The Growing Challenge of Hiring HR Professionals
A Robert Half survey reveals a significant shift in the HR hiring landscape: 59% of HR leaders report that finding qualified HR professionals has become much harder compared to the previous year. This underscores the increasing complexity of recruitment within the talent management field itself, a sector now responsible for a wide and demanding range of functions.
Fourteen Core Functions of the Modern HR Department
The study identifies 14 key areas of responsibility that define the scope of today's HR department:
- HR and Workforce Strategy
- Workforce Planning
- Succession Planning and Internal Mobility
- Recruiting and Hiring
- Onboarding and Offboarding
- Performance Management
- Employee Training and Development
- Employee Experience, Engagement, and Culture
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)
- HR Operations and Employee Administration
- Policy Development and Governance
- HR Compliance and Risk Management
- HR Reporting and People Analytics
- Digital HR and HR Systems
Within this broad framework, the research highlights four specific roles companies were most likely to hire for in 2023: HR Coordinator, HR Generalist, HR Manager, and Recruiter. This points to targeted business needs for foundational and strategic people management support. The struggle to hire HR talent mirrors broader competitive labor market trends, where skilled professionals are in high demand across sectors.
As the economic environment evolves, companies are increasingly focused on strengthening their internal HR strategies, which is critical for attracting and retaining top talent. Understanding the expansive duties of the HR function is now essential for organizations to adapt to new challenges and effectively support their core business objectives.