The folks who do the hiring are also dusting up their resumes, preparing to seek new opportunities in an expanding economy.
The Society for Human Resource Management reports that "more than one-third of HR professionals will likely seek new jobs in the near future." But among that crowd, quite a few are looking elsewhere for work because they're feeling insecure in their current position.
SHRM found that 39 percent of the HR professionals who responded to the survey "have some degree of concern with their job security." Fewer top dogs in the HR department feel that way — 29 percent of senior-level HR types reporting some degree of concern about job security. Among lower-echelon HR employees, the concern about job security soared to 59 percent.
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While a strong majority of HR professionals (79 percent) have some level of confidence that they could find a job if they had to, a mere 16 percent said they were "very confident" they could do so.
Why are HR professionals testing the job market? Top reason (cited by 48 percent):
They are looking for a "better organizational/corporate culture."
Others cited:
- Career advancement opportunities, 47 percent
- Better compensation/pay, 47 percent
- More meaningful work, 29 percent
- Better job security, 28 percent
A flexible work arrangement was not a motivator for most of those surveyed. Just 21 percent cited it as one of their top three reasons for wanting a new job.
But will there be new jobs awaiting these job seekers? According to the SHRM survey, just 20 percent of organizations are currently looking for HR help. Demand is much higher for such positions as sales, IT, customer service and production, a Careerbuilder survey indicated earlier this month. Among the top 10 jobs to be filled in 2014, that survey placed HR at the very bottom in terms of employers' hiring priorities.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
