“HR is my best Frenemy!” said Legal (Really?) 7 Tips to Reconcile HR and Legal
In the business world, there's a myth that the Human Resources department and the Legal department have relationships that are more than complex. Would you agree?
Some would say they are “Frenemies”. The two departments are equally essential to the smooth functioning of an organization, yet they are often caricatured as having completely different cultures, working methods, and concerns.
I take a different approach.
Rivals? Maybe, especially as there can be confusion about the role and mission of each team. Who does what? Which vision (HR or Legal), should prevail in decisions? Moreover, the rest of the organization believe that they operate in strictly separate spheres. But, how wrong they are. That belief is too simplistic. It’s true that the missions of HR and Legal are intrinsically linked, and their collaboration is, on the contrary, ESSENTIAL for the business.
So, how can we work towards the "great reconciliation" or bringing these two key departments together to work harmoniously and productively?
As a fervent advocate of harmony, (and someone who hates conflict), I present 7 tips below that are drawn from leadership and management best practices, endorsed by me personally, as I have actually put them into practice! Enjoy!
1. Get to know each other to understand each other!
You are awesome and you are awesome at what you do too! Understand that your buddies from the department next door are equally as awesome (Probably ????). Yet, you may not necessarily grasp what is most important to them... guess what, the reverse is also true. It is therefore crucial that each department understands the role, responsibilities, and challenges of the other.
My recommendation? Practice "job shadowing", a day where employees observe the work of their colleagues from the other department. Nothing beats it for getting each team member to understand what REALLY matters to their colleagues in the other team, what they experience on a day-to-day basis, their viewpoints, their challenges. And, in addition, it strengthens the bonds between employees.
2. Clarify everyone's roles and responsibilities
I've already mentioned that there are sometimes gray areas regarding the respective roles of HR and Legal and it's precisely when responsibilities are not clearly defined that problems tend to arise.
You know me, I love clear contracts! Here are two great tools to clarify everyone's role:
- The RACI matrix. A responsibility assignment matrix, ideal for managing projects. Each person involved in the project is assigned a function of: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed, for each task.
- The RAPID model. This model assigns the roles of each in a decision-making process: Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, Decision.
You can also define the roles and responsibilities of each for recurring tasks, that's what I did with my HR buddies when I worked at Yahoo! For example: for an employment contract, we agreed that Legal should create a basic template and HR completes it for all new hires. In the case of termination: HR handles everything until litigation, and as soon as a lawyer comes into the picture, Legal takes the lead, etc.
3. Create common goals!
All departments work for the success of the company (yeah, and, we all want world peace) but how does this work in real life? It's up to you as a leader to develop common goals and to create the conditions for effective collaboration between the 2 parties (so tempting to mention Spiderman, great powers, and great responsibilities, but I digress). In order for this to happen, I invite you to bridge the gap to your HR counterpart to formalize and establish common goals for both of your teams, which of course will be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely).
4. Establish meetings to facilitate communication between teams
Misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or other communication flaws can create friction and widen the gap between the teams.
Once again, it's up to you to instead create bridges by establishing open and regular communication channels. You can set up regular meetings between the 2 departments to discuss not only all the issues but also to celebrate the successes of the teams working together.
If you have the budget, consider organizing a "Process Com" session. The concept? Identify each other's communication style to allow everyone to better understand each other.
5. Learn mutual respect
This is the basis of any successful collaboration, yet it's easier said than done.
As a leader, you must lead by example and embody your values. Since you are awesome, you have already shared your leadership style with your collaborators and set clear rules regarding desirable behaviors they need to demonstrate in order to work most effectively with you - and those to be avoided at all costs.
You can choose to say "no to gossip" or, like some leaders, implement a "no blame" policy that encourages problem-solving rather than looking for scapegoats to blame.
Don’t assume that HR would have more empathy and Legal more technical skills, this is not necessarily true (especially thinking about some HR professionals I know!). Don’t judge too quickly, be open about what skills people are bringing to the table.
6. Learn together
This is a bit like the saying that those who play together, stay together!
Learning together is doubly great, whether this is process com, job shadowing or formal learning interventions. In addition to developing skills, it's a great way to strengthen working relationships.
Do you want to maximize the effect of training? Ask your teams to organize joint training on "Legal/HR" issues that you regularly experience. Ideally, they should be organized AND presented by representatives of both departments. Again, the idea is to reinforce mutual understanding and collaboration.
7. Celebrate common successes
The successful opening of a subsidiary overseas? The implementation of a hotline for whistleblowers? These could not happen without the HR and Legal “Frenemies” working in harmony. Take a moment to congratulate yourselves!
Organizing, for example, a gathering at the end of a project to celebrate your common achievements will contribute to strengthening the sense of belonging and camaraderie among employees from different departments. (And, who doesn’t love a good party!)
In summary, you now understand how the other party works (or, at least, have tried to understand), you've clarified each other's roles, you're focussed on achieving common goals, you've created regular meetings to better understand each other and communicate more effectively with regular check-ins, you've learned to respect and appreciate your differences and last but not least, you train and develop your skill sets together!
Implement all of the above and get ready to celebrate together more frequently ????
There is strength in unity! You will be even stronger by collaborating closely, in a fluid, agile and effective way.
So, would I say that the HR x Legal collab is “easy as pie”? Not at all. Improving working relationships between the Legal and HR departments is not an easy task but with concentrated effort on both sides, it’ll pay off big time!