The level of interest in HR is on the decline.
The principal evidence of a decline comes from Google trends, where search activity has declined consistently year-by-year to become half the level it enjoyed in 2004. FedEE have been poring over the statistics to find the sources of this downturn. In the UK there is also evidence from the annual Office for National Statistics (ONS) ASHE survey that the number of HR Management and Director (HRM) positions are falling, although only for female HR practitioners. Between 2012 and 2018, for instance, female HRM positions fell by 13%, although those with a male incumbent rose by 3%.
Only a small proportion of the world's 25 million HR practitioners are professionally affiliated and the majority of members will not be in managerial positions. Some evidence of this comes from the UK-based Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) where only a third of its members have full (chartered) status.
FedEE membership surveys indicate the growing importance of legal compliance, and a progressive fall in labour relations skills (possibly mirroring the dwindling membership of trade unions worldwide).
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
