Sage, a provider of business software and solutions, has carried out a global survey ('Changing face of HR') of over 1,000 senior executives and HR professionals which has found that the term "human resources" is seen as outdated by many of those surveyed.
Around three quarters of HR leaders and 85% of senior executives in small to medium businesses agreed that the term "human resources" does not represent the true nature of the role.
Over 80% of those responding to the survey stated that HR should be organised for speed, agility and adaptability. Almost all of those surveyed agreed that the scope of HR roles has changed significantly over the past five years. Certainly the rate of change has accelerated considerably as a result of the pandemic and the shift in ways of working.
The top challenges facing HR teams are perceived to be the amount of work (92%), uncertainty (91%) the perceived value in organisations of the value of HR (90%) and a limited budget (90%).
Interestingly, the top three priorities for HR leaders in 2024 are talent management; diversity, equality and inclusion, and employee health and wellbeing, all topics which we've been busy discussing since the launch of our report, 'Employer of the future: the changing nature of the employer and employee relationship'. We also recently carried out a survey into being an inclusive employer and published a report, 'Employer of the future: being an inclusive employer survey', detailing our findings.
