Now that we’re past the halfway point of 2024, we at Elevate Leadership wanted to get a better sense of how the HR industry has changed so far this year. What is currently top of mind for professionals in the industry? How have priorities shifted over the past six months?
To answer these questions, we conducted a follow-up survey to our HR predictions report at the end of 2023, and polled over 2,400 HR leaders and executives across every major industry to see how their perspectives have changed so far this year. The results formed this Elevate HR Industry Mid-Year Survey, which provides a snapshot of the current trends and emerging issues affecting the HR industry today.
Download the full PDF report here:
Challenges So Far in 2024
Budget and Headcount Limitations
At the start of 2024, we asked HR leaders to predict the biggest challenges they would likely face in the year ahead. After polling these same people halfway through the year, the top four answers remained the same:
57% of respondents stated that a “limited budget” remained a challenge, followed by “navigating major organizational change” at 53%, “limited headcount to cover work” at 43%, and “retaining top talent” at 37%.
This aligns closely with what we've heard in conversations with HR teams. Given ongoing inflation and the volatility in markets, CEOs and CFOs have adopted a more cautious approach; in many cases, by restricting new investments internally or reducing headcount.
The persistence of these challenges also suggests that we may be entering a "new normal" in the HR landscape. It's unlikely that we'll return to the excesses of 2021, meaning budgets for Learning and Development (L&D) and benefits are likely to remain tight for the foreseeable future. HR teams will need to adopt a more data-driven approach to pitch initiatives to leadership, through demonstrating a clear ROI and alignment with internal objectives.
New Challenges This Year
In addition to the most common challenges, a handful of new issues emerged in our mid-year survey:
- Resolving conflict for employees became a more significant issue for HR teams, with 31% of survey respondents.
- Navigating a Reduction in Force (RIF) was cited by 18% of respondents, as ongoing layoffs from last year spilled into this year.
- Personal job security also became a concern, with 12% of respondents fearing for their own job amidst a challenging environment in many industries, particularly technology.
These new challenges point to a broader trend: a reduction in overall psychological safety within organizations. In an environment where budgets are tight, stock multiples are down, and job security is uncertain, employees are experiencing heightened levels of stress. This can create cascading effects throughout an organization.
The rise in conflict resolution is a direct symptom of this stress. As employees deal with uncertainty and increased workloads, friction is more likely to occur with those we spend the most time with – our coworkers. This puts additional pressure on HR teams, who must now navigate both budget constraints and organizational changes, in addition to maintaining a harmonious work environment.
Priorities for HR Teams This Year
At the start of this year, almost 60% of HR leaders felt that Leadership Development Programs would be a top priority for 2024. But while LDPs were still the second most cited answer in our mid-year survey, “organizational design” jumped ahead as the most common answer at 56% of respondents.
With limited hiring and layoffs across many industries, reorganizing the workforce has become a greater priority. Teams are being consolidated, reporting lines are in flux, and HR professionals are tasked with restructuring their orgs to mitigate the impact of reduced headcount.
Cost-cutting also became a bigger issue compared to prior data. 42% of respondents now cite "cost reductions" as a priority for the rest of this year, a significant increase from 26% at the start of 2024.
This confirms a trend we've seen, particularly among venture-backed companies, towards achieving break-even or profitability. Investors are now pressuring companies to stabilize their finances, given that later-stage investment rounds have become more difficult to raise.
Employee Engagement & Well-Being Trends
Recent trends in employee engagement and well-being have shifted since our previous survey. In our latest poll, when asked to identify the most significant factor impacting employee engagement so far in 2024, participants highlighted a "lack of professional development and training" as the top concern. This issue was cited by 21% of respondents, nearly twice the 11% who identified it as a key factor at the beginning of the year.
This highlights a growing concern: employees are feeling the effects of reduced investment in their professional growth. As budget constraints have persisted, the impact of limited training and development has compounded, leaving employees feeling stagnant in their roles and undervalued by their organizations.
Following closely behind, "burnout" emerged as the second most significant factor, cited by 20% of respondents. Burnout is also not a surprise, given that employees are now being asked to do more with less. In boom times, organizations often hire external consultants to help with additional projects to lessen the load for their employees. However, in the current resource-constrained environment, contracts are frequently not renewed, meaning that this workload has now fallen back on already stretched internal teams.
Employee Benefit Trends
Looking closer at employee benefits, our latest survey revealed a clear trend: employees value professional growth and work flexibility over other job perks. When leaders were asked which benefits they felt employees currently desire the most, the top responses were: "professional development opportunities" at 79%, "flexible working hours" at 64%, and "remote work options" at 63%.
This preference for professional development opportunities (PDOs) is indicative of current job market conditions. With hiring slowing down, there are fewer opportunities for employees to advance by switching companies – a strategy often used to secure more senior roles. As a result, people are staying put in their current positions, and focusing inward on how to grow within their existing organizations.
The desire for PDOs also points back to what we observed earlier when talking about employee engagement and wellbeing. Employees want to feel like they’re progressing in their careers, but less frequent role changes and tighter budgets have made this more challenging.
On the bright side, while budget constraints may make it difficult to offer salary increases or expensive perks, investing in professional development and flexible work could be key strategies for attracting and retaining talent over the next year.
Hiring Expectations for the Rest of 2024
Despite financial constraints, respondents were cautiously optimistic about headcount over the remainder of the year. When asked about their company’s hiring expectations for the remainder of 2024, a considerable 77% of survey takers expect hiring to remain stable or increase.
For the rest of respondents, 12% said they would likely see a significant decrease in hiring, while 11% expected only a moderate decrease.
DE&I Remains Important
Despite the controversy surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives, our survey revealed a continued commitment to these programs. In fact, 95% of respondents said that their company plans to maintain or increase commitment to DE&I initiatives over the remainder of the year.
Looking closer, 62% of respondents indicated that they plan to maintain their current level of commitment, while 33% plan to increase or significantly increase their efforts this year.
These responses suggest that companies still recognize the value of DE&I programs, and view them as a crucial component of their overall business strategy and culture, regardless of any external noise.
Methodology
The Elevate HR Industry Trends Mid-Year Report is based on responses collected from a survey sent to 2,430 HR leaders and C-Suite executives between July 18, 2024 and July 26, 2024. Respondents worked in a variety of HR backgrounds, anywhere from early career generalists to VP/Chief People Officer. All respondents were based in the United States or Canada. The survey was intended to identify which trends are currently top of mind for HR and People teams across the country.
Survey participants worked across major industries including technology, professional services, education, and real estate. A breakdown of respondents by company size and primary industry are seen below:
Breakdown of respondents by company size:
- Small (1-50 employees) - 23%
- Medium (51-500 employees) - 46%
- Large & Enterprise (500+ employees) - 31%
