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The changing nature of work is fundamentally altering both HR operating models and the capabilities HR practitioners need for the future, according to the latest HR Outlook survey report from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development.

Although the role of the HR business partner has become more prevalent in recent years, the report found that many HR professionals are not developing the skills needed to fulfil these new responsibilities effectively, such as commercial acumen, data awareness and analysis and other specialist skills. 

The report surveyed 630 HR professionals, covered a number of issues and emerging trends that help to indicate the current state of the profession, and measured how HR professionals and employers are understanding and reacting to these. Many of the trends highlighted are reflected in an accompanying series of thought pieces on Changing HR Operating Models. In response, the CIPD is calling on HR practitioners to start considering the longer term evolution of HR when planning their continuing professional development. By anticipating which skills and expertise might be needed in the future, those working in HR will remain professionally agile and be able to make informed career choices.

Highlights from the HR Outlook survey include:

• 50% of HR departments have undergone a structural change in the last two years, mainly in order to enable HR to become a more strategic contributor to the business.

• 60% of HR departments have remained the same size, with a fifth (21%) increasing in size over the last 12 months.

• 76% of HR practitioners agree that HR understands how the organisation works and how people practices influence the value chain, but 22% are indifferent or disagree.

• ‘Working with the organisation to drive change’ has climbed the rankings to become the most important area for HR practitioners to focus on in 2015 (compared to 3^rd place in 2012).

• Over half of HR practitioners feel confident about using data and metrics to instigate change in the organisation or to improve the HR function’s effectiveness, but less than half said their HR function goes on to draw insight from people data and communicate it to stakeholders to drive competitive advantage.

• Considerably fewer junior HR practitioners (16%) felt they needed to focus on combining commercial and HR expertise to bring value to the organisation and stakeholders than senior HR practitioners (27%).

• 75% of respondents consider themselves to be a ‘generalist’ and 22% consider themselves a ‘specialist’, broadly consistent with the 2012 survey.

• Almost half of HR directors surveyed said their last job role was outside of HR and seven out of ten HR directors worked in roles outside of HR five job roles ago. This suggests that time spent learning elsewhere in the business or rotating in and out of HR could be valuable in reaching a senior HR position.

Dr Jill Miller, research adviser at the CIPD, commented:

“Our report highlights how much the HR function has developed in just three years, when we last surveyed the profession. The HR business partner model may have been the predominant approach to structuring HR over the past few decades, but our findings suggest that many HR practitioners are not developing the necessary business savvy and commercial expertise early enough in their careers, with less than a fifth of junior HR practitioners recognising the need to combine HR with commercial expertise. This might explain why new theories on the operating models of the future are emerging, and why organisations are considering a number of approaches which will better support the changing nature of business and the profession of the future.

“Regardless of the operating model an organisation chooses, HR has a crucial role to play in bringing unique insights about the organisation’s people to business debates, informing strategic decision-making. Action around HR analytics is an essential way in which they can develop this commercial mind-set, inform the people agenda and increase visibility of HR’s impact on the business’s KPIs. Similarly, an awareness of the evolution of the profession is vital.”

Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD, said:

“People management and development has to take into account specific business and cultural contexts in order to add the most value to an organisation, so it’s no surprise that HR continues to evolve, or that different operating models are emerging and ‘agility’ has become the watchword for HR professionals.

“At the CIPD we’re working to define what good people management and development looks like, regardless of context, and to show the ways in which we can support HR to apply those principles to their own contexts. In the meantime, HR professionals should be constantly evaluating their job role and finding ways in which they can adapt to the evolving work environment. The CIPD Profession Map is a great place to start as it can help professionals to focus on building skills that will allow their role to evolve with the industry around them and open up all potential career pathways.”

Continuing professional development (CPD) has a critical role to play in ensuring HR practitioners maximise their own professional agility. This is why the CIPD has launched a new online tool for HR professionals: my CPD Map. It enables users to build a detailed picture of their current strengths in relation to the CIPD Profession Map and to identify the skills and knowledge they need to develop to take the next step in their careers.

To download the HR Outlook survey report, click here

To download the HR Operating Models report, click here