Study: What HR actually does vs. what employees expect HR to do
Ask employees and HR pros what the Human Resources department actually does, and you’re liable find some common beliefs and some major differences.
That’s what a recent study by Paychex uncovered. The study polled both employees and HR specialists about the roles and responsibilities of the HR department.
Here’s the breakdown of what employees expect HR to do versus the tasks HR pros actually say they do:
- 79% of employees expect HR to handle employee disputes (70% of HR pros said they handle this)
- 76% of employees expect HR to deal with racism, sexism and workplace safety issues (cited by 72% of HR pros)
- 68% of employee think HR manages employee benefits (vs. 61% of HR pros)
- 55% think HR process payroll (56% of HR)
- 54% of workers expect HR to recruit new employees (67% of HR pros do this)
- 46% of employees think HR interviews talent (67% of HR pros)
- 45% of workers expect HR to track sick and personal days (58% actually do this)
- 33% of employees think HR approves vacation time (44% do this), and
- Just 29% of employees think HR trains employees (61% of HR pros actually handle this task).
Where improvement is needed
The study also highlighted employees top complaints about their HR departments’ performance. These included:
- Handling employee disputes (cited by 24% of employees)
- Dealing with racism, sexism and workplace safety issues (16%)
- Recruiting new employees (15%)
- Training employees (14%)
- Interviewing talent (12%)
- Managing employee benefits (10%)
- Approving vacation (8%)
- Tracking sick and personal days (7%), and
- Processing payroll (7%).