Most HR Professionals ‘Wouldn’t Recommend their Company to Others’

Only two in five (42%) people working in HR say they would recommend their employer to others.

The survey of 300 HR decision makers by HR software provider Ciphr said that more than one in three (37% of respondents) claimed to be overworked most or all the time. Around a quarter (28%) also regularly consider leaving their current positions.

Less than half (48%) say they receive regular or ongoing training and development for their role. A third (34%) are satisfied with their salary, and just one in four (27%) think there are career progression opportunities available to them at their organisation.

But the survey also found that most HR professionals do appear to enjoy their work. When asked how often they found their job fulfilling and engaging during a typical working week, nearly two-thirds (64%) said most or all the time. Another quarter (28%) said their job was fulfilling and engaging some of the time. The remaining one in 11 (9%), however, reported rarely or never being fulfilled or engaged.

While the survey didn’t delve into the reasons why people would or wouldn’t recommend their employer, Ciphr says that its data shows that their opinions on this are clearly influenced by how valued, fulfilled, trained and well-paid they feel. Work/life balance and workload are also factors, it says.

Among those who said they would recommend their employers to others, 79% felt fulfilled and engaged by their work and 71% felt valued and appreciated for their work all or most of the time.

Other survey findings show that HR professionals who aren’t overworked, and those who are satisfied with their pay, are among the least likely to be planning a job switch. The people who look most likely to leave their current HR job (if they haven’t already) are those who rarely or never feel valued and appreciated for their work.

Claire Williams, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, said:

“HR may be less inclined to recommend their organisation than other employees for various reasons. They have a unique viewpoint of the organisation, including what steps are being taken to make it an enjoyable place to work and the level of genuine buy-in and commitment from the C-suite. And, if that’s not reflective of the wider messaging, it could drive HR professionals to want to look for an employer that is more people-centric and action-orientated.

“There are a lot of great employers out there. So while HR professionals typically want to work with a company to make things better – to ‘enact change’ – if, realistically, they don’t have the backing of the employer to do so, who can blame them for considering going to work for another company that will respect and value their vital role?

“It is surprising and disappointing, though, to see how few HR professionals say they have good working relationships in the business, and don’t feel valued and recognised for their work. In many instances this will be outside of their control, but there are steps that HR can take to try to raise the profile and positive perception of the HR function within their organisation.

“Some of the ways you can do this include ensuring that objectives are aligned to companywide strategic goals; integrating the HR team more with different departments and management teams by joining meetings and anchor days; sending out regular updates to the business on HR activities and successes, explaining how HR initiatives are positively impacting the business; and optimising management information (MI) and reporting to enable more strategic use of your people data.”