{"id":728,"date":"2023-02-11T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sage-people-scraping-ca.local\/?p=728"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T16:42:02","slug":"what-are-the-top-issues-in-hr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/what-are-the-top-issues-in-hr\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the top issues in HR?"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/category\/people-leadership\/employing-people\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Employing people<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat are the top issues in HR?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-8 col-lg-4 entry-header__image\">\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"entry-header__thumbnail js-hero-section\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"entry-header__thumbnail-image\" alt=\"a man and a woman interview a new female candidate\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771-1064x810.jpg 1064w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771-1536x1169.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771.jpg 1675w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1064px) 100vw, 1064px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2023-02-11T09:00:00-05:00\">February 11, 2023<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"What are the top issues in HR?\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/what-are-the-top-issues-in-hr\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/author\/charlottepenny\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2023\/03\/charlotte-penny.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Headashot of Charlotte Penny\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Charlotte Penny<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The top HR issues range from long-standing challenges such as recruitment and retention to topical, market-led issues like the gig economy and data security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many organizations conduct surveys annually to find out about the top People and HR issues. There\u2019s no definitive list: different research reveals different perspectives and priorities, depending on who\u2019s being asked and what the questions are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some common issues that crop up both in current research and in our latest experience working with HR leaders and their teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Recruitment:<\/strong> Finding and hiring the right people in a competitive employment marketplace \u2013 sometimes called \u2018the war for talent\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Retention:<\/strong> Keeping your talented staff once you\u2019ve hired and trained them. High staff turnover leads to low productivity and erodes profits and reputation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reward and recognition:<\/strong> Setting pay that\u2019s competitive but affordable and motivating employees through a range of attractive and relevant rewards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The Changing Face of HR in 2024<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">From process to people, take a peek at the paradoxes facing HR leaders today by downloading this research report.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-9b785e67-28a4-4d3f-bd26-898968a630a5\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download the report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/11\/BrandShootSF_Oct2021_ProfSvcs_C8341-JPG-Sage-Advice-540x810.jpeg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"woman on laptop\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/11\/BrandShootSF_Oct2021_ProfSvcs_C8341-JPG-Sage-Advice-540x810.jpeg 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Flexible working:<\/strong> Many workers have higher expectations of employer flexibility in terms of when, where and how they work, to support their work-life balance. Companies that don\u2019t adapt may not be able to access the best pool of candidates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data security:<\/strong> Companies need robust policies to protect employee data and make sure they have permission to hold it. Once they have it, they need to make good use of it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The move from HR to People:<\/strong> In an era of employee engagement, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sagepeople.com\/about-us\/news-hub\/people-company-how-build-business-people-first\/\">\u2018People Companies<\/a>\u2019 recognize that their success depends on their peoples\u2019 motivation, engagement and efforts. Therefore, they focus on creating the optimal environment for their talented employees to thrive and prosper rather than on HR admin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Evidence-based HR:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sagepeople.com\/about-us\/news-hub\/get-the-most-from-your-people-analytics\/\">Data-driven insights<\/a> can help organizations make better business decisions. Performance and People data combined with external market and benchmarking data create insight into how to nurture and get the most from a workforce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The Changing Face of HR in 2024<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">From process to people, take a peek at the paradoxes facing HR leaders today by downloading this research report.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-9b785e67-28a4-4d3f-bd26-898968a630a5\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download the report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/11\/BrandShootSF_Oct2021_ProfSvcs_C8341-JPG-Sage-Advice-540x810.jpeg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"woman on laptop\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/11\/BrandShootSF_Oct2021_ProfSvcs_C8341-JPG-Sage-Advice-540x810.jpeg 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Employee engagement:<\/strong> In a competitive labor market, savvy employers seek to engage their employees not just with pay and rewards but through principles, policies and ways of working that chime with people\u2019s own values and lifestyles. Respect, trust, two-way communication and maintaining an employer brand that will attract talented employees are part of this.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Discrimination:<\/strong> Recent publicity about gender pay gaps and the rules about disclosing them have focused employers on pay equality. The #MeToo campaign has focused attention on sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers need clear policies and processes to spot and correct intended or unintended anti-equality behavior.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sagepeople.com\/about-us\/news-hub\/tips-managing-gig-economy-workforce\/\">The gig economy:<\/a><\/strong> Workers seek freedom and variety in their work, and new opportunities are emerging to work freelance. Traditional employers need to compete for staff who now have more options. Gig employers need to make sure they\u2019re supporting workers fairly, to avoid accusations of exploitation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Productivity: <\/strong>Industry surveys regularly reveal that workers are productive for far less than 100% of the time they are paid. This impacts organizations\u2019 profitability. Employers need to tackle the causes of this, from lack of motivation to poor facilities, bias against flexible working and outdated digital infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compliance and regulations: <\/strong>From recruiting to retirement, HR and People leaders handle a variety of compliance issues. Organizations face ever-changing regulation and compliance requirements and legal developments such as GDPR.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Discover what 500+ HR leaders said about the future of HR. Download our new research report \u2018The changing face of HR\u2019&nbsp;today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The changing face of HR<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download this free report from Sage and discover how the modern HR function is vital to an organization&#8217;s growth and success<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-f4fcdbbb-7e46-4e79-8bb4-592f78df78ad\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Get your free report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-683807936_super-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Colleagues working together on laptops in a cafe\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-683807936_super-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"cta-content__title\">Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-8949a954-88b2-43bb-8b8a-77c53eb34350\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wondering what are the top issues in HR? Your questions answered here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1660,"featured_media":237,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_schema_page_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_schema_article_type":"","_sage_video":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"22","sage_membership_post_content_type":"article","sage_membership_post_featured_video_id":"","sage_membership_post_video_type":"trailer","sage_membership_post_featured_video_duration":"","post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"business_type":[99],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[76],"imagine_tag":[50],"coauthors":[327],"class_list":["post-728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employing-people","business_type-medium-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ca","author_name":"Charlotte Penny","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771.jpg","imagine_tags":{"50":"HR and Payroll"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1660"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}