There is still work to be done for HR to win those at middle management and below: Study

According to the study, only 47% of individual contributors and 54% of middle management surveyed felt that their HR teams are supportive of them.

Less than half (47%) of individual contributors recently surveyed feel that their HR teams are supportive of them, a new study by Hibob has revealed.

According to the study, these individuals felt that their HR teams are generally “not investing enough time in them.” The study shed light on the following key findings:

1. Remote and hybrid work creates a strain between HR teams and individual contributors;
2. HR teams and senior managers worked together very closely and very well during the pandemic;
3. Middle managers and individual contributors are not feeling as confident in HR’s ability to manage processes in the new world of work; and
4. HR must pinpoint ways to engage not only with senior managers but also middle managers and individual contributors to support greater satisfaction and trust.

On the topic of support, the sentiments revealed could be attributed to a lack of direct communication, or attention, as cited in the study.

When these individuals were asked - “How supportive have you found your company’s HR team to be throughout the pandemic?”, they responded:

• Supportive (47%)
• Somewhat supportive (30%)
• Not supportive (27%)

“There is a demand for more direct support,” the study revealed.

“HR teams can be using modern HR technology tools to reach all employees and make a meaningful impact.”

Be that as it may, three in four from senior management (75%) felt that their HR teams are supportive enough; while slightly more than half of middle management (54%) expressed similar sentiments.

“It’s evident that communication between HR and senior team members is open and direct,” the study noted.

“By implementing the same communication tactics with individual contributors, all employees will feel the impact of HR teams’ efforts in creating a positive workplace experience. HR teams can leverage internal surveys and polls to retrieve feedback, cultivate engagement, and initiate responses to their programmes.”

Confidence in HR

When it came to the question of whether individual employees and the management were confident in their HR team’s ability to make an informed decision about workplace re-entry, 76% of senior management said they were confident.

Only slightly more than half of the individual contributors (53%), however, felt the same way. Middle management is, too, along this category (57%).

In fact, similar responses have been received from these two groups when asked:

*Individual vs Middle management

1. How do you feel your HR team has supported and adapted to the pandemic’s effect on your company?

• Very well (50% vs 53%);
• Average (29% vs 26%)
• Not well (22% vs 21%)

2. How confident are you in your HR team’s ability to address COVID-19 remote and hybrid work concerns?

• Very confident (49% vs 54%)
• Somewhat confident (29% vs 23%)
• Not confident (22% vs 23%)

3. How confident are you in your HR team’s ability to transfer into a hybrid model after being fully remote?

• Confident (49% vs 53%)
• Somewhat confident (29% vs 23%)
• Not confident (22% vs 24%)

As with the earlier analysis, the majority of confidence and support came from those in senior management - almost three in four of them for these three questions.

With regard to the response, Hibob shared: “This highlights the need for HR to double down on reaching every employee, working with managers along the way to assess employee satisfaction and ensure adoption of company policy across the organization.”

This study was conducted in February 2021.

Find the full results here.

Image/Unsplash

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