Business leaders disagree on effectiveness of HR departments

News Article - 20 April 2011
Category: Business

Many of Britain's business leaders seemingly disagree on the effectiveness of HR departments across the UK.

A quarter of business chiefs surveyed believed HR departments communicate too much, while a similar amount (22 per cent) believe they fail to communicate enough.

Business leaders recently highlighted the importance of their head of HR having an MBA in order to align HR effectiveness with business performance.

Tony Roy, president of CareerBuilder EMEA, said: "HR is an important contributor to an organisation's overall success. While business acumen has long been part of the HR job description, the financial hit companies took in the latest downturn has amplified the emphasis CEOs are placing in this area.

"They are paying closer attention to the return on investment for HR initiatives and how that return ultimately impacts the bottom line."

One of the most valuable assets of an HR department is its ability to provide insight into what employees are thinking and their overall performance level. Over a third of business leaders (39 per cent) have called for greater feedback regarding employee satisfaction. In the current financial climate maintaining a happy workforce is crucial for productivity.

In order for HR departments to be in tune with business strategies and customers alike an efficient solution is required. Agility is important to business leaders. Nearly half (49 per cent) of business leaders surveyed reported their HR department can get too caught up in policy and process, pointing the need for more flexibility.

As a result HR software has been integrated by many businesses. These versatile solutions aim to support every aspect of employee lifecycles whilst streamlining the communication, collection and analysis of information across entire organisations.

With maximum control over key HR functions such as recruitment, information management, learning and development, HR initiatives can be managed to provide the best return on investment possible.

Article keywords: HR department, human resources, Tony Roy, CareerBuilder EMEA, HR software, employee lifecycle, recruitment, information management, learning and development

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