Nearly nine in 10 senior HR professionals employed in financial services believe that there are not enough quality HR professionals within their industry.
A survey of more than 110 City-based senior-level HR professionals, conducted by HR recruitment firm Oakleaf, found that six in 10 respondents would most likely hire externally from other sectors, while only a quarter would look to hire candidates into HR from within the business.
The survey, Talent Crunch in City HR, also revealed that 59% of respondents would look to increase the use of HR metrics to demonstrate its influence within the company, while a quarter of HR chiefs are already looking towards a shared-services HR model.
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Mervyn Davies, chairman of Standard Chartered bank said: “Improving the business perception of HR function is particularly important in the current climate. We are going through difficult times and things will get worse before they get better. HR functions need to protect themselves from the inevitable tightening of budgets and rationalisation of headcount.”
Martyn Wright, joint managing director of Oakleaf Partnership, said: “Our findings show that HR in the City is under pressure to perform, to attract the right talent, and to meet the increasing expectations from the business.”
