Hiring to increase but HR budgets won’t change
Human resources professionals are largely optimistic about the year ahead, according to the latest Pulse Survey.
Sixty-three per cent of respondents believe the employment picture for HR professionals will be at least a bit better than it was last year, found the survey of 733 Canadian HR Reporter readers and members of the Human Resources Professionals Association.
Only 6.3 per cent of respondents think it will be worse and 30.8 per cent think it will be the same.
“There are signs that organizations are now open to discussions of hiring compared to the last 12 to 18 months where they were all talking about layoffs and hiring freezes,” said Vikki Mungre, a 25-year human resources veteran who works for an HR staffing agency in Toronto.
More than one-half (53.3 per cent) of respondents also think their companies will hire more employees than last year while 28.8 per cent expect the hiring picture to stay the same and 17.9 per cent expect it to ease up.
While organizations in the private sector are enjoying the benefits of the economic rebound, the public sector is being more cautious, said Richard Hulley, an HR manager with an Ontario municipality.
With the federal and provincial governments carrying large deficits, there is pressure on all levels of government and public service to maintain staffing levels and even consider whether or not upcoming vacancies should be filled, he said.
“We’re kind of hit with restraint,” said Hulley. “That will affect us, to a certain amount, in terms of if we go ahead with any hiring or not.”
When it comes to what HR will be focusing on in the coming year, the top three priorities for respondents are: motivating staff (47.3 per cent), managing performance (34.1 per cent) and retaining staff (33.3 per cent).
At the bottom of the list of priorities are: reducing the number of staff (7.9 per cent), improving health and safety (8.8 per cent) and reorganizing the HR function to better serve the business (20.1 per cent).
As the economy bounces back, organizations will be looking to grow, said Mungre. To do that, organizations will have to focus on customer service and developing talent, he said.
The HR department can play a key role in helping organizations grow in the recovery but only if senior management recognizes the contribution HR can make, said Mungre.
“More and more businesses should look at HR as a partner in running the business and not just a personnel function,” he said.
However, less than one-quarter of respondents think they’ll have more money to address these priorities, with just 21.7 per cent predicting an increase in the HR budget, while 24.8 per cent predict a decrease. Nearly one-half (48.5 per cent) say it will remain the same.
Also, 51.5 per cent of respondents think the size of the HR function will stay the same in the coming year, while 33 per cent think it will increase and 12.3 per cent think it will decrease.
With job losses last year, the province’s tax base has shrunk and government deficits mean there will be less money for government grants for municipalities, which puts the pressure on to maintain or reduce costs, said Hulley.
“The size of the HR function will probably be status quo through the next year,” he said.
As the hiring picture improves, 35.7 per cent of respondents intend to make a career move in the coming year, while 38.3 per cent plan to stay put and 26 per cent are unsure.
