The HR role has been the subject of many media and digital headlines recently. Some of the main stories that have been uncovering include increasing stress, an increasing remit and even reports of robots taking over the HR function! So amidst a growing and changing role currently experiencing major change, we look at the current themes and how to recruit and retain HR professionals.
Gender Pay Gap: New Rules
As HR manages all things staff-related, a new rule that will come into play in 2018 is of interest tous as HR recruiters. From 2018, organisations with over 250 people will have to reveal their gender pay gap. Hollywood has weighed in on this one with Jennifer Lawrence writing an essay for Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter and there have been a flurry of stories about getting more women up in board level positions and closing existing gender pay discrepencies.
The ONS currently estimates the gender pay gap at around 19.2% for full and part time UK workers. It is unclear whether the public sector will need to adhere to the rule.
Six Hour Working Day
Yet another hot issue – and potential headache – for HR. The six hour working day! Worker wellbeing and work/life balance is huge news, and a company in Sweden that changed to a six hour working day appears to provide proof that this concept works not only for productivity but for retention too.
One company in Liverpool has also trialled the six hour working day, and found it to have a positive effect. You can get more worker wellbeing ideas for all budgets here.
The HR Role is Not Properly Defined
And now we move on to our third HR-relevant issue of the moment. Monarch’s Chief People Office has claimed that the HR role is not properly understood, and that it is incorrectly seen as a “welfare department” responsible for team wellbeing and thus dealing with all sorts of personal problems outside of its remit.
Tough Times for HR
All the above in addition to ensuring their company meets legislation and is compliant makes for a stressed HR professional. There were even recent reports that robots were more effective than HR when it came to hiring!
So the question becomes, how to hire for a stressed and somewhat misunderstood HR function?
The need for HR given all the personnel reports and stories is an easy one to understand. But in regard to HR recruitment, attracting these professionals can be made easier by implementing the below tips:
• HR’s tend to use LinkedIn and forums such as the CIPD and HR publications to research the latest compliance and news – making it easier to reach them on these platforms
• The HR function is stressed – thus retention measures aimed at creating a better work/life balance and reducing stress could also help you attract better HR talent to your organisation
• The HR function is misunderstood – clarifying to the wider business what HR can and cannot be used for could be a way to sway candidates to your company’s favour
You can learn more about our dedicated HR recruitment service here.
Castle Hill House