According to a new survey, the HR function is a growing disappointment among corporate leadership. For now, HR is in the
game but very close to getting benched. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), “The survey report, Rethinking Human Resources in a Changing World, revealed that the HR function has new challenges to meet and old perceptions to shed.” The survey, sponsored by KPMG, obtained responses from 418 leaders worldwide in the spring of 2012.
There were three big issues covered in the report:
- Balancing the global and the local (managing, hiring and identifying talent globally while retaining important local insights)
- Managing a flexible and virtual workforce (but not at the cost of loyalty and career development)
- Retaining the best talent (maintaining employee engagement in the face of a less committed, more flexible workforce)
I want to discuss #2 in this blog post.
HR is Not Flexible with Workplace Flexibility
That’s what the report said: HR is not flexible. One of the claims is that HR is not flexible concerning flexible working arrangements and accommodating the ever-increasing distributive workforce. “Survey respondents are embracing the concept of a wider range of flexible work arrangements, which can reduce labor costs and allow greater access to talent,” according to the report.
The KPMG report also stated:
- 60% of businesses have increased their use of virtual workspaces
- 48% reduced their reliance on physical office premises
- Hot-desking¹ is increasing
- 55% have hired more contractual or temporary workers in the last three years
- 41% are using former employees as contractors
- 72% of respondents said their companies should increase the use of both virtual and flexible workers
- 24% of respondents believed their HR department effectively supports an increasingly virtual and flexible workforce
