HR Salary Guide 2025
Latest salary trends and data analysis
Another challenging year ahead for HR teams, navigating a ‘return to the office,’ employer-led trend whilst also looking to retain and upskill teams through a period of rapid technology advancement.
HR skills in demand include tech savvy HR analysts, ER specialists and L&D professionals.
Explore salaries for HR roles in your region.
| Role Category | Title | Region | Lower Quartile | Median | Upper Quartile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | National Average | £122,660 | £157,706 | £192,752 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | London | £140,000 | £180,000 | £220,000 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | SouthEast | £129,630 | £166,667 | £203,704 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | SouthWest | £120,690 | £155,172 | £189,655 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | EastEast | £125,000 | £160,714 | £196,429 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | WestMidlands | £121,739 | £156,522 | £191,304 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | EastMidlands | £121,739 | £156,522 | £191,304 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | Yorkshire | £117,647 | £151,261 | £184,874 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | NorthEast | £116,667 | £150,000 | £183,333 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | NorthWest | £117,647 | £151,261 | £184,874 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | Scotland | £122,807 | £157,895 | £192,982 | |
| CHRO/CPO | CHRO/CPO | Wales | £115,702 | £148,760 | £181,818 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | National Average | £83,234 | £113,899 | £144,564 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | London | £95,000 | £130,000 | £165,000 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | SouthEast | £87,963 | £120,370 | £152,778 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | SouthWest | £81,897 | £112,069 | £142,241 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | EastEast | £84,821 | £116,071 | £147,321 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | WestMidlands | £82,609 | £113,043 | £143,478 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | EastMidlands | £82,609 | £113,043 | £143,478 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | Yorkshire | £79,832 | £109,244 | £138,655 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | NorthEast | £79,167 | £108,333 | £137,500 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | NorthWest | £79,832 | £109,244 | £138,655 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | Scotland | £83,333 | £114,035 | £144,737 | |
| Human Resources Director | Human Resources Director | Wales | £78,512 | £107,438 | £136,364 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | National Average | £52,568 | £61,330 | £74,472 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | London | £60,000 | £70,000 | £85,000 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | SouthEast | £55,556 | £64,815 | £78,704 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | SouthWest | £51,724 | £60,345 | £73,276 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | EastEast | £53,571 | £62,500 | £75,893 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | WestMidlands | £52,174 | £60,870 | £73,913 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | EastMidlands | £52,174 | £60,870 | £73,913 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | Yorkshire | £50,420 | £58,824 | £71,429 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | NorthEast | £50,000 | £58,333 | £70,833 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | NorthWest | £50,420 | £58,824 | £71,429 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | Scotland | £52,632 | £61,404 | £74,561 | |
| HR Manager | HR Manager | Wales | £49,587 | £57,851 | £70,248 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | National Average | £52,568 | £56,949 | £70,091 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | London | £60,000 | £65,000 | £80,000 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | SouthEast | £55,556 | £60,185 | £74,074 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | SouthWest | £51,724 | £56,034 | £68,966 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | EastEast | £53,571 | £58,036 | £71,429 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | WestMidlands | £52,174 | £56,522 | £69,565 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | EastMidlands | £52,174 | £56,522 | £69,565 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | Yorkshire | £50,420 | £54,622 | £67,227 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | NorthEast | £50,000 | £54,167 | £66,667 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | NorthWest | £50,420 | £54,622 | £67,227 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | Scotland | £52,632 | £57,018 | £70,175 | |
| HR Business Partner | HR Business Partner | Wales | £49,587 | £53,719 | £66,116 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | National Average | £42,055 | £48,188 | £56,949 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | London | £48,000 | £55,000 | £65,000 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | SouthEast | £44,444 | £50,926 | £60,185 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | SouthWest | £41,379 | £47,414 | £56,034 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | EastEast | £42,857 | £49,107 | £58,036 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | WestMidlands | £41,739 | £47,826 | £56,522 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | EastMidlands | £41,739 | £47,826 | £56,522 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | Yorkshire | £40,336 | £46,218 | £54,622 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | NorthEast | £40,000 | £45,833 | £54,167 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | NorthWest | £40,336 | £46,218 | £54,622 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | Scotland | £42,105 | £48,246 | £57,018 | |
| Senior HR Advisor | Senior HR Advisor | Wales | £39,669 | £45,455 | £53,719 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | National Average | £37,674 | £40,302 | £46,435 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | London | £43,000 | £46,000 | £53,000 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | SouthEast | £39,815 | £42,593 | £49,074 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | SouthWest | £37,069 | £39,655 | £45,690 | |
| HR Advisor | HR Advisor | EastEast | £38,393 | £41,071 | £47,321 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | WestMidlands | £37,391 | £40,000 | £46,087 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | EastMidlands | £37,391 | £40,000 | £46,087 | |
| HR Advisor | HR Advisor | Yorkshire | £36,134 | £38,655 | £44,538 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | NorthEast | £35,833 | £38,333 | £44,167 | |
| HR Advisor | HR Advisor | NorthWest | £36,134 | £38,655 | £44,538 | |
| HRAdvisor | HR Advisor | Scotland | £37,719 | £40,351 | £46,491 | |
| HR Advisor | HR Advisor | Wales | £35,537 | £38,017 | £43,802 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | National Average | £48,188 | £56,949 | £65,711 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | London | £55,000 | £65,000 | £75,000 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | SouthEast | £50,926 | £60,185 | £69,444 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | SouthWest | £47,414 | £56,034 | £64,655 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | EastEast | £49,107 | £58,036 | £66,964 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | WestMidlands | £47,826 | £56,522 | £65,217 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | EastMidlands | £47,826 | £56,522 | £65,217 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | Yorkshire | £46,218 | £54,622 | £63,025 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | NorthEast | £45,833 | £54,167 | £62,500 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | NorthWest | £46,218 | £54,622 | £63,025 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | Scotland | £48,246 | £57,018 | £65,789 | |
| Learning and Development | Learning and Development | Wales | £45,455 | £53,719 | £61,983 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | National Average | £40,302 | £49,940 | £56,949 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | London | £46,000 | £57,000 | £65,000 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | SouthEast | £42,593 | £52,778 | £60,185 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | SouthWest | £39,655 | £49,138 | £56,034 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | EastEast | £41,071 | £50,893 | £58,036 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | WestMidlands | £40,000 | £49,565 | £56,522 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | EastMidlands | £40,000 | £49,565 | £56,522 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | Yorkshire | £38,655 | £47,899 | £54,622 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | NorthEast | £38,333 | £47,500 | £54,167 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | NorthWest | £38,655 | £47,899 | £54,622 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | Scotland | £40,351 | £50,000 | £57,018 | |
| Employee Relations | Employee Relations | Wales | £38,017 | £47,107 | £53,719 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | National Average | £26,284 | £28,474 | £30,665 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | London | £30,000 | £32,500 | £35,000 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | SouthEast | £27,778 | £30,093 | £32,407 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | SouthWest | £25,862 | £28,017 | £30,172 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | EastEast | £26,786 | £29,018 | £31,250 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | WestMidlands | £26,087 | £28,261 | £30,435 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | EastMidlands | £26,087 | £28,261 | £30,435 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | Yorkshire | £25,210 | £27,311 | £29,412 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | NorthEast | £25,000 | £27,083 | £29,167 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | NorthWest | £25,210 | £27,311 | £29,412 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | Scotland | £26,316 | £28,509 | £30,702 | |
| HR Assistant | HR Assistant | Wales | £24,793 | £26,860 | £28,926 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | National Average | £26,284 | £30,665 | £33,293 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | London | £30,000 | £35,000 | £38,000 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | SouthEast | £27,778 | £32,407 | £35,185 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | SouthWest | £25,862 | £30,172 | £32,759 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | EastEast | £26,786 | £31,250 | £33,929 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | WestMidlands | £26,087 | £30,435 | £33,043 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | EastMidlands | £26,087 | £30,435 | £33,043 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | Yorkshire | £25,210 | £29,412 | £31,933 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | NorthEast | £25,000 | £29,167 | £31,667 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | NorthWest | £25,210 | £29,412 | £31,933 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | Scotland | £26,316 | £30,702 | £33,333 | |
| HR Administrator | HR Administrator | Wales | £24,793 | £28,926 | £31,405 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | National Average | £70,091 | £87,614 | £96,376 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | London | £80,000 | £100,000 | £110,000 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | SouthEast | £74,074 | £92,593 | £101,852 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | SouthWest | £68,966 | £86,207 | £94,828 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | EastEast | £71,429 | £89,286 | £98,214 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | WestMidlands | £69,565 | £86,957 | £95,652 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | EastMidlands | £69,565 | £86,957 | £95,652 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | Yorkshire | £67,227 | £84,034 | £92,437 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | NorthEast | £66,667 | £83,333 | £91,667 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | NorthWest | £67,227 | £84,034 | £92,437 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | Scotland | £70,175 | £87,719 | £96,491 | |
| Head of Talent | Head of Talent | Wales | £66,116 | £82,645 | £90,909 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | National Average | £52,568 | £61,330 | £65,711 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | London | £60,000 | £70,000 | £75,000 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | SouthEast | £55,556 | £64,815 | £69,444 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | SouthWest | £51,724 | £60,345 | £64,655 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | EastEast | £53,571 | £62,500 | £66,964 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | WestMidlands | £52,174 | £60,870 | £65,217 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | EastMidlands | £52,174 | £60,870 | £65,217 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | Yorkshire | £50,420 | £58,824 | £63,025 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | NorthEast | £50,000 | £58,333 | £62,500 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | NorthWest | £50,420 | £58,824 | £63,025 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | Scotland | £52,632 | £61,404 | £65,789 | |
| Talent Manager | Talent Manager | Wales | £49,587 | £57,851 | £61,983 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | National Average | £39,426 | £43,807 | £48,188 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | London | £45,000 | £50,000 | £55,000 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | SouthEast | £41,667 | £46,296 | £50,926 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | SouthWest | £38,793 | £43,103 | £47,414 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | EastEast | £40,179 | £44,643 | £49,107 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | WestMidlands | £39,130 | £43,478 | £47,826 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | EastMidlands | £39,130 | £43,478 | £47,826 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | Yorkshire | £37,815 | £42,017 | £46,218 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | NorthEast | £37,500 | £41,667 | £45,833 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | NorthWest | £37,815 | £42,017 | £46,218 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | Scotland | £39,474 | £43,860 | £48,246 | |
| Talent Advisor | Talent Advisor | Wales | £37,190 | £41,322 | £45,455 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | National Average | £26,284 | £30,665 | £36,798 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | London | £30,000 | £35,000 | £42,000 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | SouthEast | £27,778 | £32,407 | £38,889 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | SouthWest | £25,862 | £30,172 | £36,207 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | EastEast | £26,786 | £31,250 | £37,500 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | WestMidlands | £26,087 | £30,435 | £36,522 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | EastMidlands | £26,087 | £30,435 | £36,522 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | Yorkshire | £25,210 | £29,412 | £35,294 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | NorthEast | £25,000 | £29,167 | £35,000 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | NorthWest | £25,210 | £29,412 | £35,294 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | Scotland | £26,316 | £30,702 | £36,842 | |
| Talent/Rec Coordinator | Talent/Rec Coordinator | Wales | £24,793 | £28,926 | £34,711 |
Salary guidance
Salaries typically fall between the lower and upper quartiles depending on candidate availability, demand for those skills, level of experience, industry sector and the size of the business or organisation.
Key observations
Overview of the HR Employment Market
The HR sector has shifted to an employer-driven job market, contrasting the candidate-driven trends of recent years, with a greater availability of HR professionals, although high demand skills are still scarce. Senior roles such as CHRO and CPO have seen strong salary growth as the HR function continues to be recognised as critical in driving operational change.
2025 will see a greater focus on employee relations and operations functions, with businesses having to take the difficult decisions on potential redundancies, rather than growth and engagement responsibilities. Economic and regulatory factors, including the 2024 Autumn Budget and increase in employment costs are continuing to have an impact on hiring.
HR Salary Trends and Compensation Challenges
Salaries for HR roles have stabilised following strong growth over the past 3 years, with salary increases more closely aligned to inflation figures for 2025. Employers face challenges balancing compensation expectations with budget constraints, particularly for junior roles, where artificial intelligence and automation are being used to perform routine tasks previously performed by entry-level HR employees.
High-demand HR skills are still scarce, despite an economic downturn, and HR teams will be required to ensure competitive pay, benefits packages, flexibility, and career development opportunities to retain critical in-demand talent while potentially cutting back within less critical positions.
Evolving HR Roles and Skills
Mid-level roles, such as employee relations, performance management, and business partnering, are central to managing organisational change and workforce needs, as many businesses pivot from growth to cost cutting. Each of these roles have seen strong salary increases due to demand.
There has been an increased demand for HR professionals with skills in technology, data analytics, diversity, and rewards strategies, and specialist diversity and inclusion (D&I) roles are gaining prominence, though many SMEs integrate D&I responsibilities into generalist roles.
Workforce Planning and Development
HR teams are leveraging employee feedback, market data, and competitor analysis for strategic workforce planning, which is reducing attrition rates.
Businesses are addressing skills shortages by hiring less experienced employees and implementing robust training programs to upskill and develop where needed, filling skills gaps and helping with employee retention in the long term. Upskilling initiatives and internal talent development are prioritised to align workforce capabilities with long-term business goals.
Ashdown research shows an increase in businesses intending to hire temporary workers and contractors to address skill requirements whilst economic and regulatory headwinds stifle enthusiasm for permanent hiring.
Impact of Technology in HR
The adoption of AI and advanced tools for recruitment, performance management, and analytics is becoming standard, particularly in larger organisations. To remain competitive, employers must support continuous training in areas such as technology integration, data privacy, and analytics.
Regional and Economic Influences
Hiring resilience is evident in London and the South, while northern regions show lower volumes of HR opportunity. Sectors like retail and hospitality are particularly sensitive to labour costs and may experience recruitment freezes or reduced headcount growth as a result of increased employment costs such as the National Insurance increases coming into force in April alongside greater employee rights.
Legislative Changes Shaping HR
The Employment Rights Bill introduces extended employee protections, creating compliance challenges, particularly for smaller businesses, generating the need for a wider HR function within businesses. Larger organisations are better equipped to handle these demands, while SMEs may need to hire additional HR expertise. Legislative compliance is likely to generate new HR roles focused on navigating these complexities.
Working Preferences and Challenges
Hybrid work arrangements remain popular, though fully remote roles are declining. The expectation that HR teams drive greater office attendance, with employees being asked to spend 5 days a week in the office becoming increasingly common. Resistance to full-time office work could result in talent attrition as the job market strengthens in 2025.
Research shows that senior professionals are more willing to relocate for desirable roles, whereas mid-level candidates prioritise their work-life balance.
Recommendations for Employers:
- Invest in competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, and technology.
- Provide career development opportunities and prioritise diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- Ensure efficient recruitment processes to secure top candidates
Recommendations for HR Professionals:
- Develop skills in technology, analytics, and legislative compliance.
- Leverage data insights and adopt innovative tools to support organisational growth.
- Embrace opportunities for upskilling, training and advancing within the HR job market.
Conclusion
In 2025 the HR employment sector will be characterised by significant changes in hiring dynamics, salary expectations, and skill requirements. Organisations that strategically invest in their HR functions and adapt to emerging trends will be better positioned to attract and retain talent while navigating economic and legislative challenges.
July 2024
2024 looks set to be a challenging year for HR teams as the economy starts to recover. The number of employees considering a job move has hit it’s highest point since ‘the great resignation’ of 2021.
With surveys suggesting between 40-60% of the working population considering a job move in the year ahead, the impact of losing large numbers of existing talent could have profound effects on meeting organisational strategic goals.
Already under pressure, HR departments will be expected to adopt new technologies to improve efficiency and measure performance, whilst attracting new talent and developing and retaining existing employees.
Skills Shortages
Despite a quiet job market over the past 12 months, a skills shortage still persists and will affect the ability of organisations to attract and retain talent, as well as to innovate and compete. HR teams will be expected to adopt a combination of strategies to bridge the skills gap:
Delivering learning and development (L&D) programs that upskill and reskill existing employees, as well as provide them with career development and progression opportunities.
Implementing a strong talent attraction strategy that leverages employer branding and social media.
Assessing longer term future skills requirements and producing skills gaps analysis.
Employee Retention
As the UK labour market becomes more competitive and dynamic, retention will become more challenging. Establishing accurate up to date salary and benefits information based on real time data will help support retention strategies. Understanding trends in workplace culture and environment and providing an attractive, positive environment will all help to retain key employees.
The current trend of bringing employees back to the office is deeply unpopular amongst employees and may play a part in retention rates in 2024 as the number of available jobs improves. The average hybrid environment has increased from 2 days a week in the office to 3 days a week in the office in the past 12 months.
Adoption of AI and Automation
Another trend that will shape HR in 2024 will be the adoption of AI and automation to deliver routine tasks, such as onboarding new recruits, screening candidates, scheduling interviews, providing feedback and repetitive HR administrative tasks.
As AI is incorporated across the organisation, HR professionals will need to adopt a strategic and responsible approach to AI and automation implementation, ensuring that it aligns with the business objectives and values, and that it respects the rights and interests of all stakeholders. The Ashdown Group study of the impact of AI on the workforce found that employees are moderately fearful of their jobs, especially in less senior posts and that organisations are not addressing the retraining needs of the employees or communicating the wider business strategy for the adoption of AI. Integrating the smooth implementation of AI into the workplace will increasingly become an HR responsibility.
HR Data Analytics
The use of data analytics is growing within HR teams, supporting decision-making, measuring outcomes, and driving improvements. Processing, and interpreting data from various sources, such as employee surveys, performance reviews, applicant tracking systems and HR systems. We expect demand for, and subsequently the salaries for, HR data analysts to grow with the increased use of data within the HR function.
Increase in HR specialists
There has been an increase in HR specialists operating as consultants within business. Chief people officers, setting the strategic direction of an organisation, HR transformation specialists, Learning and Development consultants and HRIS experts have all seen an increase in demand. We expect these areas of expertise to remain in high demand through 2024 with the adoption of new technology and challenges of retention predicted.
July 2023
From mid-2022 to mid-2023 growth hiring in the HR job market has fallen, leading to fewer roles being available. Salary increases have remained stable at 7%, but new talent acquisition salaries are falling.
Shifting priorities
Since the middle of 2022, growth hiring has diminished, leading organisations to shift their focus from talent attraction strategies to retaining and developing their existing teams through upskilling and people-centric initiatives. This change in priorities reflects a strategic emphasis on nurturing and maximizing the potential of the current workforce.
Role of HR
The role of HR has been crucial in managing rapidly changing work environments brought about by the pandemic. HR leaders have been at the forefront of supporting and coaching employees, implementing people-centric programs, and demonstrating the positive impact of engaged and happy teams on productivity and profitability.
Employee feedback and workforce planning
HR departments have embraced strategic workforce planning over the last few years, using employee feedback, market data and competitor workforce analyses to map out how the development of future skills will align with business objectives. These proactive efforts have resulted in substantial savings for companies, particularly in employee attrition, over the past three years.
HR Salaries
HR recruitment has declined over the past year, paralleling the broader trend across sectors. At the same time, availability of candidates has improved, leading to an employer-led market in terms of salary negotiations. Consequently, financial rewards for existing teams have diminished, with fewer companies addressing the cost of living crisis through inflation-matched pay increases or one-time support payments in 2023.
The average salary increase across mainstream HR roles has remained stable in 2023 at 7%.
In line with a fall in demand, talent acquisition salaries have suffered as many large employers such as Microsoft and Amazon shed employees. This lack of demand has impacted salaries - the role of head of talent in particular has seen a 10% decrease in advertised salaries compared to the height of 2022.
Future challenges
The challenge for HR leaders in the upcoming year will be to maintain innovation while accommodating flexible working practices. Many businesses are seeking to return to office-based work amidst a subdued job market, but full-time office work is unpopular with employees. HR teams will need to contend with the risk of employees leaving as the job market picks up in 2024, potentially leading to talent attrition.
Learning and development
To cope with the skills shortage, many employers have turned to hiring less experienced individuals and implementing training plans to bridge the gaps. This strategy allows organisations to develop talent internally and ensure a skilled workforce in the long term. [Provide link to relevant article]
New technology adoption
Learning and development will become more of a priority for HR departments as businesses invest more in training and put their people at the heart of their growth strategies. Demand for this will increase as more organisations work to upskill people to meet changing business goals.
January 2023
There has been a gradual tail off in the number of new HR roles advertised since July 2022.
The fastest drop in demand has been for talent acquisition teams, with demand falling since March, a reflection of a slowdown in growth planning.
The biggest growth has been within employee engagement and learning & development roles to support retention and develop existing talent in the face of a skills shortage.
Salaries have remained flat for the second half of 2022. We predict salaries will track inflation through 2023 and the demand for HR professionals to soften.
Post-Covid, businesses have almost universally sought to humanize their interaction with employees, driving up engagement with the goal of maintaining happy, inclusive and productive remote teams. As the pressures of high costs, inflation and a recession continue to bite in 2023, businesses will shift to having a greater focus on maintaining profits. HR will face a growing challenge of maintaining the human-first element within the organisation as these changes take place.
There will be a focus on using evidence-based data to prove the value of HR initiatives, and attempting to prove that profits and a human-first approach can co-exist in a tougher economic environment. But whether this data is readily available, and whether HR teams will be able to access the data they need, remains to be seen. We may see the rise of the HR data analyst in 2023 as a result.
In the face of potential budget cuts, business leaders will once again turn to HR teams to retain and maintain the productivity of existing employees. Investing in existing talent, upskilling, and coaching will continue as a feature of the next 12 months.
The next 12 months will be especially challenging for HR, and with teams already running at full tilt for the past three years there is a real danger of burnout as the department is asked to do more with less.
Investing in existing talent, upskilling and coaching will continue as a feature of the next 12 months.
Bespoke salary report
If you would like to find out more about how your salaries compare to others in the HR market, we offer our clients bespoke individual salary reports for a precise salary assessment, based on industry, geography, competition, job role and company size.
Access IT, Accountancy & Marketing Salary Guides
Explore industry specific salary data
Information Technology 
Accountancy 
Marketing Latest HR Jobs
HR Operations Manager
* Standalone HR Manager within an SME (50 Staff) * Based in Kensington, West London * Paying up to £60,000 plus benefits. Hybrid working (1 day per week from home) A growing West London company are looking for an experienced HR Operations Manager to join their team. This exciting new role will a dotted...
Read moreHR Manager
HR Manager – Essex – Permanent full time role paying up to £60,000 plus 10% bonus, pension and 25 days annual leave – Hybrid working (3 days a week in the office) – Reputable, successful and growing organisation within the financial services sector – Working as part of a supportive HR function of 10...
Read moreHR Manager – Insurance
HR Manager – Essex – Permanent full time role paying up to £60,000 plus 10% bonus, pension and 25 days annual leave – Hybrid working (3 days a week in the office) – Reputable, successful and growing organisation within the financial services sector – Working as part of a supportive HR function of 10...
Read more
Looking to hire?
More than 20,000 people register with the Ashdown Group every month. We have access to hundreds of high-calibre professionals living within an easy commute of your business.