Canadians Take HR Team for Granted

September 1 2019 - The HR Appreciation Study conducted by Leger for ADP Canada last year found a lack of understanding and appreciation for HR teams in many Canadian organizations.

The survey of 1003 people in organizations with a HR function revealed that a third of respondents said that their HR person or department was underappreciated within their organization. This might be because of a lack of understanding of the role of HR - 39% of participants said they were unaware of what tasks and responsibilities their HR person/team performed, day-to-day. What beliefs did those surveyed have about HR?

  • 37 per cent thoughte the primary responsibility of HR professionals was recruiting and hiring.
  • 20 per cent considered their main function was overseeing payroll and benefits.
  • However, few recognized HR's role in
  • Fewer than 30 per cent of respondents mentioned other functions such as fostering employee morale, via professional development opportunities, performance recognition, employee training, and developing workplace policies and mechanisms to record and protect employee rights.

Nevertheless, the ADP/Leger study showed that Canadian employees were very aware of HR's importance. Almost two-thirds (63%) believed if their HR person left suddenly, there would be at least some impact on the organization. 25 per cent of that group thought it would have a major impact.

Heather Haslam, Vice President, Marketing, ADP Canada commented:

"The human resources team is the backbone of many Canadian organizations, yet the individuals and functions of these roles are too often underappreciated across the broader company.

"At ADP, HR is on our minds each day as we strive to design a better world of work for HR teams and employees and we believe that we can do more to ensure their efforts are recognized."

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