2023 Outlook Survey
Trakstar's HR Pulse Report
Understanding the Heartbeat of Your Organization
introduction
As the world continues to change and evolve, the problems HR leaders face will continue to grow in both scope and complexity. After the chaotic shifts made in 2020 and 2021, it’s no wonder, many human resources leaders and organizations at large preferred to fall into a homeostasis.
In our talks with people leaders over the years, we've been able to identify some of the greatest concerns and challenges we face in the war for talent. These include society changes and cultural shifts, turbulent economic conditions, and an increasingly competitive talent market.
But how are HR leaders getting their information to navigate through these trying times — many of which have never been seen before? Trakstar wanted to know the same thing, so we asked!
survey methodology
Our 2023 Human Resources Leadership Survey is based on our online survey that took place between October 28, 2022 and November 4, 2022. During that time, we received responses from 565 people leaders who work in different industries and in different roles, ranging from Talent and HR Directors to Learning and Development Managers.
We posed questions surrounding their companies, how they gain knowledge and best practices, the problems they're facing, what they're excited about, and more.
I. Survey Respondents
company summary
INDUSTRY
COMPANY SIZE
Number of Employees
Remote, in-office, or somewhere in between
what we've found
While working with over 3,000 companies, Trakstar has found that successful remote and hybrid companies—those who do not transition back to completely in the office—are most successful when using performance management software to keep everyone aligned and accountable.
what we've found
While working with over 3,000 companies, Trakstar has found that successful remote and hybrid companies—those who do not transition back to completely in the office—are most successful when using performance management software to keep everyone aligned and accountable.
respondent-specific data
JOB TITLE (WEIGHTED WORD CLOUD)
TALENT DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBILITY
43% of respondents have the autonomy to manage their talent development process
37% of respondents run the process, but only influence the decision-makers
20% of respondents only run the processes
MOST VALUED HR SOFTWARE AREA
26%
Performance Reviews
14%
Learning & Training
30%
Hiring & Interviewing
3%
Engagement Surveys
14%
Data & Analytics
13%
Doesn't use HR software
"Since we've started using Trakstar, we have seen our work become more and more streamlined. The system helps us regularly save time and resources all while helping us stay on track to meet our performance management goals; I have enjoyed working with this team and system."
Capt. Brad Geyer — Buena Park PD
"Since we've started using Trakstar, we have seen our work become more and more streamlined. The system helps us regularly save time and resources all while helping us stay on track to meet our performance management goals; I have enjoyed working with this team and system."
Capt. Brad Geyer — Buena Park PD
II. Hiring
When looking at common HR concerns surrounding hiring, there are some overarching trends: a lack of experienced candidates, hiring times shortening, and more applicant demands. Human resources leaders, recruiters, and business owners have had to keep up with employee churn and The Great Resignation, exhausting themselves on the hire-fire-hire-again pipeline.
HIRES MADE PER YEAR
Number of responses within the range
TIME-TO-HIRE RATING
How respondents rated their time-to-hire process
rating
1 being slowest and 5 being fastest
Job board that provides the best candidates
34%
Indeed
37%
< 1%
Monster
17%
Other
12%
Doesn't use job boards
what we've found
Most companies rank themselves as "average" in time-to-hire. Those average companies are the ones that will feel the pains of the War for Talent the most. Increasing speed-to-hire is imperative to get and keep better employees. We suggest identifying where your bottlenecks are and using automation to help streamline processes as someone moves through the application pipeline.
what we've found
Most companies rank themselves as "average" in time-to-hire. Those average companies are the ones that will feel the pains of the War for Talent the most. Increasing speed-to-hire is imperative to get and keep better employees. We suggest identifying where your bottlenecks are and using automation to help streamline processes as someone moves through the application pipeline.
III. Thought Leadership
Often siloed in small departments — or even acting alone — people leaders need to look outside of themselves to learn news, identify best practices, and develop their skills. Thought leadership presents itself in many ways, from webinars and blog posts to conferences, social media posts, and HR-specific websites. In our increasingly interconnected world, we wanted to know where people leaders went to build their craft.
PREFERRED HR NEWS SOURCE
PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM (PERSONAL USE)
PREFERRED HR NEWS SOURCE
PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM (PERSONAL USE)
What we've found
The same social networks that leaders use in their personal lives aren't the ones they go to for professional information. They try to keep their personal lives and professional lives separate, which can be challenging for other professions.
What we've found
The same social networks that leaders use in their personal lives aren't the ones they go to for professional information. They try to keep their personal lives and professional lives separate, which can be challenging for other professions.
IV. Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is one of the most complex challenges facing people leaders. Keeping remote, hybrid, and in-person employees engaged requires different skill sets and new methodologies that aren't tested by time. However, some "old standards" still work, regardless of the changes to the workforce.
Learning, development, and performance appraisals remain the most popular tactics to keep employees engaged, no matter where they work.
WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOUR EMPLOYEES
CURRENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL
CURRENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL
Our employee retention rates outpace those of our competitors
Performance review frequency
18%
Quarterly
25%
Bi-annually
51%
Once per year
1%
Every two years
5%
Don't conduct reviews
Do you do continued formal training?
Current onboarding method
LMS (Learning Management Software)
One-on-One Training
In-House Videos
Other
Covid's effect on employee motivation
what we've found
One thing we did notice is that top performing employees before the pandemic, and even those who were top performers during the pandemic, have had trouble staying motivated as they shifted back to the office or into a fully remote role.
what we've found
One thing we did notice is that top performing employees before the pandemic, and even those who were top performers during the pandemic, have had trouble staying motivated as they shifted back to the office or into a fully remote role.
V. Conclusion
So what do these results tell us about human resources, talent development, and where to look for more information? Above all else, it shows that people leaders are resourceful and interested in improving the lives of their employees. They are ready to learn new things to rise up and meet their workforce at unprecedented heights. It also shows that human resources still need to focus on engagement, retention, and organizational culture.
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About Trakstar
We believe people are happier and healthier when they know that their work matters.
We build products that help companies hire well, communicate expectations, and develop talent all while giving you the actionable information you need to build better relationships with your employees.
At Trakstar, we are called to empower HR leaders and help them make better business decisions through better people decisions. HR leaders need more modern, more intuitive talent development solutions to help them protect their most important asset — their people. Working together, the teams here at Trakstar serve the HR community, ourselves, and our investors as we bring goodness into the talent development software space.