In today’s economic climate, where Brexit and 2016’s seismic political shift have created instability during a period of unparalleled business disruption, it’s of little surprise that businesses entered 2017 with a degree of trepidation.
Yet, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom, according to The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Workday’s “HR Outlook for 2017” report. While HR leaders do see economic change (including globalisation) and the UK’s impending departure from the EU as two areas that will most negatively impact business objectives, there is a more positive undertone.
In fact, the report found that a majority (59 percent) of senior UK HR professionals believe they are in a position to have a positive influence and safeguard their organisations against challenges created by these changes.
The good news in this year’s CIPD report, which surveyed HR leaders on their priorities today and into the future, was that for many there is an overriding sense of “business as usual” when it comes to the HR priority list. Respondents reported that cost management was both the number one current and future priority, although it was clear that talent management (second) and organisational agility and productivity (third) will also remain HR priorities as we move into the future.