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BNA Releases 2008 HR Department Benchmarks & Analysis Report

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Karen James Cody
(703) 341-3476

Arlington, Va. (August 4, 2008) – The median ratio of HR staff to employees served declined from 1.1 per 100 employees served in 2005 and 2006 to 1.0 in 2007 – in line with the trend during most of the preceding 10 years, according to a new survey-based report on the state of the human resources function published by BNA. Median HR staff ratios decline as workforce size increases, demonstrating economies of scale.

The report, HR Department Benchmarks and Analysis 2008,focuses on both traditional HR functions and emerging issues in HR, and contains data on staffing, expenditures, measurement, and planning.  Its analysis and discussion of findings aim to help inform important HR decisions and shed light on questions such as: the normal ranges for key HR staffing and expenditures, and how other factors affect benchmark comparisons; long and short-term trends in HR staffing and expenditures; HR executives’ perceptions of management’s top criteria for evaluating HR department performance; how involved HR professionals feel they are in key decisions within their organizations; and which HR activities are most likely to be outsourced.

Among the report’s key findings are:

• The median per capita budgeted expenditure for HR departments in 2007 was $1,082, only a modest increase from the $1,056 expenditure per worker in 2006. This moderating trend, however, followed significant increases over the 2005 figure of $857.
• Budgeted increases in HR spending stabilized in 2007 at 7.2 percent, the same figure observed in 2006. This figure, nevertheless, constitutes a 10-year high and is a significant increase over the change in expenditures recorded in 2002 through 2004.
• Outsourcing of HR functions has become a widespread practice. Three out of four employers have outsourced one or more HR activities. 
• The single most important motivation for HR outsourcing is access to greater expertise, although for the largest organizations, cost savings is the most important factor.
• HR departments are continuing a past decade trend of taking on more and more responsibilities. The percentage of HR departments taking on new responsibilities minus those giving up existing responsibilities has more than doubled during the past 10 years.
• HR departments have a great deal of autonomy in most areas of compensation, particularly activities involving wage and salary administration, job analysis, job evaluation, and executive compensation. The same holds for benefits, especially in the areas of vacation/leave policies and administration, insurance benefits administration, unemployment compensation, and pension/retirement plan administration.

The study was conducted from August 14, 2007 to October 1, 2007. Participants are human resources executives and managers working for a cross section of U.S. organizations with a separate HR function and a minimum headcount of 25 employees. A total of 607 respondents completed the survey and provided usable data, and represent organizations with single HR departments as well as multiple HR departments.

The full report is available for purchase from BNA PLUS at (800) 372-1033. Working journalists may contact kcody@bna.com for a press copy.

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BNA (www.bna.com) is a leading publisher of print and electronic news, analysis, and reference products, providing intensive coverage of legal and regulatory developments for professionals in business and government. BNA produces more than 300 news and information services, including the highly respected Daily Labor Report, Human Resources Report, and Daily Report for Executives.