Accelerate February 2015 | Page 12

Trending The Ever Growing Influence of Human Resources M ore than 1,100 HR professionals from around the world contributed to the 2015 Harvey Nash HR Survey. While the majority of respondents were senior HR decision makers, one in ten were C-level executives and 6 percent of the overall respondent group were Chief HR officers. What do the results tell us about the changes in the HR market? The results from this year’s survey suggests HR professionals are growing in influence, but that their increasingly strategic role requires them to respond to a range of HR priorities. Senior executives are demanding more transparency in the HR function and expect HR professionals to report on a wider range of HR metrics than ever before. The perception of HR has shifted with fewer respondents saying they are happy with how HR is perceived (a decrease of 3 percent from last year to 58 percent). HR priorities have also changed. With talent scarcity becoming a greater challenge for HR professionals, the importance of employee engagement and culture / values in keeping key talent engaged remains clear; both have grown by 3 percent this year. 12 February 2015 ANDREW SIMMONDS, Associate Director of the Consumer Practice - Asia at Harvey Nash shares key findings from the survey. What can we expect to be the main focuses for HR in 2015? Ageing workforce - With significant shifts in labour market trends during the past 12 months, the level of concern HR professionals have regarding the ageing workforce has leapt 11 percent, placing it second in labour market challenges, above skills shortages (which has dropped 8 percent in the last 12 months). In response to these concerns, the majority of HR professionals (54 percent) are willing to source talent from overseas. HR professionals from APAC are the most open to sourcing talent from overseas (88 percent would consider doing so). The world is shrinking, and the growth of technology and the flexibility it offers make acquiring talent from overseas significantly easier. Talent is also increasingly mobile. HR professionals from APAC are the most open to sourcing talent from overseas (88 percent would consider doing so).