HR DEPARTMENTS are failing to communicate with many employees, indicating they consider the role of their HR department to be ineffective, according to recent research
HR DEPARTMENTS are failing to communicate with many employees, indicating they consider the role of their HR department to be ineffective, according to recent research.
A national study by Aon Consulting found that while three quarters of Australian employees understand the HR function (74 per cent), one third don’t view their HR department as effective (33 per cent).
Furthermore, 36 per cent of employees felt their HR department’s contribution to organisational success was insufficient (36 per cent) and that training and development programs were below expectations (37 per cent).
Significantly, many felt communications from the HR departments were below standard (37 per cent).
The Commitment @Work study, which took in 602 employees, revealed that HR departments were still not achieving their desired impact, with little improvement on 2003, according to Stewart Fotheringham, managing director of Aon Consulting.
“The problem would appear to lie with ineffective communication about the important role of HR and in maintaining regular communication with employees about the issues relevant to them,” Fotheringham said.
“There are still around a quarter of respondents who feel communication about their pay and benefits is not up to standard and more than 30 per cent who do not feel career opportunities are effectively communicated.”
The study also revealed that stress has become a major problem for Australian workers with four out of every 10 employees feeling that the efforts by their employers to create a stress-free working environment are below expectations.
“Employee dissatisfaction with regard to stress has been on the rise since 2002, but most organisations continue to fail to deal with this important issue,”Fotheringham said.
Despite these frustrations, the study revealed that for the third consecutive year, employees’ commitment to their organisations has risen, from 91.5 (out of a possible 100) in 2002 to 94 last year and to 96.1 in 2004.
This compared with a score of 97.6 for employee commitment to work in the United States.
Taking into consideration the frustrations expressed by employees, Fotheringham said the growth in commitment would appear in part to be driven by external pressures, such as a perceived lack of other opportunities and fear of being sacked.
“Employees are certainly more committed to their work but this is not necessarily an indication that they are happier,” he said.
“In fact, the study also found that less than 50 per cent of employees would recommend their organisation as one of the best places to work.”
