Small HR departments are the norm for the HR professionals responding to BLR’s 2012 Your HR Department Survey.
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Get Your Report Now!The majority of our survey respondents provide guidance to small or medium size employers with 59 percent providing HR services to a workforce of 1-250 employees and another 16 percent providing guidance to 251-500 employees at their organizations.
Here are a few highlights of the survey:
HR staff to employee ratio—When asked about their staff to employee ratio, 36 percent indicated that their HR departments operate with a ratio of 1 HR professional to 101-200 or more employees. On the flip side, 33 percent operate with a ratio of 1-50 and 31 percent operate with 1 HR professional for 51-100 employees.
Exempt vs. Nonexempt—Among our survey respondents, 65 percent have less than 5 percent salaried nonexempt employees, 66 percent have a workforce of at least 50 percent hourly nonoffice workers and 31 percent have a workforce that is at least 50 percent salaried exempt employees. Looking at this from another angle, the average percentage of salaried exempt employees for those responding to our survey is 37 percent and 11 percent is the average for salaried nonexempt.
Departmental responsibilities—There aren’t many surprises when it comes to what captures HR professionals’ focus with 93 percent of survey respondents responsible for benefits, 90 percent providing compliance guidance, 89 percent recruiting and staffing, and 87 percent responsible for compensation. Interestingly though, 10 percent have operational responsibilities, 15 percent wear a facilities management hat, and 43 percent are responsible for safety/security. (See graph.)
For full results, download BLR’s Your HR Department Survey - 2012.