A bright future is ahead for the HR profession

Since I started working at HR Partners I am continually asked "what is the market like" for HR people. Well I am here to tell you in 2021 in Australia, it is hot.

Last year I wrote a commentary on our salary survey and I commented that it had been a significant, strange and stressful year for HR and today, we find our profession is still riding that roller coaster of continuous change.

Whether it is coping with the continual in and out of lockdowns, building resilience and adaptability in our workforce and leaders, playing catch up on what we didn’t do last year, managing changing business models to cope with the post (still in) pandemic changes or building people strategy to enable business changes, HR is needed and highly valued.

HR has been predicted to have high growth for several years now and according to projections by the Australian Government's Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, the number of HR manager jobs is set to jump 12.8% in the five years to May 2023 and this was without the pandemic. Type of jobs across the profession are also forecast to increase by 10.8%.

As we came out of 2020 many HR professionals reflected on where they wanted to live, what they wanted to do and who they wanted to work for, so we have seen a high level of movement at every level which started about February 2021 and continues to evolve. This has put continuing pressure on a very candidate short market.

Business is now reflecting on what they have learned from this period, re engaging with their workforces in more meaningful ways and leveraging new learning. In this rapidly changing environment, demand for all disciplines of People & Culture has increased exponentially and in some areas the market far exceeds the candidate pool.

Compounding this, is the fact that it has been reported we have lost up to 1/2 million skilled migrants and the travelers who we relied on for a good portion of our temporary workforce are no longer available.

Interestingly, this year we are seeing for the first time the salary gap between city and regional?is closing with more Australian residents and businesses deciding to make the sea/tree change. The gap between state capitals is also starting to move.

Although all roles are in high demand and very competitive now, there are some specialist areas which stand out across every remuneration level which are:

• Talent acquisition, which took a major hit in 2020 has come back with a vengeance and it has simply become a candidate’s market. Entry level through to talent leadership roles are all in very high demand and those that can work across multiple ATS/HRIS are very employable.
• Remuneration and benefits have continued to be a focus for organisations who are looking to revisit their attraction strategies and employee value proposition. Thinking outside of the box is highly valued in this profession as employers compete to build their brand.
• Employee Relations skills are in high demand due to the level of industrial and legislative reform we have seen in the past 12 months and what is still to come. Companies are not only looking for these skills in specialists’ roles but also looking for a high level of ER capability in generalist roles as well.
• Organisational development, change and learning are also in demand with a clear focus on behavioral change, people enablement for systems and process change and leadership development. There is a major focus on adaptable leadership skills and leading in this new virtual world.?
• HR analytics has become the linchpin of People and Culture as transformational businesses all need data to support decisions. Entry level to senior level people with this capability are in high demand.
• Diversity and inclusion is positively sizzling with reports of an increase of 90% more roles than in 2020.

We are also seeing a very real change coming through regarding life balance which we must not forget is the number one requirement from employees in 2021. In response to this, employers are offering 3-4 days roles and increased flexibility on how you meet those requirements.?

At this stage we cannot see the market easing across any level and we are now starting to see a big increase in senior roles coming through so this will have a flow on effect.

In this competitive market it is increasingly important for organisations to work on what makes them attractive as an employer and rethink their hiring and remuneration strategies.?In particular, the basis of contracts needs to be considered. Temporary hire in some categories is simply not going to attract the candidates so employers must consider fixed term, ongoing or maximum term contracts or part-time to attract the candidate pool.

Speed to hire is also a competitive advantage as well and those with long drawn out and cumbersome hiring practices with multiple levels of interviews will miss out on talent.

As we continue through 2021 and into 2022, we expect to see an increase in demand for senior interim and fixed term contract employees, whilst organisations respond and rethink and bed down their future, 2022 and beyond business model.

The future is bright for HR professionals and can only get brighter.