Why is everyone talking about… HR brain drain?

Are HR departments losing touch with their most important asset? Personio’s latest research found that 52% of HR professionals have suffered from burnout within the past five years. And over a third (34%) are considering quitting their career in HR entirely. 

Alongside the fact that 44% of senior leaders feel that burnout is a problem in their HR department, organizations today could be risking a massive loss of HR talent across the UK. A kind of ‘brain drain’ (a loss of institutional knowledge) that would be unprecedented.

Simon Miller, director of partnerships for Vitality, explains to HR Magazine: “HR leaders are having a hard time supporting their own mental health when they’re shouldering the burden of encouraging mental health for employees… one of the first stages of burnout is a very strong sense of purpose and duty towards people, and therefore over-delivering for people, so this doesn’t come as a surprise, considering the nature of HR’s role.”

“As an HR professional myself, I’ve seen firsthand just how challenging working in an overstretched and under-resourced environment can be. As we head into 2025, organisations should embrace intelligent HR tools that can help HR teams to focus on what they love… This won’t just prevent an exodus of HR talent; it will be key to creating a crucial competitive advantage in the months ahead,” explains Lenke Taylor, Chief People Officer at Personio.

To counteract a potential HR brain drain, organizations need to get to the root cause: We found that 57% of HR professionals decided to work in HR because they love making a positive difference — with an equal number citing that they simply enjoy helping people. That in mind, here’s what teams can do: 

• Reduce the admin overload: 41% of HR professionals say that they spend the majority of their time on HR admin every week. In order to avoid further disenchantment, this is something organizations need to get serious about solving and introduce smart ways to automate admin work. 

• Let HR take charge: The fact is that 95% of HR professionals enjoy improving things like company culture. To keep them engaged, organizations need to put HR in the driver’s seat of strategizing and delivering initiatives to boost the overall employee experience. 

• Make development a priority: Currently, HR professionals feel a bit stuck in what they’re doing. To help them break out, your organization needs to put focus on developing new skills like leadership abilities, working with data, or new ways to think about total reward. Luckily, we have masterclasses on each of those pressing topics.

• HR strategy template & planning guide

• How do you build a proper talent management strategy?

• Career progression framework: What it is and how to build one

That's all for this week's edition of Personio Pulse: This Week in HR. Check back next week as we continue to dissect the latest trends impacting the ways we work. 

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