Intelligent SME.tech Issue 23 | Page 53

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HR professionals struggle with preparation for the future of work

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FINANCE | SALES & MARKETING | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE | HR SOLUTIONS
he new Future of HR Function 2022 survey conducted by the HR Research Institute has revealed that many HR professionals are struggling to manage key challenges facing their organisations .
Most admit that they are not prepared for the quickly changing future of work . The consequences could have a farranging impact on the health of organisations .
The study suggests that HR professionals are having a crisis of confidence about their value in the workplace as HR becomes more focused on meeting the needs of individual employees in an era of labour shortages .
Only about two-fifths believe they are good at meeting organisational needs from the perspective of employees ; 17 % strongly agree that HR maximises employee experience ; and 10 % strongly agree that they are working on long-term planning to help the organisation .
“ HR professionals tend to be consumed by current crises . The things keeping them up at night are recruitment , retention and figuring out the best ways of handling new demands and expectations from workers ,” said Mark Vickers , Chief Research Analyst at HR . com .
“ Many feel as if they still have not mastered the ability to recruit high-quality talent , but they ’ re also struggling in more strategic areas such as advancing diversity , equity and inclusion , communicating effectively , leveraging people analytics and preparing for the near future .”
When HR departments are succeeding , they are an equal partner in the strategic planning process and bring vast benefits to their organisations . The study found that , compared to lower-performing HR departments , higherperforming HR departments are :
• More than three times as likely to be fairly / very successful at enhancing the employee experience .
• More than three times as likely to say HR is proficient / highly proficient at advancing diversity , equity and inclusion .
• More than twice as likely to say HR is proficient / highly proficient at facilitating positive change .
• More than twice as likely to say HR is proficient / highly proficient at recruiting high-quality talent .
But many HR departments are under fire . Enhancing employee experience and creating agile workforces are two pressing issues that HR must be prepared to address in the short term , but fewer than half of respondents ( 43 %) rated HR as eight or above on a 10-point scale in terms of their preparedness to thrive in the next two years .
Creating a positive corporate culture has become a focus in most organisations since employees more often quit organisations with unappealing cultures .
However , only 20 % deem their organisation ‘ very successful ,’ indicating there is much room for improvement in how HR influences culture . �
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