According to data issued by Bloomberg BNA in its "HR Department Benchmarks and Analysis 2017" report the size of HR departments is growing.  Their report, which includes benchmark data from nearly 700 HR professionals of U.S. employers, suggests that the median ratio of HR staff to total employee headcount is at an all-time high of 1.4 full-time equivalent HR employees for every 100 workers served by the HR department.

The report shows that professional and technical employees make up nearly half the staff this year, while managerial employees make up a third. Lastly, secretarial/clerical staff lag behind both of these groups and account for just 20% of HR staff.

Other key findings:

·       80% of those surveyed have updated their performance management programs in the past three years.

·       Four in five departments have revised HR policies based on recent legislation, with the most commonly cited changes being due to the Affordable Care Act (62%) and overtime rules (48%).

·       Nearly two-thirds of HR departments have their own budget.

·       HR specialization is at a peak this year, with 73% of HR departments reporting at least one specialist on staff. As expected, large organizations are more likely than their smaller counterparts to have HR specialists on staff.  The most common specialty area is benefits, followed by employment/recruitment.

·       Nearly two-thirds of departments (63%) have their own budgets, and the most prominent line items are benefits, employment and recruiting, training and development, and compensation.

·       Economies of scale advantages are substantial for HR departments. On a per-capita basis, companies with fewer than 250 employees spend six times as much on the HR function ($2,966 per employee) as organizations with at least 2,500 workers ($594 per employee).

·       HR salaries are poised to continue rising at a faster pace in 2017. The median hike in HR’s staff salary budget is 4.2% this year, up slightly from 4.1% in both 2015 and 2016, and more than a percentage point higher than the figures from 2012 to 2014.

This report is a bellwether guide measuring the composition and priorities of HR departments of all sizes.  In the great recession, HR departments were challenged to “right size” their departments to control costs.  Now, as the economy has stabilized and unemployment is at historic lows those same departments are challenged to provide the resources and support for growing organizations.

More information on the report can be accessed by visiting BNA.

Source: Bloomberg BNA