Member Article

HR teams winning with employee trust

A major new study by leading HR software provider CIPHR delivers the HR industry a rather well-deserved pat on the back.

• 56% of employees regard HR as a trusted partner
• 57% of employees think HR serves them rather than employers’ interests
• 60% of employees rate their overall HR experience as great or good, with only 9% rating their experience as poor

CIPHR conducted the study of over 1,400 full-time employees to delve into their experiences, satisfaction and levels of trust between employees and HR departments across the UK.

The study reveals that HR departments are winning the battle, with employee experience rating highly for almost all questions asked.

56% of respondents say they regard HR as a trusted partner in staff and employer issues whereas only 23% said they did not trust HR. When asked about who HR is there to serve the most, employers or employees, 57% of employees said they feel HR are there to support them rather than their employers.

Furthermore, the latest data reveals the overall level of satisfaction among employees dealing with HR teams is high, with just over 60% describing their experience as great or good. Reassuringly for the industry, only 9% of those responded said their experience of HR in the workplace was poor.

Claire Williams, director of people and services at CIPHR, commented: “This is a really welcome outcome for the HR industry as a whole. The majority of employees have responded with positivity towards HR staff and levels of trust are clearly high. However, the data also shows there are still a large number of employees who have not been won over yet. There is ongoing work needed to encourage employee engagement and improve the overall experience employees have when dealing with HR, whatever the reason.”

The study conducted by CIPHR reveals that just over half of all employees, 53%, have had cause to complain to HR concerning a work issue or colleague. Again just over half, 55%, of respondents told CIPHR they have witnessed inappropriate behaviour at work which they considered serious enough to become an HR issue. 41% of employees who have witnessed inappropriate behaviour said they have actively reported such issues to HR, with 36% letting the issue slide.

One key issue highlighted in the study was, when asked, only 35% of employees said they felt more comfortable discussing their HR issue with a member of the same sex, and of these respondents, it was men who were more likely to do so (60% of men compared to 40% of women). 65% of employees said they weren’t bothered if they spoke to a HR representative of the same or different sex regarding any issues they may have.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Cathryn Newbery .