Survey reveals dissatisfaction with HR

A survey on employee engagement by Ceridian, a global provider of human resource services, reveals that half of office workers feel HR teams make no difference to their jobs while nearly a quarter, at 22 per cent, actually consider their HR function makes them less than satisfied by getting things wrong. Male office workers, at 26 per cent, were more likely to feel dissatisfaction with the function while younger employees aged 16-24 were more positive about the function’s contribution with 19 per cent declaring they could see some benefit from the HR initiatives introduced.

Doug Sawers, managing director of Ceridian in the UK, commented: “This makes grim reading for the HR function. Just three per cent of employees surveyed considered the function as important as their manager. HR should make sure they get the basics right and provide line managers with the necessary tools to deliver effective people management.”

Older workers, aged over 45, were more than twice as likely to look for a new job in the next year because they had a poor manager.

Less than a third thought they suffered from inadequate training with younger employees aged 16-24 far more positive than the rest of the workforce on the helpfulness of performance reviews and of the quality of training provided.  As a result, training opportunities for workers under 34 were more likely to influence a decision to move on.

Being better recognised and thanked for their contribution would be the third most influential factor in moving to a new employer.