More than a quarter of Fortune 100 firms lack a people leader in the C-suite
Despite companies relying upon HR leaders more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, many still don’t have a seat at the table.
More than a quarter (26%) of Fortune 100 firms don’t have a people leader in the C-suite, according to a new study from BambooHR. Without an HR leader’s involvement in major business decisions, companies are missing out on expertise and perspective that could enhance the employee experience and ultimately improve the bottom line.
After all, HR leaders come from various educational backgrounds with fewer than 1 in 10 having an HR-specific degree, according to the study. Business/management (26%) is the most common degree among HR leaders, followed psychology (10%), law (10%) and finance (8%). More than half (57%) also have a master’s degree or higher.
“The diverse backgrounds and best practices we see in top HR professionals is evidence of the breadth of knowledge required to handle the complex issues organizations have faced recently, such as the COVID lockdown, mental health in the workplace, labor disputes, and more,” Brad Rencher, CEO of BambooHR, said in the study.
“As employee experience issues continue to be at the center of some of the most important business conversations of our day, HR leaders at growing companies can use these examples from the most successful enterprises and startups as a template for how to elevate the HR function in their organization.”
Another reason that HR leaders should be added to the C-suite is their loyalty. More than three quarters (76%) of enterprise HR managers have worked at their current employer for three years or more, and nearly half (48%) have worked there for seven years or more, according to the study. Furthermore, 17% have been with the same organization for their entire career.
Conversely, 44% of HR managers at startups have worked for six or more employes. However, the majority (83%) have been with their current employer for 3 years or fewer.
BambooHR partnered with Method Research to conduct an analysis of HR representatives from the top companies on the Fortune 500 and Inc. 5000 2022 lists. Using public data available online through LinkedIn, Twitter and company press releases, Method compiled data on the top 100 enterprise companies from the Fortune list and the top 100 startups from the Inc list and their heads of HR. Data was collected from July 14 to October 14, 2022 as each list was published.
