According to the findings of the survey „Trends and challenges in HR 2020” conducted by Valoria in partnership with BusinessMark and Undelucram.ro, 64% of companies say that the most important strategic challenge in HR this year has been to maintain a high level of employee engagement, considering that remote work has become the “new normal” in many industries, according to a press release.
The year 2020 has put HR teams to the test through the strong pressure it has created in administrative terms, in communication with the team, in the implementation of health safety measures, etc. The main HR areas that respondents consider to be the most affected by the impact of the changes brought by the pandemic in 2020 are the following: Recruitment (32%), Employee Engagement (28%), and the Compensation & Benefits area (27%), on a par with Digitization (27%) which has accelerated.
According to the findings of the survey „Trends and challenges in HR 2020” conducted by Valoria in partnership with BusinessMark and Undelucram.ro, 64% of companies say that the most important strategic challenge in HR this year has been to maintain a high level of employee engagement, considering that remote work has become the “new normal” in many industries, according to a press release.
The year 2020 has put HR teams to the test through the strong pressure it has created in administrative terms, in communication with the team, in the implementation of health safety measures, etc. The main HR areas that respondents consider to be the most affected by the impact of the changes brought by the pandemic in 2020 are the following: Recruitment (32%), Employee Engagement (28%), and the Compensation & Benefits area (27%), on a par with Digitization (27%) which has accelerated.
The survey findings show that the percentage of companies which have the HR function strategically oriented on growing the employer brand, on employee experience, on succession plans for the top management and is strongly connected to the priorities in the business environment, has increased from 13% in 2018 to 17% in 2020.
Moreover, the percentage of companies in which the HR function uses technology to collect and analyze all the information that would allow it to predict the best positioning of the company in terms of HR for the next 2-3 years has increased from 5% in 2018 to 11% in 2020.
Another good news is the increase in the percentage of companies in which the HR function is focused on meeting the legislative requirements related to the company’s staff but also on attracting, retaining, training and motivating employees, from 19% in 2018 to 28% in 2020. At the same time, the percentage of companies that have the HR function focused only on meeting the legislative requirements related to the company’s staff (employment, payroll, labor protection, etc.) decreases from 63% in 2018 to 44% in 2020.
„This survey measures the strategic challenges for the HR function and how well are those responsible prepared to face them. It also gauges the efficiency of practices in attracting, retaining, and rewarding employees, the level of process automation and measuring the performance of the HR function, as well as the relevant skills for an HR professional. This study asks powerful questions regarding the evolution of the HR function and offers answers to HR professionals about who they are, what they do, and how they cooperate with the top management of the company”, says Elena Badea, Managing Director of the consulting company Valoria.
STRATEGIC CHALLENGES OF THE HR FUNCTION
In 2020, the three main strategic challenges faced by Romanian companies in terms of HR function are the following: maintaining a high level of employee engagement (importance score: 8.91 out of 10), retention of employees with high potential and of those with outstanding performance (8.77), and the management of organizational re-design processes for a better adaptation to market changes (7.58).
A remarkable aspect is the fact that the first three places in the top of importance are the same as those in the top of the readiness level, even if their order is slightly different, specifically: the management of organizational re-design processes for better adaptation to market changes (8.42), maintaining a high level of employee involvement (8.18), retention of employees with high potential and those with outstanding performance (7.84). This is an element that shows a good alignment between strategy and tactics.
CHALLENGES IN HR PRACTICES
At the level of HR practices, in the first place in 2020, for 65% of companies, is finding employees with specialized skills, followed in second place by the development of the next generation of leaders (52%) and, on third place, employee retention (44%).
The most important key-actions that could be implemented to provide a more strategic dimension to the HR function in the next 3 years are the following: updating HR strategies to ensure alignment with continuously evolving business objectives (mentioned by 64% of respondents), investing in the development of HR employees (mentioned by only 38%) and measuring the specific effects of HR programs (mentioned by 33%).
AUTOMATION OF THE HR FUNCTION
In recent years, the HR function has begun to make the transition from a transactional, established role to a transformational one, with a truly strategic contribution for the company. An important contribution in this evolution has the technology, which takes over the burden of routine processes on the shoulders of the HR team; in 2020, 43% of the responding companies say that they have a solution to automate HR processes.
Moreover, of the respondent companies, 51% believe that the use of technology in HR is of increasing importance for the performance measurement (ROI) of the department, 12% believe that it is only somewhat important, while 26% consider it to be a key element of critical importance.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The survey gauges the perceptions of CEOs of top companies and HR managers regarding the strategic challenges facing the HR function in 2020. The questionnaire, to which 247 responses were received, was applied between 6 October and 13 November 2020. The report presents the cumulative analysis of the 2020 edition results, but also the comparative data of the answers of the general managers and those of HR managers.
21% of respondents come from companies with a turnover of more than EUR 100 million, 15% from companies with a turnover between EUR 50-100 million, 12% from companies with a turnover between EUR 10-50 million, 22 % with turnover between EUR 1-10 million and 30% below EUR 1 million turnover. 56% of the respondents have the position of HR Director/HR Manager/HR Business Partner, 17% are from top management, and 27% have other positions. The survey has been conducted by Valoria in collaboration with BusinessMark and Undelucram.ro.
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