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Over 1000 HR professionals from a diverse range of industries and geographies responded to our recent HR survey and the results were both interesting and, in some cases, surprising.
Perhaps the most alarming statistic was that only 55% of respondents said their organisations had a clear people strategy, suggesting that almost half of Australian-based organisations do not have a clear and well-defined people strategy in place. At a time when, more than ever, businesses expect maximum strategic value from their HR functions, surely it’s slightly concerning that such a large number of organisations seemingly do not have a clear people strategy?
Of course, not every HR professional working in Australia responded to our survey, but 1,000 people represents a good cross-section of the profession and so some credence must be given to the result. Where respondents suggested their organisations did have a clear people strategy, it was of no surprise to see what people articulated as the key pillars; namely leadership capability, culture and employee engagement.
suggesting that HR is right up there with the most analytical functions in business and even a little ahead of what we perceive to be the most quantitively oriented functions such as Finance. Clearly, more and more HR functions are using data to drive conversations with the business and to provide meaningful insights into future workforce needs, attrition, employee engagement and other key people metrics.
One of the most fascinating survey results was on the topic of tenure, with 40% of our survey respondents saying they had been in their current organisation for less than one year and only 1% for 10 years or more. On top of that, over half of respondents (58%) said they were thinking of seeking a new role in the first half of this year. Whilst it’s commonly known that job tenure in Australia has been declining steadily over the last two decades for a number of socio-economic reasons, the results do suggest that, on the whole, organisations still have work to do in engaging, developing and retaining their people. Clearly, this isn’t lost on senior HR leaders, evidenced by those previously touched on strategic pillars of leadership capability, culture and employee engagement.
Our survey results showed that almost three-quarters of respondents believed they were paid at or above market rate (64%) whilst close to half (48%) were satisfied with their performance bonus, indicating that HR professionals are typically satisfied with their remuneration. This is backed up in what HR professionals articulated as their key priority when moving roles, with compensation coming well down the list of priorities at 7% and trumped by workplace culture (32%), work/life balance (24%), leadership (13%) and professional development (13%).
Worryingly, 73% of respondents believed mental health was an issue in their organisations, although, on a more positive note, 65% of respondents said their organisations have a policy or strategy in place to deal with mental health issues. Our own experience in the recruitment of Health & Safety roles backs this up, as there has been a definitive shift from a compliance and legislative focus to a holistic health and wellbeing perspective in recent time.
On a final positive note, flexible working continues to evolve rapidly. We’ve noticed a significant shift in the uptake of flexible working practices over the course of the last five years, with advancements in workplace technology transforming the way we do business. Of course, technology is only a part of it, and there has no doubt been a marked cultural shift as Australian employers increasingly embrace flexible working conditions – and employees demand them! Our survey revealed that 90% of respondents have access to flexible working arrangements, chief amongst them the ability to work from home (90%), non-standard hours (64%), part-time opportunities (62%), and study leave (41%).
We hope you found the results of our 2020 HR Survey interesting and thought-provoking. We would welcome any comments or suggestions for our 2021 survey!
For more insights into the latest HR industry trends in Australia, click here to download your copy of the report.
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