It seems that negative headlines about the HR function never cease. There are the classics such as “Why We Hate HR” and “Why We Love to Hate HR.” And, there are the more recent ones including: “6 Surprising Reasons Why Employees Hate HR” and “Why Employees Don’t Trust HR Staff.”
HR’s public persona is so ingrained and extreme that we wanted to know if it truly matches with how employees are experiencing HR on the job today. To find out, research non-profit APQC surveyed employees from across regions, industries, and organization sizes. What we learned may surprise you and change how you think about HR in the future.
In short—our results did not exactly align with popular opinion and press.
In fact, a majority—or 59%—of the employees in our survey are satisfied with HR at their current employers.
More than two-thirds said that HR at their employer is trustworthy and fair. Just under two-thirds said that HR is accessible, does quality work, and is fast to address their needs. Similarly, just under two-thirds are satisfied with the ease with which they can complete HR-related work.
One particularly notable finding is that 65% of employees see HR as supporting employees or supporting both employees and the business equally—leaving only about one-third saying that HR primarily supports the business.
Along these lines, just over half of employees experience HR as being compassionate.
- More than half said that during the pandemic, HR has helped them navigate work.
- Forty percent said that HR has helped them navigate personal issues during this challenging time.
This is important as similar proportions of employees told us that the pandemic has negatively/very negatively impacted their stress levels at work and at home.
So, contrary to popular opinion, many employees experience HR as being effective and supportive. Our research uncovered numerous and important areas of strength that the HR function will want to sustain. In addition to those already mentioned, these include:
- Keeping employees well informed,
- Making HR information easy to find, and
- Providing a high level of customer service.
With many basic and foundational aspects of HR being delivered well, HR has an opportunity to focus on areas where it can add additional and significant value for both employees and the business. These include:
- Helping employees to do their best work,
- Helping employees to be more productive, and
- Contributing to employees being motivated in their work.
Only about one-third of the employees that we surveyed agreed that HR supports them in these ways.
Visit APQC’s HR Customer Satisfaction Resource Collection to find the complimentary survey report as well as complimentary infographics. You will:
- Get more insights into employee satisfaction with HR,
- Learn why HR customer satisfaction matters—especially today, and
- Find out how HR can further strengthen its contribution to employees and the business.
