HR Roles and Responsibilities 2021

The 2021 XpertHR benchmarking survey of HR functions, what they do, and how they do it, including data on HR benchmarks such as: the ratio of HR staff to employees; HR budgets; and HR department effectiveness. The survey is based on responses from HR professionals at 308 organisations, covering a combined workforce of 348,135 employees.

Survey questions

• What is the ratio of employees to HR staff?
• What proportion of your organisation's HR staff are in managerial roles?
• How many HR staff does your organisation employ?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ on a permanent basis?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ on a temporary basis?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at HR director level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at senior function head level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at function head level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at department manager level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at section manager level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at section leader level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at senior HR officer level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at HR officer level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at HR assistant level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at assistant/trainee level?
  • How many HR staff does your organisation employ at junior clerical level?
  • How has the number of HR staff at your organisation changed over the past two years?
  • Why has the number of HR staff at your organisation increased over the past two years?
  • Why has the number of HR staff at your organisation decreased over the past two years?
• What functional specialisms do HR staff in your organisation possess?
• Who is responsible for employee administration at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for employee relations at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for diversity and inclusion at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for handling compliance issues at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for learning and development at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for pay-setting at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for data analytics at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for managing sickness absence at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for managing underperformance/ performance management at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for performance review processes at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for resourcing at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for employee experience/ engagement at your organisation?
• Who is responsible for employee wellbeing at your organisation?
• Does your organisation have a documented HR strategy?
  • How is your organisation's HR strategy developed in relation to the main organisational strategy?
• Does your organisation measure the effectiveness of the HR function?
  • Which people management and HR metrics does your organisation capture?
  • Does your HR department gather enough meaningful data to measure HR performance within your organisation?
  • Why doesn't your HR department gather enough meaningful data to measure HR performance within your organisation?
  • How effective is your organisation's HR department?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on strategic activities?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on business consultancy?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on administration?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on keeping up to date with legislative and other procedural changes?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on Brexit preparations?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on the business's response to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on employee engagement/experience?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on employee wellbeing?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on recruitment?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on training activities?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on health and safety activities?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on collecting/analysing HR data?
• What percentage of overall HR time is spent on generating HR analytics reports?
• Does your organisation's HR function have its own budget?
  • What is your organisation's annual HR department running costs budget?
  • What is the annual HR department running costs budget per employee?
  • What is the annual HR department running costs budget per HR staff member?
  • How did last year's actual spend on HR running costs compare with the budget at your organisation?
  • How has your organisation's budget for HR running costs changed over the past two years?
  • How do you expect the level of your organisation's budget for HR running costs to change over the next two years?
  • What is your organisation's annual organisational HR activities budget?
  • What is the annual HR activities budget per employee?
  • What is the annual HR activities budget per HR staff member?
  • How did last year's actual spend on all HR activities compare with the budget at your organisation?
  • How has your organisation's budget for all HR activities changed over the past two years?
  • How do you expect the level of your organisation's budget for all HR activities to change over the next two years?
• How has the influence of your organisation's HR's department changed over the past two years?
• How satisfied are you with the level of support that your organisation has provided to you/your HR department since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?
• With HR having been at the heart of your organisation’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since its onset, how are you as an individual coping?
• What is the ratio of HR staff in non-managerial roles to HR staff in managerial roles at your organisation?