As modern HR professionals combat the outdated stereotypes that have long plagued them (from the "fun police" to the "complaint department"), the HR Careers Report takes a closer look at those leading the field. So what does HR look like today and what new trends are emerging? See below for highlights from the Namely report.
The insights uncovered by Namely's HR Career Report include:
- 71 percent of HR professionals are female. This overwhelming majority may be on the rise. When Namely's 2018 Workplace Diversity Report was published in June 2018, women represented 67 percent of HR.
- While HR teams of 1-4 employees have an average tenure of 3.24 years, teams with 40+ HR people average just over a year with their company. In other words, as HR teams scale, retention becomes a growing problem.
- 65 percent of HR professionals identify as white, with the next highest representations at 12 percent Asian and 10 percent Hispanic. These figures may seem disheartening considering HR's role in leading diversity and inclusion efforts.
- Pay Equity is an issue in HR, too. While female HR practitioners earned an impressive $91,981 a year on average, their male counterparts earned almost 13 percent more, or $103,644. In other words, for every dollar male HR professionals earn, females earn just $0.89.
"We're in dynamic and highly strategic roles that have a critical impact at companies large and small. I'm thrilled Namely's HR Careers Report is providing an untapped perspective on how we should advocate for our own HR career paths," said Lorna Hagen, Chief People Officer at Namely. "As HR leaders, we're often so focused on attracting, engaging, and retaining other employees that we put our professional growth on the backburner."
Namely's unique wealth of data has long helped mid-sized companies make better people decisions. Now HR can turn that data focus inward to reflect on gender, diversity, and pay for the profession itself. For more, download the full HR Careers Report.
