New research of senior HRDs in major UK organisations has revealed that 70% are considering moving from their current positions. The study from LACE Partners, an HR consultancy that supports major employers with HR transformation, technology advisory, change and adoption, also found that nearly a quarter of senior HR professionals (23.2%) feel burnt out, with just 36.2% feeling resilient.
Sixty-nine of the most senior HR people in the UK responded to the survey with three quarters working in organisations with more than 1000 employees (76.8%). The largest number of respondents (39.1%) came from firms with over 10,001 employees.
The top factors motivating the senior HRD or Chief People Officers to consider leaving their roles were long-held plans to move on once reaching this stage (21.7%), stress from working in their current organisations during the pandemic (13%) wanting to take a break (10.1%) as well as enacting plans that were previously deferred due to the pandemic (10.1%). On top of this, nearly a quarter (23.2%) said they feel less emotionally attached to their organisations since the beginning of the pandemic.
Cathy Acratopulo, Managing Director and Co-Founder at LACE Partners, said: “From the survey sent to our senior HR contacts in major organisations, we can see that the pandemic has created significant levels of stress and burnout. Yet there is concern for their teams too. Nearly 90% (88.4%) of the respondents said some or most of their teams are showing signs of burnout. On top of this, three-fifths (59.4%) expected to see movement or turnover in their teams in the next six to nine months.
“The impact of both HR burnout and churn could be highly unsettling for some of the UK’s biggest businesses, although some may see it as a time to reset people strategies and outcomes. How much of the forthcoming churn will be led by individuals – or by the executive team – is yet to play out when strong performance in a time of significant turmoil will have been expected.
“Whilst every member of the workforce is feeling the impact of the pandemic, HR teams have also had the pressure of ‘owning’ the way the business responds, so we would encourage leaders to listen to and recognise the particular pressures their HR teams may be experiencing.”
