HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RESEARCH:
About half of HR professionals do not think their function performs very well in the eyes of the executive team in their organization. HR professionals were asked, "In the view of your company's executive team, how well does your HR department meet the needs of your organization?" Only about half (52%) say that their executives would give them a score of 8 or higher. If this were a "report card," these would represent the A and B students in a class. The rest can be viewed as C students or worse. And if we view 6 as a failing grade, as a 60% score is on a test, then a worryingly large proportion (27%) are D or F students. This means that, even in the eyes of HR professionals themselves, executive teams are not particularly happy with the value HR is delivering. Though this may not be a fair assessment, perceptions matter. The question that needs to be posed to HR leaders is: If you think HR is not meeting the expectations of top leaders, why don't you do something about it?
Looking ahead three to five years, HR is most likely to be concerned about economic conditions and talent shortages.
The three factors most commonly cited as likely to have a significant impact on HR are:
- economic conditions
- talent shortages
- technological changes
While HR may enjoy learning about those other issues, they seem to have a clear head in understanding the big issues that will actually affect their work. Economic conditions loom especially in light of the COVID-19 crisis. There is enormous uncertainty as to whether the economy will see a quick economic bounce back or a deep and lasting recession. The economy affects many parts of HR and, in particular, has a large impact on those responsible for restructurings, compensation, risk management, health, wellness, performance management, organizational development and talent acquisition. Technological changes are also key, with legions of HR professionals suddenly needing to deal with workforces using remote conferencing and work technologies. As we write this, no one is sure how long employees will need to telecommute to maintain "social distancing," but it is certain that, as a profession, HR must suddenly cope with new work arrangements as never before.
The areas of HR most likely to be seen as critical for success over the next two years are change management and succession planning. The graph shows that only 21% of participants view "healthcare issues" as among the top four issues most critical to HR's success over the next two years. We believe that this issue would have been assessed differently if the entire survey had been fielded after the crisis had become apparent.
To learn more about The Future of the HR Function 2020 survey and to get strategic outcomes and 7 key takeaways from this exclusive HR.com Research Institute research, please read the complete report and infographic here:
