HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSION FACING A “BRAIN DRAIN” IN 2025

Posted on 19th January 2025

The UK’s HR departments are under increasing pressure and remain burdened by time-consuming admin and paperwork, with over half (52%) of HR professionals reporting that they have suffered burnout within the past five years.

According to the latest research from HR technology platform Personio, HR functions are reaching a critical tipping point, with 43% of senior business leaders also identifying burnout as a problem within these departments.

As a result businesses could face an exodus from HR teams not just from their organisation, but the profession itself. Over a third (34%) of HR professionals are considering leaving the industry for another role within the next year.

The findings lift the lid on the overwhelming workloads, increased responsibilities and hefty admin levels that are squeezing the function. Almost four in ten (38%) HR professionals believe they have an excessive workload. Many believe unnecessary admin is a major contributor to this, as 41% say they spend the majority of their time on this every week.

This is coupled with increasing pressure from within their organisation, fuelled by growing expectations from employees and senior business leaders alike. 38% of HR professionals feel employees have become more demanding of HR. As a result many believe the problems facing HR departments will get worse before they get better, as almost a third (32%) see their list of responsibilities getting longer over the next five years.

Lenke Taylor, Chief People Officer at Personio, commented on the findings: “Businesses are missing out on the real impact their HR teams can have by not investing in the tools they need. People enter the HR function to help businesses succeed through their people. HR leaders are uniquely positioned to align people’s skills with organisational needs and foster organizational environments that are engaging, productive and rewarding places to work. However, the reality of their current day-to-day jobs is often more focused on paperwork and process. This discontent means businesses could face a challenging spike in HR turnover, just at a time when they want their teams performing at their best.”

Personio’s study highlights the need to give HR the resource and technological support it needs to serve the strategic needs of their businesses. Not only is this work critical, but also highly rewarding for HR professionals. Of those surveyed, 93% said they enjoy supporting the learning and development of employees, and 58% said they want to do more of this in their role. Meanwhile, 91% enjoy working with senior leadership on HR and business strategy, with 45% wanting to do it more.

This extends to creating positive and productive workplace cultures. 95% of respondents said they enjoy improving their company’s culture, with over half (55%) saying they want to do more of this in their role.

Lenke continued: “As an HR professional myself, I’ve seen firsthand just how challenging working in an overstretched and under-resourced environment can be. As we head into 2025, organisations should embrace intelligent HR tools that can help HR teams to focus on what they love, and where they can add most value to businesses. These tools deliver immense value, through automating time-consuming admin to delivering actionable, data driven insights on areas such as employee performance and feedback. This won’t just prevent an exodus of HR talent; it will be key to creating a crucial competitive advantage in the months ahead.”

For more information visit personio.com