Establishing HR Professionals’ Influence and Credibility: Lessons from the Capital Markets and Investment Banking Sector

Abstract

Through two separate studies involving 47 interviews inside 22 institutions in the capital markets and investment banking sector, we explore the levels of influence and sources of credibility for senior HR professionals, and examine the challenges they face in establishing credibility. We compare these findings against previous research, which has identified several determinants of HR’s influence and credibility. Our findings confirm that HR’s modest influence is contingent on the predispositions and convictions of key stakeholders, notably the CEO, but also depends on the decision being taken. We find that the basis for senior HR professionals’ credibility is more individual than institutional, and that HR professionals and senior business managers differ in the priorities they assign to credibility determinants. Finally, the studies illuminate an enduring inherent tension for HR in establishing credibility, between servicing their internal clients’ needs and retaining a level of independence. We reflect upon the transient nature of HR credibility in this sector and others.