DNA OF A
HR DIRECTOR
What aspiring HR professionals
need to make it to the top
hays.ie
CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Findings
2
Survey results
5
Conclusion
12
INTRODUCTION
At Hays, we’ve spent decades working with thousands of
HR professionals as both clients and candidates. Human
resource management is taking an ever-increasing role
in the boardroom and more and more HR directors have
a greater strategic role in their companies as they seek to
add value.
However, for the aspiring HR student or generalist aiming for the top, what
choices should they make to get there? Or the HR manager wanting that
next step, what does it take to become a director? This report provides an
insight into the path that Ireland’s HR directors have taken in their careers
and will hopefully give some guidance to the future leaders of the sector.
Rationale
So what does it take to become a HRD? There is no straightforward answer,
every company is different and their requirements are varied. Equally, every
HR professional is different, whether it’s their qualifications, their experience
or their personality. However, we were interested to find out if there were
any common traits in the make-up of a HRD. Could we decode the DNA of
the HR director?
Methodology
We surveyed 75 HR professionals from the position of HR director or above,
asking them about their qualifications, their experience, their inspirations,
their interests and their opinions. A full list of the questions and their
responses can be found in the survey results.
DNA of a HR Director | 1
FINDINGS
We wanted to discover if there was a DNA of a HR director and if their composites
were similar across the board. Our survey responses were diverse, but ultimately they
created a picture of what attributes you need to be a HRD.
Profile
Education
Experience
Ambition is a core feature of our HR directors as the majority
had their eye on the top from an early stage. This ambition,
combined with a strategic approach, is the recipe for success.
The majority of our HR directors studied for a HR
qualification early in their career. Combining this degree
with a strong mentor is a sure fire way to progress.
It is clear that the position of HR director is achievable if you have the
talent and the ambition – a high proportion of our survey respondents
made the journey to the top in a relatively short period of time.
The majority came from multinationals but there was
a strong showing from SME HR directors, with the
common trait being a broad level of experience.
Equal opportunities (p.5)
This is one area of the boardroom where there
are equal opportunities for males and females
with our respondents being an almost equal
gender split – 52% male and 48% female
Be driven (p.10)
3 in 5 HRDs
always had an
ambition to get to
director level
A broad
knowledge is a
bonus (p.5)
Whilst a HR
qualification is
of great value,
92% of the HRDs
surveyed also
hold a third level
degree outside
of HR
It pays to qualify
(p.5)
If you’re studying for
a HR qualification,
you’re on the
right track, joining
87% of the survey
respondents
Broaden your base (p.6)
If you want to get to the top,
you need to move around.
63% of our HRDs have worked
in at least three industries
It’s not just multinational (p.5)
It stands to reason that there will
be more HR directors working
in multinationals, however 38%
of our respondents work in SMEs
or large nationals
Interests
Our HR directors enjoy a strong work life balance.
The vast majority of respondents highlighted the
charity work that they are involved in, with family
and sport being two of the most popular ways to
unwind outside of work.
2 | DNA of a HR Director
Vocational by nature (p.10)
95% of the HRDs interviewed
cited family as one of their main
interests outside of work, whilst
almost a third enjoy charity work
Be a sport (p.10)
Almost two thirds
(61%) of our
HRDs enjoy sport
as a hobby
Career path is quick (p.6)
1 in 5 of our HRDs have
between 5 and 10 years
experience. So the
opportunity to progress
quickly is evident
Experience can travel (p.6)
Over half (53%) of the HRD
respondents have worked overseas
Broaden your skillset (p.9)
3 in 5 HRDs have worked
on all aspects of the HR
function, so a wide skill base
is beneficial
DNA of a HR Director | 3
HRD PROFILE
Donal Prior
Diageo
Donal’s survey answers...
How many employees are you
responsible for?
1,000+ employees
Which category best
describes your company?
Multinational
What is your current title?
HR Director
What was your previous title?
HR Director Manufacturing
How many years’ experience
in HR do you have?
5-10 years
What qualifications do
you hold?
National Diploma in HR,
Masters Degree in Strat. HR.
Chartered Fellow of the CIPD
Did you study a third level
degree?
Yes, Brewing Science
What industries have you
worked in?
FMCG
Have you ever worked outside
of Ireland in a HR position?
Never
When did you make the
decision to pursue a career
in HR?
Whilst working outside of HR.
4 | DNA of a HR Director
During your time working in
HR, what disciplines have you
been a key stakeholder in?
Operations
Have you held a management
position in any other
discipline other than HR?
Yes, Operations
Who was the biggest
influence on your career
and why?
HR is an area I was always
interested in, but I realised
it could be the right career
choice for me after a close
friend challenged me to ‘make
the leap’. I was also lucky to be
working in a great business like
Diageo, where cross-functional
moves are possible – indeed,
are encouraged, for those who
are ‘up for it’.
SURVEY RESULTS
One-on-one with Donal
Gender?
What HR qualifications do you hold?
What are the challenges of being the HR Director of a
multinational like Diageo?
I suppose the key one is navigating successfully, the
shifting shape of the organisation and the patterns within
it, as it changes locally and grows rapidly globally. It is
understanding how best to manage from a HR perspective,
key imperatives like talent within this dynamic. It is all about
change. Almost every area that I touch upon, such as talent,
engagement, reward, industrial relations – is impacted by
this cycle of ongoing change – one that is accelerating.
Key questions are: How do we align everything we do from
a HR perspective behind the business strategy? And how
do we influence the business strategy? HR should help the
business to get to where we need to be – faster, and in a
more efficient way, whilst also taking the time to analyse and
influence the strategy itself.
Considering the HR industry is female dominant,
it might seem surprising that 52 per cent of
the directors surveyed were male. While it
was not possible to find a breakdown on all
employees within the HR industry in Ireland,
a 2011 survey of 5,335 HR professionals
by XpertHR in the UK, found 75.8 per cent
of the HR industry to be female, while
57.5 per cent of the HR directors were male.
These results show how important it is to have a HR qualification
if you want to succeed in the industry. Nonetheless, 13 per cent
of the respondents do not hold a HR qualification and that rises
to 25 per cent amongst the youngest HR directors (with 5-10
years’ experience). Consequently there are opportunities to
succeed without HR qualifications.
Is HR viewed as an enabler?
HR is expected to be at the table, expected to be influential.
We are not just strategy takers but strategy shapers too. HR
is there as an equal partner with other functions and has
influence on the business and within the business. Now, like
every other function, your influence comes ‘out of the barrel
of performance’. The level of HR influence in Diageo across
the globe is typically high. Executing brilliantly is the key
enabler – opening the door to the strategy bit.
What activities do you take part in outside of work?
My family are my priority, so a lot revolves around them.
I like to keep fit, mainly in the gym. I read quite a bit and
am interested in current affairs and politics. I have recently
started to give talks to Leaving Certificate students. Inducing
belief in people about their potential to exceed their own
and others’ expectations of what they can achieve is a big
part of HR’s and my role. I think that there is an opportunity
to apply this approach with young people – to help them to
develop to their full potential.
What interests do you have
outside of work?
Family, sports and reading
Shape, drive and execute
strategy. HR strategy should
be business strategy.
Was it always your career goal
to get to HR director level?
Yes
How do you think the role of
the HR director will change
in the future?
HRDs will increasingly
become drivers of business
performance. They will be
less focused on managing
transactional services and
will spend most of their
time attracting, growing and
developing great talent
What advice would you
give to a HR professional
who wanted to become a
HR director?
Learn to navigate the
space between strategy
and operational details
comfortably and effectively.
52%
48%
Which category best describes your company?
It was not surprising to find the vast majority of HRDs were
based in multinationals as this is where most opportunities arise.
However, it is encouraging to note that 38 per cent of HRDs
work outside of multinationals, so there are certainly director
level positions in domestic organisations.
SME
Large National
Multinational
13%
62%
25%
None
13%
Third level degree in HR
31%
Masters level degree in HR
29%
CIPD level 3 (Foundation)
5%
CIPD level 5 (Intermediate)
2%
CIPD level 7 (Advanced)
18%
Other
32%
What other courses did you study at third level?
Results later in the report highlight how HR professionals need
to have a working knowledge of other departments in their
company. This is supported with the statistic that 2 in 5 of our
HRDs studied for a business degree. Yet 57 per cent of our
respondents studied other subjects away from HR and business.
This suggests an individual can start their education outside of
HR, yet still become a HR director.
None
8%
Accountancy & Finance
8%
Arts
21%
Business
Science
7%
Other
21%
42%
– ensuring that the right
people are in the right roles
at the right time, delivering
the performance outcomes
required to deliver business
strategy.
“Over 70 per cent admitted
that they had a mentor”
“My dad was a HRD so I
followed his career path.”
DNA of a HR Director | 5
HRD PROFILE
Survey results continued
How many years’ experience in HR do you have?
It is heartening for the individuals at the start of their HR career
to know that 1 in 5 HRDs made it to director level in 5-10 years
and this increased to 22 per cent when we filtered on female
only, which would indicate that women are reaching director
level quicker than men.
20%
5-10 years
11-15 years
16-20 years
20+ years
Over half of our HRDs (53 per cent) have worked overseas.
Conversely, 92 per cent of individuals with 5-10 years’
experience have spent their career based in Ireland. This would
suggest that it is difficult to move from country to country
while progressing your career in HR, which would make sense
considering the variance in the laws across the world. However,
the good news is that the survey suggests the more experience
you have, the easier it is to work abroad.
43%
Never
1-2 years
3-5 years
5+ years
21%
21%
16%
47%
10%
What industries have you worked in?
Accountancy
3%
Banking/FS 24%
Business Services
13%
Construction
2%
Contact Centres
5%
Education
13%
Energy
8%
Central/Local Government
5%
Charity
5%
FMCG
23%
Health
10%
IT31%
Legal
5%
Distribution/Logistics 11%
Pharma
16%
Leisure
7%
Manufacturing
Retail
23%
Oil & Gas
8%
Telecoms
16%
Other
10%
6 | DNA of a HR Director
Sarah’s survey answers...
How many employees are you
responsible for?
1,000+ employees
Which category best
describes your company?
Multinational
22%
Almost half of our respondents have worked in the
manufacturing industry. There is also a wide spread of HR
experience across other industries. However, 23 per cent have
worked in only one industry compared to two thirds (63 per
cent) who have worked in at least 3 industries. Therefore, if you
want to get ahead, ensure you get experience across a number
of industries.
Sarah Abbott
EMC
Have you ever worked outside of Ireland in a HR
position? If yes, for how long?
What is your current title?
Senior Director HR Ireland
When did you make the decision to pursue a career
in HR?
These results suggest that HR is not a career people think of
early in their lives, like medicine or accountancy. A slight majority
of our participants were already working in another profession
before they made the decision to move into HR. This is great
news for anyone who originally embarked on a particular career
path but would like to get into HR. Again, it supports the notion
that experience outside of human resources is valuable for a
career in HR.
At school
At college/university
Whilst
working
outside of HR
5%
52%
47%
43%
What was your previous title?
HR Leader
How many years’ experience
in HR do you have?
20+ years
What qualifications do you
hold?
MA Training and Performance
Did you study a third level
degree?
No
What industries have you
worked in?
FMCG, IT and Manufacturing
Have you ever worked outside
of Ireland in a HR position?
Yes, 5+ years
During your time working in
HR, what disciplines have you
been a key stakeholder in?
IT, Operations and Sales
Have you held a management
position in any other
discipline other than HR?
Yes, IT systems and I set up the
sales division for 11 countries
Who was the biggest
influence on your career and
why?
One was the previous BP in
Apple who was Steve Jobs’
protégé, who taught me never
to settle for second best.
Another was Bernard Cronin
who taught me to understand
that I needed to stand on my
own two feet.
What interests do you have
outside of work?
Family, music, food/cooking,
volunteer/charity work
Was it always your career goal
to get to HR director level?
No
What advice would you
give to a HR professional
who wants to become a HR
director?
You need a top qualification.
Get your foot in the door,
even if it’s not at the level you
initially want. Don’t stay in
one job for more than 5 years,
within 5 years you should have
made your impact and then
it is time to make your mark
somewhere else.
One-on-one with Sarah
You have worked in many different industries. Do you think
this is important?
I think it really helps to have a different set of lenses, you
can bring different ways of working and providing different
solutions that you may not have thought about before.
I have experienced similarities in HR, manufacturing and
retail that I hadn’t expected to see. You can use all that
experience in very different ways. You don’t need to have
worked in all industries but it is good to have exposure. It
rounds out the number of options you can pull from and
solutions you can give.
When I worked in recruitment it was a SME and I worked
in all areas, from marketing, sales to payroll to recruitment
itself. So you really did understand a P&L, a healthy forecast
and how to think of the future of your business. So when you
join a multinational, you may not have responsibility for the
organisation’s P&L but you bring a mind-set of connecting
your work to that of the overall vision of the company.
You worked outside of Ireland for a number of years, would
you recommend that to other HR professionals?
Yes, if you work outside of Ireland for a considerable period
of time you are able to look in at Ireland and get a different
perspective of how we work and how we lead. I found the
view was different in that I could see how our leadership
style and culture played out versus other cultures.
From a learning perspective what countries are most
relevant for HR professionals?
There are progressive HR practices in India, China is a very
progressive labour market with associated universities and
Israel with engineering and R&D. Ireland has been used as
a model for many, we have had considerable success
around developing global leaders – particularly in the
industrial age. We now need to apply the same passion and
wisdom to the next generation of leaders as the ask is going
to be very different.
How important is a mentor to your career?
A mentor is crucial. You need mentors who are in a different
industry to you and someone in your organisation who is a
couple of steps ahead of you, you need to find people who
tell you how it is. Mentors always made a huge difference for
me because they gave me that light bulb moment.
How do you think the role of
the HR director will change in
the future?
For public services, they are
struggling to change, but
for private, look at HR within
operations. Also, I have noticed
that HR is becoming more
frequently female dominated.
I would be concerned if this
shift continues, merely from a
balancing viewpoint.
DNA of a HR Director | 7
HRD PROFILE
John Gorman
Two Sisters
Food Group,
Frozen division
John’s survey answers...
How many employees are you
responsible for?
1,000+ employees
Which category best
describes your company?
Multinational
What is your current title?
Head of HR
What was your previous title?
HR Manager
How many years’ experience
in HR do you have?
5-10 years
What qualifications do you
hold?
Masters in Training
Performance Management
Did you study a third level
degree?
No
What industries have you
worked in?
FMCG
Have you ever worked outside
of Ireland in a HR position?
Never
When did you make the
decision to pursue a career
in HR?
Whilst working outside of HR.
I then moved from operations
into training.
8 | DNA of a HR Director
What aspects of HR have you
been involved with during
your career?
Corporate Restructure
During your time working in
HR, what disciplines have you
been a key stakeholder in?
Operations
Have you held a management
position in any other
discipline other than HR?
Yes, Operations
Who was the biggest
influence on your career and
why?
Tony Fay is the reason I
wanted to work in training. The
values, approach and impact
he had on people, getting
results from people.
What interests do you have
outside of work?
Family
Was it always your career goal
to get to HR director level?
No
What advice would you
give to a HR professional
who wants to become a HR
director?
You need to be business
focused, understand business.
Decisions made are business
related. On occasions some
Survey results continued
One-on-one with John
Who was the biggest influence on your career and why?
Would you encourage HR professionals starting out
on their career now to stay in Ireland or leave and get
international experience?
Business is becoming global, it is a disadvantage only having
experience in one region. In relation to myself, it was one
of the reasons I took on 5 Star Fish in the UK because I
wanted that multinational piece. If you can get experience
in any of the English speaking countries, US, Canada, UK,
Australia, pack up and go, if it suits your circumstances.
That experience will stand you in good stead. If you have a
second language, go and use it. Companies want that. Our
business is very diverse, having that experience will really
help culturally.
Mentoring is a valuable part of HR career development. Many
of our respondents view a mentor as a formal part of their
progression. Only five per cent of the respondents didn’t have
any mentors. Over half of our HRDs referenced specific managers
or MDs while a few mentioned friends and family.
What occupies your time outside of work?
Family. I work very hard and when I am not working I want
to go home. I play squash twice a week to keep fit. I sit on
the IITD (Irish Institute of Training and Development) council.
I was Education Officer, then Treasurer, then Vice President,
then President and then back into Vice President. I had great
support at home and I reached a stage where I wanted to
spend more time with my family. I make a point of dropping
the kids to school and when they were younger I made a
point of putting them to bed.
What is the biggest challenge you faced moving from
operations to HR?
Not knowing what you don’t know is the biggest challenge
at the start. I always found someone in my network to help
me out. I wasn’t afraid to ask for advice. Ultimately I got
involved in study and just kept going. I became fascinated
with learning more and more. Then I got into teaching
and rolling out training programmes. I went off and did a
Masters in training and really loved it. I want to influence the
business around employee engagement and how we can get
our people to contribute.
The results here support other stats in this report that a broad
skillset and being multi-disciplined can aid a HR career. Only 23
per cent of our respondents have been focusing entirely on the
HR function during their time in the profession.
Mary O’Driscoll –
Head of Training
at EBS – she had
amazing knowledge
and expertise in the
field of training.
Myself, I made it
happen for me.
Ex Head of HR for Europe in
Intel – he gave simple advice
and made sense of everything
he said – everything was
always straight.
Frank Scott Lennon because
he encouraged me in the
belief that Human Resources
is a key business discipline.
Store Manager in Retail – made me think about my career,
helped me realise that HR does not operate in isolation,
can’t presume managers have HR as top of their agenda.
None
23%
IT
20%
Operations
Marketing
16%
Sales
18%
Other
8%
39%
What aspects of HR have you been involved with during
your career?
It is perhaps not surprising to find that our HRDs have embraced
most aspects of the HR function during their career with 3 in 5
(58 per cent) having covered all aspects. It’s clear that any
ambitious HR professionals should look to broaden their skillset
as much as possible.
All of the below
58%
Health & Safety
44%
Redundancies
43%
Employee Relations
39%
Performance Evaluation
39%
Employee Engagement
38%
Implementation
of new systems
38%
Recruitment38%
Corporate Restructure
36%
HR Budget
36%
Strategic & Operational
36%
Learning & Development
34%
Training
33%
Facilities Management
31%
Industrial Relations
28%
International HR 26%
Payroll
25%
peers come across as focused
on theoretical HR and they
need to be more business
focused.
How do you think the role of
the HR director will change in
the future?
The last 3-5 years have been
about finding the best people
and retaining talent. The
next 5-10 years will be about
driving performance.
During your time working in HR, have you been a key
stakeholder in any of the following disciplines?
“I admired my mentor’s ethos
and their values. What they
said, happened and they
brought employees along
with them.”
DNA of a HR Director | 9
Survey results continued
What advice would you give to a HR professional
who wanted to become a HR director?
Was it always your career goal to get to HR director
level?
This was an open-ended question designed to give personal
advice to those seeking to reach HR director level. It was clear
from an overwhelming amount of responses that knowledge
of the business and having a commercial mind was very
important. In addition, the importance of gaining experience
in a variety of roles was highlighted.
Put your hand up for
everything even if this
means making sacrifices.
Learning new skills
isn’t easy, but it’s not
supposed to be. Getting
a breadth of experience
in HR is essential then,
you should look for that
niche – get your strength
and you will get noticed.
Be brave.
Be trusting and
trustworthy. You need
to build a personal
brand, be very self aware
and know what you
can do. Deliver or you
lose credibility.
Work in the core
function of the business
i.e. work as a store
manager/retail manager.
This will help you
understand what your
people go through.
Find yourself someone
influential that will make
a difference to you –
have a mentor, someone
that will tell you as it
is. Watch what other
people do, be the owl,
sometimes HR people
are the sheep. Don’t
be the one to take the
minutes at the meeting –
not for HR to do, anyone
in the room can do that.
59%
41%
With the majority of our
HR directors achieving their
ambition of reaching director
level, this suggests they have
tremendous drive.
What interests do you have outside of work?
With 95 per cent of our HRDs citing family as one of their
interests outside of work and such a variety of other interests
chosen, it would indicate that they value a positive work life
balance.
Three in five enjoy sports which would support their ambitious
nature, whilst 29 per cent enjoy charity work continuing the
vocational theme into their spare time.
Family
Sports
61%
Music
47%
Film/TV
37%
Outdoor activities
34%
Reading
34%
Food/Cooking
29%
Volunteer/Charity work
29%
Education
16%
Theatre
13%
95%
How do you think the role of the HR director will change
in the future?
When it comes to the future, HR directors see their roles
becoming more entrenched in the strategy of their business
as their importance to the bottom line grows. Similar to most
professions, the area of Human Resources is experiencing
the same movement towards globalisation and a reliance on
technology. With these changes taking place in the near future
many HR directors stressed the point that talent management is
still central to their roles.
The role of HR director has
already changed, from
admin to strategy. The HR
director must better
understand the business,
they have become key
stakeholders. The HR
director needs to be
involved in all aspects of
the business. I feel HR is
more progressive in Ireland
than in some other
European countries.
People are forming
opinions in the world
nowadays using
a myriad of different
media and this makes
the role of HRD
more complex – i.e.
social media makes
things that were once
confidential/in-house
available for public
consumption.
The next 5-10 years in Ireland will be
about performance, ensuring that you
have good people in the business.
You should have the ability to identify
and retain talent and have the best
people working with you.
There is more and more
expectation of the HRD role
every year. The world is
getting smaller and you are
expected to have a broader
geographical scope.
HRDs will be expected to
lead multiple sites across
countries where as before
you may only have had one
plant. With the introduction
of HR services to the
corporate world, the role
of the HRD becomes much
more strategic and high
level, so you must be able
to demonstrate strategic
capabilities.
Ireland is in the infancy
stage with HR at the
moment, we are a
generation away from
taking off – we need to
be resilient and show our
own value – this can be
developed.
HR directors will have a
higher profile within the
overall business, taking a
seat at board level.
You must know the business you are working in, know the
nuts and bolts of it and what the business requirements
are, drive the business and add value – identify good
people in the organisation and ensure you have good
line managers.
“Think business and then HR. Think
strategically, talk the business language
not the HR jargon. Build relationships and
alliances. Keep the standards high.”
10 | DNA of a HR Director
DNA of a HR Director | 11
CONCLUSION
It is clear that a wide skill and knowledge base provides
a distinct advantage if you are aiming to reach the level
of HR director. The majority of our HRDs have worked in
many industries, studied subjects in addition to HR and
worked in all aspects of Human Resource Management.
In addition, entering the industry at a later stage of your
life can be advantageous as you bring your broader
knowledge to the job.
The over-riding sense is that the profession is going to become more
strategic and HR representatives will play a bigger role in the boardroom.
As the recognition of the industry increases, we should see more
opportunities for aspiring HR professionals to reach director level.
Acknowledgements
We’d like to thank the 75 HRDs who participated in our survey. The
information you have provided has been invaluable. We’d also like to thank
Donal Prior, Sarah Abbott and John Gorman for giving up their time for
more in-depth interviews. It has been a huge help.
12 | DNA of a HR Director
DNA of a HR Director | 13
CONTACT US
If you require any advice on your career
strategy, salaries, CV advice, interview
tips or you’d like to find out about hiring
someone, contact your local expert on
one of the numbers below:
Dublin
01 662 7291
Limerick
061 435 750
Cork
021 464 8197
Galway
091 533 417
hays.ie
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