're discussing and therefore more of a 'woman's role' - is law still so sexist that HR is the only senior role area that women are represented in the same percentage, almost, as they are in the general population?

Anthony at Clifford Chance seems to think HR might be just more attractive: "I wouldn't say that law firms are sexist and would choose a man over a woman for the top IT/Finance roles - I believe that they would choose the best person for the job irrespective of gender. I would surmise that this is reflective of the pool from which to choose in the first place - do finance and IT professions attract more men than women in general?

"I'm sure it is the case that HR attracts more women into the profession as I look at my own department, and when I think back to previous organisations I have worked in the same was true. Having said that, the London finance director where I currently work is female."

Gary & Debbie at First Counsel, don't buy that law firms are sexist just because HR is radically different to other positions in gender mix. "All the people at HRD level now probably chose to start their HR career in the '80s or '90s, and HR is a profession that a female was/is naturally drawn to more than, say, IT or Finance. Those people will flow through the system and many will assume senior roles. This will balance out over time as more and more males have started to choose HR and continue to do so."

Lucy at Simmons and Simmons says: "There are some incredibly talented women in senior positions in the law, and a lot of it is to do with their technical and commercial knowledge and how to apply it, as well as their strong relationship skills. But I think it would be worthwhile asking what, if any, sacrifices they have had to make to get to where they are."

No matter why it's happening, though, it's hard not to come to the conclusion that law firms still think that it's ok for a woman to be head of people management - but running the IT or, heaven forbid, running the money, is still a man's job in legal.

What's in a name?

In terms of titles - in other words, are the heads of HR called 'director' or do they have a different, 'lesser' title? - HR is almost level pegging with FDs: 71% of HR chiefs are directors, and two more in the top 100 firms have a 'C-level' position (72% of finance chiefs are called 'director' and the title only 'beats' HR because 10% of FDs are 'C-level' (chief officer) titles).

Lucy at Simmons and Simmons wonders if we put too much on naming the role: "I do worry that as a profession HR can get too hung up on titles or certain fads, for example employee engagement or talent management. In simple terms we need to be able to build good deep relationships, apply practical, pragmatic and commercial solutions to business issues and be able to design and, more importantly, execute the required strategy. To me it is all about 'what we do' and 'how we do it', rather than what we're called or what's the latest buzz word/phrase."

But HR towers over IT in terms of the number of directors in the role - just 55% of IT heads are called 'director'. So it seems that law firms acknowledge how important HR is to them - though it's up to you to tell me whether you think HR directors are actually treated as 'director-level' decision makers and opinion leaders within the firms.

Anthony at Clifford Chance certainly thinks so: "The role has developed significantly. I also have observed a large number of titles but I am not sure that a title really tells you very much - some titles have "global" in there which sounds very grand but the real indicator is whether the HRD is seen as a "decision maker and opinion leader" and that will very much differ from one law firm to another. I think there are some great examples of HRDs in the legal world who are true board members and whose opinions are sought out and valued. The numbers of HRDs in that situation has increased over the last few years."

Though HR does have a lot of directors, it has a very wide spread of titles covering the top of the HR tree - it has the most different types of titles of all the three titles legalsupportnetwork.co.uk looked at, and ranged widely from titles like 'director of career development' to 'director of people investment', as examples.

Perhaps this means HR has morphed in name as it has morphed politically within firms - from being about hiring and firing to being about development, learning and talent-hunting.

Either way, says Orton at Ince & Co, the role is on the move. "There is certainly a more sophisticated view of HR emerging as the function reaches maturity within the legal profession.

"However, this is coupled with a healthy scepticism about ideas or approaches simply transplanted from elsewhere. Lawyers are wary of such fads or management jargon, and senior HR people need to ensure that their approaches are tailored to the legal environment and to the culture of their particular firm."

Gary & Debbie at First Counsel, though, say HR has in a sense come of age now in legal. "The importance of HR in attracting and developing the right talent has grown and law firms are trying to be more innovative and take more of a holistic, talent management approach to things. We have come a long way from the old 'personnel' function and new titles and ways of explaining a role are being created to more accurately describe what the role is all about and of course attract the right person to it."

For a detailed analysis of the research and a pdf download of the results, please go to www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/top100

Providers website: legalsupportnetwork.co.uk
Date: 25 November 2009
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