Sydney, New South Wales, 14 March 2023 – A new study from Sage, the leader in accounting, financial and HR technology for medium sized businesses, uncovered the changing expectations and challenges that HR teams face.
The poll of more than 1,000 HR and C-suite leaders working across six of the world’s largest economies highlights that a staggering 81% of HR professionals are feeling burnt out and 62% are considering leaving the industry.
The research signals that now could be a seminal moment for the HR industry and it is time for HR’s big rebrand. 73% of HR leaders and 85% of the c-suite claim the term ‘Human Resources’ is outdated. Furthermore, 91% of HR leaders say the scope of HR’s remit has changed dramatically over the last few years – and 96% of the C-suite agree. 92% of C-suite execs believe the perceived value of HR is a challenge for the profession.
“HR leaders are often the unsung heroes of an organisation but over the last few years have demonstrated their influence, visibility, agility and impact more than ever,” says Amanda Cusdin, Chief People Officer at Sage. “Considering the acute shortage of talent, the great resignation, and the quiet quitting phenomenon that a lot of organisations are facing, business leaders need to prioritise investment in technology, and increase upskilling the HR department.”
What Australian HR leaders are focused on
Talent management, retention and hybrid working arrangements are top-of-mind for HR leaders in Australia. Employee engagement and development are key to retaining employees, though remote working arrangements make this more challenging.
“The HR function plays a critical role in managing a hybrid workforce and ensuring strategic alignment across the organisation,” says Simon Holmberg, Leader of Sage People Division in Australia. “Especially across Australia, we’re seeing a slow return to the office with many employees having moved to rural and interstate locations during the pandemic. To make it worthwhile for employees to commute to the office, businesses must provide added value and high quality interactions that can be facilitated by the HR department.”
The future of HR
While 91% of HR leaders say they are excited about the future of the profession, 83% agree that not having the right HR technology is a challenge for the future – only 59% of organisations currently use people analytics and cloud HR systems, and just 54% have some form of HR automation in place.
With 92% of HR leaders citing the sheer amount of work they’re facing as a barrier to future success, technology is key to managing the challenge. By automating admin, HR teams can spend more time on strategy, while self-service empowers employees to own their data, sparing HR the legwork too.
Can technology help solve the talent shortage?
In good news for HR leaders in Australia, the talent shortage in the country may not be as grim as the numbers have it down to be. While recruiting from the outside may help fill certain positions, identifying talent inside an organisation could be a better option. Further, developing existing employees to fill anticipated hiring needs is one way to both retain and grow talent.
“HR technology can be extremely valuable in providing a single source of truth across all employees, harnessing the talent in an organisation through retention and development, and helping HR move from admin to strategy,” says Simon Holmberg. “Australian companies need to take the skills shortage seriously and deploy HR technology that identifies and anticipates talent gaps.”
The top challenges for HR in 2024
Asked what the top challenges would be for HR in 2024, in addition to workload, 90% of HR leaders predict limited budgets, 89% cite lack of resources, and 83% say not having leadership support would be significant barriers.
When asked what the profession would need to be successful, two things feature highly on HR leaders’ lists: a boost in HR skills (42%) and increased investment in specialisms (37%) (e.g. DEI specialists). 40% also want more technological know-how, and 33% want better peer-to-peer support networks within HR.
As for the top priorities in 2024, HR leaders and the C-suite agree that talent management should be at the top of the list. Diversity equity and inclusion, and employee health and well-being are the next top priorities for HR leaders, while the C-suite feels HR should focus more on financial growth, and efficiency and productivity.
Methodology
‘The changing face of HR in 2024’ report by Sage included 1022 responses from senior HR leaders (666) and c-suite execs (356 comprising of CEOs, CFOs and CTOs) across the globe in medium (500) and small (522) businesses. The polling was carried out by Edelman on behalf of Sage. The results are supplemented with interviews from six senior HR and business leaders.
About Sage
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects MBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.
Find out more at www.sage.com
Media contact:
BCW
Kate Evans
[email protected]
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