Market View

Adaptive HR in a Dynamic World: Navigating Diversity, Jurisdiction, and the Modern Workforce

Interview with

Jonathan Bond

Director of Human Resources and Learning, Pinsent Masons

About Jonathan Bond

Jonathan Bond served as the Director of HR and Learning at Pinsent Masons for 17 years before taking a sabbatical to focus on writing a business book. In addition to his writing, Jonathan is coaching 3-4 senior people at Pinsent Masons, where he previously worked, as well as at some other companies. Though on a break from his role as Director at Pinsent Masons, Jonathan remains active as an executive coach and author during his sabbatical period.

Managing HR across 23 countries must have been challenging. What key lessons have you learned about balancing global consistency with local flexibility?

I've learned from experience because earlier in my career I thought that as a global organisation it was really important to have global processes. I thought that we would have consistent management information which would help us make decisions. But I learned uniformity doesn’t improve efficiency - it can instead create friction. Local processes and practices differ for good reason. I went on a journey from thinking that global standardisation is always best to realising a more nuanced approach is preferable.

My aim was developing solutions to benefit the global firm while being attentive to local perspectives. I had assumed a single standardised system would enable data consistency and aggregation. People naturally resist change and cling to established practices, but some countries felt headquarters insufficiently grasped their local needs and realities. As an HR leader it was tough discerning when these were genuine issues versus reflexive resistance.

It's critical to eliminate friction between the system and ingrained local practices. Even seemingly small tweaks to align with local preferences can exponentially increase engagement. Details that may sometimes seem trivial to HQ often are substantial pain points for regional users. It was a valuable lesson in empathy and designing for their reality, not our assumptions. In my experience, those nuances make all the difference in navigating regional complexities.

You mentioned small but pivotal "gotchas" that impacted user adoption of systems, even if those issues seemed minor on the surface. Can you provide examples?

A prime example was the date formatting - users were accustomed to entering dates in the DD/MM/YYYY format common in many countries, but our system could only accommodate the MM/DD/YYYY format typically used in the US. Even though that seems like a trivial difference, it was very disorienting for users in some locations and caused pushback. I asked our system provider if we could just change the system to adapt the date format and I learned that was not possible. In my view it should be possible, and it needs to be possible. Any system that is configured for a US audience and can't be configured to also adapt to a European audience is more of a problem than its makers probably realise.

Another key source of friction was language settings - forcing English menus and terminology on employees across our regions who were non-English speakers simply did not work and created all sorts of friction. The same HR concept might be called one thing in the UK and something slightly different in the US. The ability to localise field labels was actually more important that we initially realised. And having the system recognize a user's location and default to their local language would have made a noticeable difference.

Overall, it really boiled down to deeply understanding the diversity of system users across regions. You can build the most advanced, shiny global system, but if it only caters to one predominant geography or language, you will inevitably face challenges in getting full user adoption. Little details and settings like date formats and terminology that might seem insignificant to HQ leaders but making sure the system works intuitively for all your users is critical. You have to design for their needs, not just what works in headquarters. I definitely learned that lesson the hard way over the years!

Given your extensive experience, why is adaptability in HR systems and technology so vital in the current business environment?

In my view, HR solutions and systems have to be highly adaptive and configurable today to meet rapidly evolving needs. They need to be able to seamlessly enable widespread remote and hybrid work arrangements. It can be very complicated when you have data across 23 different geographies. HR systems need to allow for easy customisation across different global regions and distinct lines of business within the same organisation.

If HR systems and platforms can't flex and change relatively easily, they will soon become obsolete and fail to support the business. This would be incredibly frustrating for both employees and managers who are trying to use outdated tools and solutions that no longer fit today's needs. It’s crucial to listen to your regional HR teams, making sure you understand their needs, so you can design the system to be fit for purpose.

In summary, adaptability is absolutely critical now in my opinion. HR technology needs to be able to smoothly evolve in step with shifting organisational priorities and changes to the work environment. The most effective platforms make ongoing adaptations relatively simple through easy configuration changes rather than requiring complex wholesale change.

Global HR certainly has challenges but taking the time to understand your users pays off enormously. This is an area I'm passionate about, even when I don't get it perfectly right!

How do you anticipate the future of HR management given the rapid changes in the work environment?

I’ve heard it said that data is the new oil, and in my experience, the Board is hungry for data. And it's not only the information they want - they want people in HR to tell them what the data means and what should be done about it.

When we design systems with users in mind, the data quality will be there to produce those insights. If we don’t get engagement, we undermine the end goal which is informing strategy with data. The Board wanted to know that I had scrutinised the data to spot risk and opportunities, and to make recommendations based on the data.

The role of the strategic HR function is to say you can see the detail if you want, but here's the summary, here's what it means, and here are the options we now need to take in order to address what that data is telling us.

When presenting to the Board, I found it best to outline my crisp analysis and recommendations - showing I had the full picture but highlighting the key takeaways, pointing out areas of concern but also areas to celebrate.

You mentioned you've been writing a book during your sabbatical period. Can you share a bit more about that project?

Yes, I'm happy to report I've actually finished writing my business management book "Workolution" - it's currently with proofreaders and editors before publication. I've also been spending some of my extra time working on a fun children's book, with the goal of creating a short story for each letter of the alphabet. And I have an early idea percolating for a longer fiction work one day too! Plus, I've been studying to continue improving my own management knowledge. It's been wonderfully busy but also far more relaxing than the stresses of corporate leadership life. If all goes smoothly, my business book "Workolution" should be published in early 2024.

About Pinsent Masons

Pinsent Masons is an international law firm founded in 1769 and headquartered in London. With over 1500 lawyers across 23 countries, it offers legal services in areas like corporate, litigation, real estate, energy, and more. Pinsent Masons is known for its long history, innovative technology focus and status as one of the leading global law firms. In 2022, it reported revenues of £606 million.