Some departments are struggling with recruiting
Human resource professionals identified a number of concerns for the coming year in a recent survey involving more than 700 individuals in the field.
Recruiting and hiring is one of the top challenges organizations face today; 28 percent of respondents identified it as their No. 1 HR concern.
Just over 50 percent of the HR professionals who reported experiencing recruiting and hiring struggles said they felt finding high-quality candidates would be extremely challenging this year.
That belief has increased in recent years. More than double the amount of HR professionals today believe finding high-quality candidates is exceptionally difficult, compared to 22 percent in 2017.
Other Areas of Apprehension
Sixteen percent of HR professionals cited adjusting benefits for a generationally diverse workforce or different groups of employees as their top concern. Pay and scheduling issues have 10 percent of professionals worried, making it the third biggest HR concern for the year — followed by issues relating to the evolving workforce, workforce planning and the impact of technology.
Diversity and inclusion — encompassing elements such as race, sex, ethnicity, age, national origin and religion, differing work and life experiences, sexual orientation, educational, marital and socioeconomic status, physical characteristics, background and upbringing — is another area of concern for industry members.
More than 37 percent of the HR professionals who participated in the survey say they’ve found managing diversity to be extremely challenging. Twenty percent also feel eliminating unconscious bias during the recruiting process has proved extremely challenging, an increase from 14 percent in 2019.
Other current HR issues that survey respondents characterize as being extremely challenging include employee engagement, morale and satisfaction — according to 34 percent of HR professionals; employee retention, according to 31 percent; and managing work/life balance, which 20 percent of respondents say is a concern.
Additionally, 18 percent have found aligning their organization’s talent acquisition strategy with its business objectives has been highly challenging. Eight percent felt that way last year.
For more about current issues in human resource management, view this information about the survey from XpertHR.