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Culture matters when it comes to the acquisition and retention of female talent

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I was delighted to be asked by Leathwaite to contribute to its 2019 Global HR Leadership Report.

This data-rich document is the result of a poll of 1000 Global HR leaders including Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs), Heads of Specialist Functions (including Talent, Reward, Learning and Recruiting) and those at the vanguard of HR Transformation (including HR COOs and Heads of Analytics).

Retaining female talent

The Report highlights the continued importance HR Professionals are placing on Talent Acquisition and Retention, coupled with the need for a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Since 2003, Women in the City (WiC) has championed the progress of female talent working in professional services within the City of London and has shone a spotlight on both exisiting and future leaders.  However, despite everyone’s best efforts, women are simply not progressing to senior levels. Motherhood is the most usually cited reason, yet statistically many women leave the corporate world by the age of 38, regardless of whether they have children. They leave not because they’ve lost ambition but because they simply don’t want to work in a culture where their values and needs aren’t considered.

Culture matters

It’s not surprising, then, that Culture features as the second most important issue concerning HR professionals and highlights its elevation from being seen historically as an intangible “nice to have”, to a strategic lever that today sits as item No.1 in many CEOs’ in-trays.

Increasingly the traditional norms and behaviours associated with corporate life are being rejected by both men and women who recognize that unsociable hours and hierarchy in a heavily politicized environment are not necessarily universal. People have choice. In my view, building an inclusive culture that respects individuals’ needs and desires has never been a greater priority than it is today.

Against this backdrop, one might argue that the HR leaders of today (and tomorrow) have a somewhat daunting to-do list. However, I would argue that that these topics are not to be ring-fenced as “HR issues” but are the responsibility of the broader firmwide leadership, from Chairperson down. Good quality HR will provide the structure, strategy and skills necessary to drive progress and HR for this reason has possibly never enjoyed such a high profile.

Yes, talent is everywhere but in the knowledge economy in particular talent has never been more portable and we are seeing a flight-to-quality where employee brand and culture are concerned.

I found the Report a fascinating read and, whether or not you are a HR professional, I hope you will too.

Download Report

Visit our searchable Knowledge Bank for a range of reports and studies on gender diversity, leadership and related topics.

Flexibility in law: A changing landscape

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flexibility-in-law

Can the legal sector offer women roles that ease the pain of managing work and childcare? Totum knows, and works with, the firms that are forging ahead in supporting female talent.

A BBC Radio 4 programme ‘You and Yours’ recently put UK childcare costs under the spotlight once again. Many parents welcomed the introduction of 30-hours’ free childcare for their three and four-year-olds – a rise from the previous 15 hours. But, as this feature showed, these offerings never come without complications. On one hand nurseries have complained that they cannot afford to cover their costs under new funding levels, while on the other, parents of younger children worry that additional costs will be passed onto them through higher fees.

For all parents, it’s another reminder of the difficult juggle faced in returning to work after having children. For many (typically mothers) the rise of flexible and part-time work has been a God-send allowing some room for manoeuvre to balance work and childcare. But as this programme showed, it remains for many a difficult financial balance: returning to work is critical to maintain the family income but pointless if wiped out by childcare costs.

Some parents return to work knowing that any income will be flatlined by nursery fees. They are effectively working for nothing. But they do so for the long-term payback of remaining in work and progressing their careers as best they can through these early years.

But this is a fact that can still be lost on employers and colleagues who do not face the childcare juggle. There can still be an obstacle to offering good part-time and flexible work – an inability to see how a job can be done differently as well as a view that such employees are ‘less committed’ than their full-time counterparts. The need to strictly leave the office on time to collect a child from nursery can still be frowned upon by those who can stay after hours.

Given what many women go through to get back to work after having children, however, it seems deeply unfair to stereotype them with a lack of commitment. If they have an employer that understands and supports their return to work with decently paid, flexible contracts, mothers will also likely offer loyalty and a keen motivation to get the job done well in the time given. They have a lot to lose if they don’t.

That is why at Totum we are delighted to be working with more law firms that understand the benefits of retaining female talent after having children. In recent years, many firms have launched programmes to support mothers returning to work after maternity leave. Meanwhile, and perhaps more importantly, we are seeing more flexible and part-time business services roles come into law. Current opportunities we are working on at Totum include a three-day job share as a BD and Marketing Project Manager, plus part-time COO and Finance Director roles. Flexible options at these most senior levels of law are a sign of changing culture – a belief that things can indeed be done differently.

This is great news for all parents, but particularly mums who still typically face the childcare juggle. Nursery costs are never going to go away – the financial and logistical balancing act goes on. But with more employers – including law firms – offering a way for parents to manage childcare alongside interesting and career-progressing work, the struggle may become easier. And the bonus is that employers get to retain the talent that promotes business growth. A win-win in our book.

If you would like to know more about Totum’s flexible and full-time roles in the legal sector, please contact Deborah.Gray@TotumPartners.com

You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter

 

Promoted by WiC on behalf of Totum Partners

Bosses Are Not Hiring Women Because They ‘Might Start a Family Soon’

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Nearly one in three UK bosses admit they have or would reject a female job applicant because they suspect she ‘might start a family soon’.

Although this form of employment discrimination is unlawful, 15 per cent anonymously admitted that they had broken sex discrimination laws.

The new research of 501 bosses of SMEs, carried out by law firm Slater and Gordon, also revealed that one in four bosses have rejected or would reject a woman, simply because she was a single parent.

A further 29 per cent said they have discounted or would discount a woman for a job role because she had young children and 28 per cent said they have or would because she was recently engaged or married.

Shockingly 37 per cent of bosses admitted they would advertise positions for men only if the law allowed, with 40 per cent saying they perceived men as being more committed to their jobs.

The research shows the female workforce is still facing significant levels of discrimination when it comes to juggling a career and motherhood.

More than a third of senior decision makers said they would rather hire a man to get around the issue of offering maternity leave.

Sadly, 14 per cent of all the bosses surveyed, admitted they do not do a thing to support mothers when coming back to work, after being on maternity leave.

And 36 per cent said they think ‘women are more of a future investment risk’ than men.

Remziye Ozcan, employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said:

The extent of discrimination exposed in this research is shocking. I come across many individual cases of women encountering sex and maternity discrimination but to see in black and white the full extent of the problem is really worrying.

Women may suspect they’ve been discriminated against at job interviews, but in many cases they will never know for sure. Now this research shows that it’s not paranoia it’s in fact prejudice and discrimination, which is still deeply entrenched in the workforce and something that women face every day.

Our survey exposes the number of bosses who are willing to admit to their prejudices- in an anonymous capacity – suggesting the real number is likely to be far higher.

It is not only illegal but also totally counterproductive if bosses refuse to entertain a woman’s job application, regardless of her experience, skill set or qualifications, simply because they feel she might have a child soon because it excludes so much talent and expertise from a workforce.

A huge shift in attitudes still needs to take place before women feel they are not penalised for wanting both a career and children. Men are never asked to choose between the two. This discrimination also affects women generally, those who don’t plan to have children or already have children, as it is about attitudes and stereotypes applied to women generally.

Over one in three said they actively try to recruit men or women who already have children so they don’t have to worry about staff going on maternity leave.

Although negative attitudes are still held by some, 65 per cent of all the 501 bosses surveyed said they do offer flexible working hours to support mothers when they are coming back to work.

More than half (53 percent) said they allow mothers to take time off to look after their children if they’re sick and 48 per cent said they keep lines of communication open whilst they are on maternity leave.

WiC Comment

Until men start to demand paternity leave and share equally childcare responsibilities this (maybe not so) “hidden” discrimination will, sadly, continue.  And to discover that 28 per cent said they have or would not hire a woman because she was recently engaged or married is, in this day and age, unbelievable.

Internships increase and over half lead to top graduate job offers, report reveals

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internships

Businesses are hiring more interns, increasing their salaries, investing in quality programmes and working harder to bring them back as employees.

  • Employers hired 6% more interns in 2018
  • 94% of employers encourage interns to return as employees
  • 57% of interns offered jobs on graduate schemes
  • 87% of interns who are offered jobs accept

Institute of Student Employers (ISE) Internship Report surveyed 107 employers who invested at least £13 million to recruit 7,532 paid interns this year. Internship opportunities were available in all UK regions with 52% of vacancies outside of London.

While median salaries rose by 1% to £350 per week, a quarter of employers pay at least £408 per week and 21% of employers pay their interns a salary equivalent to £21,500 (median starting salary for all UK graduates according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency).

As well as increasing the volume of internships, employers are broadening their offer. Employers have historically offered opportunities to penultimate year university students on fixed summer programmes. This year 62% did not restrict their internships to penultimate year students and 30% of employers hired first year students as interns, up from 22% in 2017.

Internships provide a viable route to a graduate job with 74% of employers making a job offer straight away after the internship has finished and one in ten offering a financial incentive.

Seventy per cent of employers said that interns out-perform graduates in some way with 35% stating that interns perform better on the job and 18% said that former interns stay longer.

Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of the ISE said:

The market for interns is getting more competitive, so employers are investing more than ever before. The reason for this is simple: interns make better hires. Former interns are more likely to accept job offers, stay longer and often outperform their peers.

This highlights the importance of internships to employability. Students need to be aware that competition for programmes has intensified, but there are more paid opportunities out there. There are lots of ways that students can engage with employers from social media to on campus, but they will need to be prepared for the selection process, which is thorough and can involve assessment centres, psychometric tests and video interviews.

Why are women are exiting your organisation.

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The exit interview is a dying breed at a time when so many questions are being asked about how to retain the best talent, how to increase diversity at all levels in organisations and how to engage the younger generations just entering the job market with a different set of expectations and approaches.

So much of the people management in organisations is now being delivered electronically which takes out a crucial opportunity to really understand what makes people stay in your organisation – and why do they leave.

When this is applied to women, it is particularly important, as during their tenure many women fear calling out any potential discriminatory practices or behaviours for fear of staining their reputation in their industry. This leads organisations down a slippery path – your women leave the organisation and you may never find out why, yet you can almost guarantee that those reasons will come out eventually and if they contain any kind of misogyny or sexism, the reputation of your organisation can get tarnished before you even know it is happening.

The power of movements such as #TimesUp originate from women’s frustration at not having a supportive platform to communicate the behaviour and treatment that they have been exposed to. When given that opportunity, it is clear that there are deep seated and embedded discriminatory practices that go unchallenged and these only come to light by providing a safe supportive environment where women feel that what they say will be used positively and most critically – acted upon.

If you are leaving an organisation, leaving the industry entirely, or maybe stopping any economic activity, it is still vital that you feel heard about your experiences there, and that may not happen through the standard leaver processes followed by so many businesses.

If your business no longer uses exit interviews, maybe believing that there was nothing of value in them, then your process wasn’t asking the right questions, or interpreting the answers correctly. Instead there is a missed opportunity in the lack of analysis of valuable data that may contain the secret to attracting and retaining a talented pool of women critical to your business’ future success.

Stay engaged until the very last minute with each employee and learn how to get better at making them not want to leave.

 

[Words:  Lee Lam, Lee Lam Consulting]