New research from Personio - the all-in-one HR software solution - finds that HR teams are keen to maintain a more influential and strategic role in the future.
The research surveyed 500 HR managers across the UK, with 51 per cent of respondents stating that the HR function cannot continue as prior to the pandemic. Eight out of ten of those surveyed declared that HR has been vital in helping the business successfully adapt to the new normal, with 91 per cent rating the HR function as good or very good.
Altogether, 71 per cent of those surveyed believe that HR has added tactical value to the business during the outbreak and 71 per cent also agreed that the HR function has been more closely involved at board and senior team level.
According to the research, 80 per cent of HR managers want HR to maintain the strategic role it played during the pandemic - with 33 per cent believing that the HR function should become more strategic and flexible in future.
However, 49 per cent of HR managers surveyed say that they do not have the HR tools and systems in place to be properly effective; 71 per cent say that they have difficulty accessing data or analytics, 42 per cent state they lacked the data and tools required to support the business efficiently and under 46 per cent have a specific recovery plan in place. This leaves question marks over the ability of HR to truly evolve and retain its more strategic partnership role in the long term.
It was indicated by 63 per cent of respondents that HR processes and systems carried out fully digitally helped HR teams to work more effectively and they cited the HR functions response as ‘very good’ during the pandemic – with 55 per cent more likely to have a recovery plan in place. This compared with 41 per cent who cited ‘mostly’ digital and 48 per cent who had ‘few’ digital systems, with only 34 per cent of those stating they had a recovery plan.
The top steps that have been implemented by HR in the UK are 66 per cent support for remote working; 53 per cent increased internal communication; 44 per cent implemented additional health and wellbeing initiatives and 37 per cent provided support for parents.
Hanno Renner - co-founder and CEO of Personio - said:
“HR is a company’s backbone, and this is never truer than during challenging times like these. The Covid-19 crisis has given HR teams a unique opportunity to demonstrate what they’re best at – helping businesses make strategic decisions when it comes to their greatest asset: people. HR teams will be critical to supporting individuals’ and businesses’ return to workplaces and navigating the challenging time after the lockdown. But this more strategic HR role can only be achieved when organisations have the technology, data and systems in place that free HR managers up to focus on their people while providing them with the insights they need to be effective. Organisations must act now to ensure the HR function can continue to operate strategically in the post-pandemic workplace. Budgets may be under threat, but people strategy is one area that absolutely must remain a focus for businesses as we adapt to new ways of working.”
