The CIPD and Workday latest annual People Profession Survey has been released – showing that there are plenty of ‘positives’ reported by those who work in the people profession.

Of those surveyed, 80 per cent state that it offers them a meaningful career and 73 per cent believe they have the opportunity to add value to their organisation, showing that the majority find enjoyment in their work.

YouGov surveyed 1,368 in-house people professionals of which 60 per cent said that they look forward to going into work most days; 73 per cent said that the profession offers good career prospects and 65 per cent said that the profession offers good earning potential.    

Areas where the profession can improve - particularly around people analytics and data skills - were highlighted. To help make business decisions, only 6 per cent use advanced analytical techniques, as opposed to 37 per cent collecting and using very basic HR data.

The CIPD carried out a separate poll in April - to discover the impact of the coronavirus on people professionals. It was found that 57 per cent of people professionals recognised that their people team are supporting line managers through the crisis - but only 41 per cent of all business leaders agreed with this. More than a third - 37 per cent - say that a key business challenge is helping people to manage the impact of home working on their mental health.  

The report also explored the change or improvement that people professionals would most like to see in HR capability. It was found that 32 per cent would like to see coaching of line managers; 26 per cent would like OD and management skills to be addressed and 25 per cent would like relationships with colleagues and understanding their priorities to be built. 

Peter Gamble - Regional Vice President at Workday, UK and Ireland - said:

“It has been a challenging year but one that has highlighted the importance of the people profession. Amidst uncertainty, people leaders have had to make confident decisions about the best way forward for their organisation and their workforce. In a fast-changing environment, leaders have had to help people stay informed, engaged and supported while adopting what have been entirely new ways of working for many. Responding to change quickly and effectively has been key. Businesses must strive to build a culture of agility, data-driven decision-making and automation to fuel the recovery from the effects of this year and to drive innovation in the future.”

Peter Cheese - Chief Executive of the CIPD - stated:

“There are plenty of positives to take away in the latest People Profession Survey. It’s good to see that so many people professionals get meaning and value from their careers, which is likely to be reflected back in them showing strong commitment and engagement. The demands placed on the people profession over the last few months have never been greater with the Covid-19 pandemic, and we have seen so many positive examples of how individuals and teams have risen to the challenge. It’s particularly encouraging to see the focus on supporting line managers, many of whom are now having to manage teams remotely for the first time and support workers through these anxious and uncertain times. However, there is always scope for development and, once again, the report highlights the need for people professionals to improve their analytics capabilities. The crisis has put people much more at the heart of business thinking everywhere, but we need to show we can engage with business leaders at all levels with clear and actionable insights to drive positive change. This will be even more important as businesses look to drive performance and productivity as they chart their way through more challenging and uncertain economic times, and must balance financial, legal and ethical perspectives in the decisions that impact their workforces.  People professionals will continue to face many demanding months ahead as we slowly come out the lockdown and the full impact this crisis has had on the economy is laid bare. We will be here to support them through it all.”