Hackett

Greatest Obstacles for HR in 2020 Include Overcommitment, Tech & Process Complexity and Skills Deficiencies

Overcommitment represents the greatest transformation hurdle that HR executives must overcome in 2020 as they strive to reduce costs, add value, and pursue digital transformation in the face of an uncertain business environment, according to new HR Key Issues research from The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT). Improving organizational culture has also moved to the forefront as both a key issue and a critical development area for HR.

Over the past several years, HR has struggled to address important overall and human capital management-related objectives effectively, and The Hackett Group’s research shows a continuation and increased prominence of this trend. For the first time in 2020, “enabling a high-performing organizational culture” became the top key issue for HR. At the same time, this is identified as a critical development area, meaning HR performance improvements are required.

“Culture has always been a major issue,” said The Hackett Group Senior Research Director Tony DiRomualdo. “But the move to the number one ranked spot in terms of importance, along with its identification as a critical development area, is unprecedented and disconcerting. It speaks to the challenges that both the enterprise and HR have had in coping with the impact of digital business. Even if they’re making progress on the technology front, legacy culture is holding the organization back from achieving its full potential. HR executives are feeling the pressure to help the business move faster, to innovate, take risks and to be more experimental.”

Given the global talent crunch, as expected, talent management and development is also heavily spotlighted as a priority for HR in 2020, the research found. “Adapting talent management capabilities to support change” is the second key issue for HR, and “improving talent management,” “retain staff with critical skills,” and “addressing talent/skills shortages” are all in the top 10. At the same time, the research found that all these are critical development areas for HR. According to The Hackett Group Associate Principal Franco Girimonte, “We are seeing more and more organizations invest in their talent management processes such as recruiting, applicant tracking and assessments, candidate and employee experience, engagement tracking and inner mobility.”