A recent survey by GoodShape – the Wellbeing and Performance Experts – of 750 managers, HR professionals and C-suite executives found that HR was under-represented in FTSE 100 boardrooms.
Of the 80 FTSE 100 companies that publish their leadership team on their corporate website, only 40 have an HR Director at all - and just 31 had a Chief People Officer or equivalent.
On the main board, only 3 companies have an HR professional.
Dorothy Day - Chief People Officer at GoodShape - commented that the lack of representation at board level by HR professionals leads to the personal side of managing employees being forgotten by businesses.
She said:
“Boards often view employees as ‘cost and capital’ not as people. This profit over people sentiment is hard to change. Especially, when there are few people leaders on boards."
She added:
"UK businesses need to move away from token wellbeing gestures. They need to drive tangible change and improve corporate culture. To do that, the people function needs to be given proper representation on the board.”
Alun Baker – CEO of GoodShape – made the suggestion that companies often take people for granted.
He said:
“For too long, employees have lacked the same attention that businesses give to their equipment, vehicles, or buildings. It’s time to level up, and authenticity is key. Wellbeing washing will only jeopardise an organisation’s talent pool and future performance.
Organisations need to shift away from prioritising financial leadership over people leadership. It’s an antiquated view that focusing on profit rather than people will lead to a healthier company."
Liz Sebag-Montefiore - Director and co-founder of HR consultancy 10eighty - said that HR professionals looking for a position at board level should be better at selling their department to other members of the board.
She spoke to HR magazine, saying:
"An experienced, senior HR professional looking to achieve a seat on the board must demonstrate and articulate how their department adds real, identifiable and quantifiable value to the bottom line.
It is not that HR don’t have the commercial credibility but, too often, they don’t appreciate the importance of sharp end commercial experience and so sell themselves short.
There is an immense amount of talent in the HR profession and HR directors who could make a real impact in the boardroom by ensuring that the organisation’s key asset, their employees, are taken into account in board level decision-making. HR would bring a much-needed perspective in the current environment when we are trying to achieve the new normal."
