Category: HR Information

Salaries for HR professionals are set to grow by as much as ten per cent of base rate, according to the Robert Walters Salary Survey 2014.

Companies are investing more in their HR departments compared with previous years and there is particularly high demand for talent, reward and learning and development professionals. 

HR pay is rising at its sharpest pace in the London financial services sector. However, salaries have also been growing steeply in other parts of the country, climbing by up to nine per cent in Birmingham and the Midlands.

Ben Wood, manager of HR recruitment at Robert Walters, said recruitment activity has been picking up, leading to new opportunities for HR professionals looking to progress their careers.

"There are reasons to be optimistic across a number of sectors: banks are ploughing resources back into people management as the sector works hard to repair reputational damage and improve staff morale. SMEs are also taking on HR professionals to administer government auto-enrolment schemes," he commented.

Mr Wood said the upward trend is expected to continue and there will be a renewed focus on attracting and retaining talent.

Renewed optimism about the economy is expected to improve prospects for many in HR departments. Recently, a forecast by recruitment company Hays predicted more opportunities for HR staff in 2014, with 47 per cent of employers expecting to hire more permanent staff.

The report also forecast salary rises in line with the cost of living, with 14 per cent of employers saying they would increase above inflation. More than half of those surveyed reported having awarded pay rises during the previous year.

However, the Hays report also said there would be a significant shortfall in experienced talent during the next 12 months. Some 64 per cent of employers anticipated a shortage of such candidates.

New research from The Conference Board and UK partner Chartered Management Institute recently revealed developing, retaining and engaging talented employees is currently the biggest challenge facing company CEOs.

HR directors need to ensure they offer good-quality pensions as more employees take up workplace schemes through auto-enrolment, according to a pensions expert.

Henry Tapper, First Actuarial director and founder of advice website Pension Playpen, told HR Magazine employers will have to pay more attention to the value of their pension schemes following a change in the law that means they automatically have to offer staff a workplace pension scheme.

HR managers are increasingly overseeing schemes alone, Mr Tapper claims, while managing such pensions has become more complicated.

"HR managers have found that what were previously great retention and recruitment tools have now become a major problem for them," Tapper said.

"Over the last five years, as we've moved away from what you want to do as a company to what you have to do, they've turned from being an 'HR plus' to an 'FD minus'. They're a big negative to the finance department."

Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which began in 2012, workers are automatically enrolled onto a workplace pension scheme, with employers making a contribution and the government adding extra through tax relief.

Mr Tapper said that while dissatisfaction among workers is already being felt due to regulation and the recession, employers will be forced to change their attitudes as a result of the changes provoked by auto-enrolment.

People are likely to become more critical of schemes as they are required to contribute more, Mr Tapper claimed. He called for HR managers to "wake up" to the fact that the quality of pension schemes is important as well as auto-enrolment.

He recommends HR directors seek external advice in order to ensure employees receive good information and warns against pension schemes that promise "free commission-based advice", which often result in extra charges for employees when they leave the employer.

Mr Tapper claims employers need to provide advice and information at the right point – not when employees join a scheme, but when they leave it.

An ageing workforce is expected to create more demand for healthcare benefits, according to a report for the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The report, Is 75 the new 65?: Rising to the challenge of Ageing on Workforce, states that in 2012 the percentage of the population at working age fell for the first time in 40 years and this trend is forecast to continue until 2060. Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of employers expect
the proportion of their employees aged over 60 to increase by 2020.

Employers are beginning to welcome the experience and skills offered by older workers, rather than discriminating against them.

John Ball, UK head of pensions at Towers Watson, commented: "An ageing workforce creates significant challenges for organisations. But few UK employers report negative attitudes towards older workers. Only 13 per cent say older workers are less productive than younger workers; only 16 per cent say they are less motivated and only 24 per cent say they take more time off sick."

Despite this, 47 per cent of employers expect an ageing workforce to lead to higher benefit costs.

Almost half of organisations surveyed say they will make changes to ensure the skills of older employees remain up-to-date. In addition, significant minorities plan to adapt their structures to ensure workers who reduce their working hours or responsibilities continue to feel valued.

Changes which organisations are making to accommodate the needs of an older workforce will benefit all employees, according to the report. More than half (56 per cent) plan to offer more flexible working hours or allow staff to work from home, while 48 per cent will allow employees more choice over the benefits they receive. 

The report also forecasts that managing talent will be a significant driver of change in 2020. Cost control will be displaced by new priorities such as people management as Europe recovers from economic crisis. Some 46 per cent of respondents expect it to be one of the top drivers of change, after technologies and globalisation.

Managing change is a particular problem for HR departments, according to a survey of 1,800 managers by the Roffey Park Institute.

Respondents reported being overwhelmed by their responsibilities for managing change and finding it difficult to achieve the desired results, HR Magazine reports. Some 77 per cent of HR professionals said managing change is their top challenge but 37 per cent of HR managers said attempts to change corporate culture were unsuccessful.  

According to head of research Dan Lucy, HR directors were trying to introduce a system that did not "fit" their organisation.

"There is a desire for a performance-driven culture and somehow that translates into the introduction of a new kind of performance management system that is box-ticky or bureaucratic," he said. "It doesn't adequately deal with management capabilities to manage performance effectively." 

Often, such unsatisfactory results can be attributed to the fact that change is imposed by external factors a new CEO or financial challenges.

Some 59 per cent of HR professionals believe the function is "too reactive" to be effective. Just 23 per cent of managers seek HR departments' advice on strategic issues such as employee engagement and only 28 per cent believed HR added value to the business. 

Establishing links between people management and business results is another major challenge for HR professionals – cited as such by 70 per cent of HR managers. Many wish to develop greater analytical abilities and to better handle data and metrics to prove the case for change.

Influencing senior managers was cited as a key task by 69 per cent of respondents. According to senior consultant Alex Swarbrick, this trend sees HR taking more of a "change-architect" role.

Mr Swarbrick said a major problem faced by HR departments is that managing change prevents them from focussing on wider, strategic issues – and managers tend to base their views of HR on these latter business aspects.

Recruiting and retaining talented HR professionals was the only area given an increase in predicted importance by survey respondents. 

The head of charity Business in the Community (BITC) has urged businesses to reward staff for responsible behaviours in a similar manner to that in which they offer incentives for hitting financial targets. 

Speaking at the Leadership Summit, BITC's chief executive Stephen Howard said staff should be shown that responsible behaviour adds value to an organisation, reports the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 

He called for the integration of such behaviour into organisations' training and development schemes, saying employers should encourage staff to gain experiences outside their normal role to nurture employees' values and decision making.

Mr Howard said trust in business would not be regained until responsibility becomes an integral part of organisations' operations and that leaders are currently failing to promote responsible behaviours among staff.

"Chief executives and investors must move beyond financial value as the only recognised metric of business success. By adopting an integrated approach, reporting on the added value of responsible practice business, and rewarding responsible behaviour, business can form a new and more powerful contract with society – and re-claim its rightful place as an engine for social change and innovation."

A survey conducted by the BITC reveals employee objectives and organisations' corporate responsibility targets are often misaligned. This mismatch could possibly undermine the core values of businesses.

The ethical objectives of organisations have come under increasing scrutiny following the 2008 financial crisis.

Last year, former Charter International and Cable & Wireless HR director Ian Muir said HR has a key role to play in promoting business ethics.

His comments followed the publication of a report, Tone from the Top, which said good business practice begins at the highest level of an organisation.

Mr Muir argued HR directors have an essential role to play by getting close to the chairman of the company and fostering a better relationship between the board and line managers.

Employees should be encouraged to speak out against bad practice, according to the Tone from the Top report, and management should look to create an atmosphere in which employees feel confident enough to voice their concerns.

HR Professionals' IT policies could be driving away talent, according to author and futurist Graeme Codrington.

Policies that restrict employees' freedoms in the realm of IT could be a major factor in encouraging individuals to leave for other organisations, HR Magazine reports Mr Codrington as saying.

Blocking staff's use of social networking programs such as Facebook and Twitter, forcing people to use certain brands of phone or computer and preventing them from bringing their own devices to work could ultimately work to the detriment of HR departments.

Mr Codrington told delegates at the HR Directors' Business Summit in Birmingham: "The biggest issue you face is your company's IT policy. It is going to chase your talented people away when the economy picks up."

He advocated a more proactive approach on the part of organisations, urging HR departments to "take control" of IT, rather than merely leaving the policy to IT departments.

At least five minutes of team meetings should be devoted to discussing changes and possible disruptive forces occurring as a result of technology and other factors, Mr Codrington claimed. He said: "Ask: 'What’s changing? What are the new rules? And how do we respond?'"

He also said the five forces currently changing the world of work are technology, institutional change, demographics, environment and ethics, and shifting social values (creating the acronym TIDES). 

His statements echo previous claims by Accenture that HR departments must adapt to trend shifts occurring as a result of social media platforms.

Rather than restricting the use of such platforms, the Accenture report, Trends Reshaping the Future of HR, recommends that HR staff take control away from IT and marketing departments. Such technology will improve employees' ability to share knowledge and ideas, it claims.

A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found organisations tend to restrict their staff's use of social media – but this may be counterproductive, as staff find such platforms enable them to respond to customer queries.

Learning and development (L&D) is set to undergo a series of changes in 2014 as it assumes a greater priority for organisations looking to capitalise on improved economic conditions.

Due to the economic recovery, organisations are likely to look at their learning and development budgets, reports Personnel Magazine. Many departments suffered cutbacks when the recession was at its worst – but staff will begin to demand more engagement after having to take on increased workloads for little extra reward.

"Employees are now looking to put their careers back on track, so they’re starting to expect an investment in them in terms of their development," said Steve Morris, business development director at learndirect. "They’re now saying, 'you should be developing me'."

There will be a shift in L&D systems away from the large-scale training schemes which involve annual appraisals towards a fluid and dynamic approach which employees can apply immediately.

A key priority for L&D will be developing capable, resilient and adaptable leaders. Much of organisations' previous focus has been on the training of graduates and top-level employees. 

Consulting company a&dc found 28 per cent of employers felt they were ineffective at developing their "middle layer" of future leaders – the group which has arguably been hardest-hit by the downturn.

Apprenticeships are likely to form another important area of organisations' employment strategies. Research by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills attests to the value of apprentices, which boost productivity levels by £214 per week in return for only a modest salary.

Advances in technology will affect the way L&D is delivered. E-learning is likely to play a much bigger role, in place of traditional instructor-led courses, according to Ruth Stuart, L&D adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. In addition, learner-centred, social and collaborative methods will be given greater prominence.

Technology will also change the way L&D is recorded, measuring how learners absorb knowledge. Informal platforms will enable employees to share information with one another and managers will be able to monitor this practice. As a consequence of these trends, continual monitoring of development will displace the traditional focus on methods such as annual appraisals.

A new study has found that efforts to improve gender diversity in the workforce may be being hampered by focusing on issues that make women feel more satisfied rather than helping them achieve promotion.

According to the study, which surveyed 3,000 female and male professionals, the features of working life that provide women with career satisfaction are vastly different from those that drive career progression, HR Magazine reports. 

Critical job assignments, politically-skilled networking and risk-embracing seeking of opportunities are the factors which lead to women's career progression, according to IBM company Kenexa.

In terms of what makes them satisfied with career progression, women gave different responses. The answers given include having fair and objective HR processes in place to support promotion decisions as well as having a supportive line manager who believes in their potential. 

A clear plan about how to advance their career and achieve their goals also made women feel satisfied with their progression.

According to Kenexa senior psychologist at the High Performance Institute and report author Ines Wichert, the findings of the report could account for the slower progress of women to top positions. She points out that feeling satisfied with progression opportunities offers no guarantee of securing promotion.

"This could explain why many organisations struggle to see change as a result of their gender diversity initiatives – perhaps they are focusing on initiatives that make women feel more satisfied, but not on initiatives that drive actual promotions and therefore career progression for women," she commented.

Ms Wichert added that employers need to take this information into account when planning their gender diversity initiatives.

Campaign group Opportunity Now director Kathryn Nawrockyi said her studies show that companies with more women in leadership roles are twice as likely to have gender-focused objectives forming part of their diversity strategy.

Further findings of the report show that the "golden age" of career progression is considered to be between 28 and 34; thereafter, promotions and job satisfaction are said to decrease.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has set out a skills and employment manifesto designed to help the country address the skills shortage that could undermine future prosperity. 

According to the BCC, the proposals could radically transform the way people are educated and the way our adult workforce is trained. It advocates greater cooperation between the BCC and universities and SMEs to ensure young people receive the appropriate training and acquire skills relevant to the modern jobs market.

Employers consistently report a mismatch between the qualities they are looking for in their staff and the skills, experience and attitude displayed by prospective job candidates. Having the most skilled workforce possible will enable the country to compete in the global race.

Employability skills need to be at the heart of how schools are assessed and rated, according to the BCC. There also needs to be investment in careers education for all young people, including regular contact with different employers.

There need to be literacy, numeracy, computing and foreign languages qualifications which are clear and universally understood. Employers should be able to conduct an accurate appraisal of a candidate based on these qualifications.

Export skills and foreign languages should be encouraged by providing tax incentives and employment policy should be the responsibility of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

In addition, universities should promote enterprise and ensure their courses are relevant to future job opportunities, the body stated.

Nora Senior, president of the BCC, said: "Although we believe that successive governments have failed our young people by not properly equipping them for their future careers, it is time to break away from the blame game. Various organisations and sectors continue to blame each other for a lack of ‘work readiness’ among young people but it is time for everyone to accept some responsibility, and find ways to move forward."

Ms Senior warned that if Britain does not keep up the pace with its competitors in a rapidly-changing world it could lose valuable business. However, she stressed that simple measures such as providing a good careers service can help put the country back on course for a prosperous future.

HR professionals are set to move during 2014, with 60 per cent expecting to look for a new job.

According to research conducted by recruitment company Hays, the resurgent strength of the UK economy means recruitment in the HR industry is set to increase during the next 12 months. 

Some 47 per cent of employers expect to hire more permanent HR staff and 28 per cent intend to take on additional temporary workers.

The findings are published in the Hays Human Resources Salary and Benefits Guide 2014. They are based on a survey of 570 employers and 780 employees.

Salaries for HR staff are forecast to increase in line with the cost of living by two-fifths of employers and 14 per cent of employers believe they will rise above inflation. More than half report having awarded pay rises during the past year.

HR generalists are expected to enjoy a growing number of opportunities, particularly within the £30,000 – £40,000 bracket. Opportunities will also abound for those in resourcing and talent, and reward roles.

HR advisors are predicted to earn an average salary of £28,000, while a salary of £77,000 will be available to HR directors.

There is expected to be a significant shortfall in experienced talent during the next 12 months. A shortage of such candidates is anticipated by 64 per cent of employers, while 41 per cent of employers believe their current business objectives are being compromised by a lack of talent. 

Barney Ely, director of Hays human resources, predicts a positive 2014 for the HR industry, with more opportunities available for staff. 

"It is evident that employers are now shifting from managing the challenges of the economic downturn to taking advantage of the growing confidence in the economy. This will increase competition for commercially astute HR professionals who can manage change, so employers will need to work hard to retain and attract the best talent to ensure their business can grow in 2014," he commented.