Benchmarking HR effectiveness in 2011
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Two-thirds of organisations have measured the effectiveness of their HR function over the past year. Among this group, seven in 10 rate the effectiveness of their HR department as above average or higher. This figure falls slightly to around two-thirds in the public sector. |
The XpertHR survey identifies some key characteristics of effective HR departments, including:
- having a documented HR strategy in place;
- employing staff with specialist knowledge or skills in the HR function; and
- having a lower ratio of employees to HR staff.
XpertHR's 2011 benchmarking survey of HR roles and responsibilities is based on data from 380 organisations with a combined workforce of more than 577,000.
Subscribers to XpertHR Benchmarking can drill down into the complete benchmarking data from the 2011 HR roles and responsibilities survey.
Ratios of HR practitioners to employees
Our findings suggest that HR departments tend to rate themselves as more effective when there is a lower ratio of employees to HR staff.
The survey provides clear insights into the changing ratios of HR practitioners to employees. Across the whole economy, the median number of employees to each HR practitioner is 82. This is down slightly on the ratio of 1:90 recorded one year previously.
The ratio of HR practitioners to employees is higher in the public sector than in the private sector.
In the public sector, the ratio for 2011 has risen sharply from that recorded in 2010, suggesting that public sector HR is already contracting, even before the full impact of spending cuts is felt.
You can access XpertHR's detailed write-up of the survey findings: HR roles and responsibilities: the 2011 survey.
Michael Carty, benchmarking editor
