“You must seize the momentum”

Interview with Floor Nelissen, HR Director at NautaDutilh

As HR Director at NautaDutilh, Floor Nelissen focuses on connection, results, and visibility. She knows the pace of practice and ensures her role remains tangible. “If you wait too long to arrange capacity, you miss the moment.”

When are you successful in your role?

“When talent has the space to develop within a positive, healthy work environment. I see it as my task to ensure work is at the right level and in the right teams. Our collaboration with lawyerlinq also contributes to this. If no one is available with the right expertise, we can quickly deploy additional capacity through our flex pool. That truly impacts performance.”

How do you make a difference in an organization of 700 people?

“By being visible. Before COVID-19, I walked around the Rotterdam office every week. Having a chat, hearing what’s going on. That works. In a hybrid work culture, it's more challenging, but I continue to communicate actively and invite people to reach out. I am genuinely curious about what colleagues do. I keep track of major cases and the clients we work closely with. This way, I know what’s happening and can adapt more easily.”

What is the hardest part of your job?

“The dynamics of a partner structure. Within HR, the team changes faster than among the partners. It takes time to build trust, especially if you want to implement changes. But if you really know the organization well, you can have higher-level discussions, creating room to build together.”

What makes the legal profession so different?

“The way leadership is organized. Partners and senior lawyers provide substantive guidance but are also your supervisors. As a junior, you work closely with multiple experienced professionals who are both involved content-wise and coach you. You learn much faster and from different people simultaneously. You don’t see that in an average organization.”

What qualities are essential for you?

“Empathy, courage, and organizational sensitivity. You need to understand that the client is always central for the employee. What you do as HR must align with that. For instance, we’ve adjusted our performance system to better align with practice. It’s about not thinking purely from HR’s perspective but from the firm’s strategy.”

What changes do you see in the legal profession?

“I see more equality in the relationship with clients. It used to be more hierarchical, now it is much more of a collaboration. Perhaps this development has been accelerated by COVID-19. Employees team up with the client, resulting in stronger connections.”

Want to know more about how we help organizations like NautaDutilh with tailored legal capacity?
Contact Maarten Hagen