Press Releases

HR Organizations Rebuild as Economy Rebounds, According to New Pearl Meyer & Partners Survey

Human Resource Organizations and Structures Survey includes latest trends in HR outsourcing metrics and benchmarking

DALLAS, TX, May 17, 2010 — As companies recover from the economic downturn, they are no longer focusing on downsizing, shifting staff resources, or broad-based cost reductions, according to the 2010 Survey of Human Resource Organizations and Structure from Pearl Meyer & Partners.

"Controlling benefits costs continues to be important, but HR organizations are shifting their efforts back to engaging, retaining and motivating employees," said Beth Florin, Managing Director and President of the Pearl Meyer & Partners survey practice. "HR departments themselves also have stabilized, with the vast majority of organizations expecting no changes to staff size in the upcoming year."

The 2010 Survey of Human Resource Organizations and Structure, released today at The WorldatWork Total Rewards 2010 Conference in Dallas, provides detailed human resource data needed to right-size organizations and justify new HR programs and practices to executive leadership. It includes information on:

• HR priorities for 2010
• HR staffing levels by discipline
• Outsourcing trends for 39 different specialties within HR
• Executive job titling practices within the HR organization
• HR initiatives and programs employed
• Metrics used to assess HR organization and performance

HR organizations can benchmark practices against their competitors by industry, revenue and firm productivity.

HR Mission and Priorities
According to survey respondents, the most important strategic priority for 2010 is to help drive organizational success. This is closely followed by the need to engage, retain and motivate employees. In sharp contrast to the wave of workforce reductions in 2009, only 14% of respondents indicate that reducing overall firm headcount is a priority for 2010.

HR Organization Size
The PM&P survey also found human resource organizations are projected to be highly stable during the upcoming year with very few firms projecting HR staff reductions. Approximately 90% of respondents projected no changes in staffing levels within 12 key HR disciplines. Of those that are projecting changes in the upcoming year, slight staffing increases are more prevalent than decreases.

Outsourcing Trends
The survey also offers detailed insights into outsourcing practices for 39 different HR specialty areas including:

• Very few firms fully outsource any HR function
• Benefits administration is the most frequently outsourced function, while the generalist function is outsourced by the fewest respondents
• Responsibilities for executive compensation and long-term incentive design/administration are most likely to be split between company and vendor

Benchmarking Metrics
The most popular metrics used to assess the HR organization were similar across company size and industry, including:

• Financial: U.S. HR budget (76%)
• Financial: Number of HR employees to total employees (U.S.) (53%)
• Recruiting: Time to fill open positions (75%)
• Employee satisfaction: Voluntary turnover (92%)
• Performance measurement: Percent of employees achieving various performance levels (91%)
• HR effectiveness: Percentage of HR goals achieved during the year (93%)

Report Available
The 2010 Survey of Human Resource Organizations and Structure includes data from 295 companies across six major industries, with annual revenues ranging from under $300 million to more than $10 billion. To learn more about the survey, World@Work conference attendees can visit Pearl Meyer & Partners' Booth #617. The report also is available to non-participating firms for $395. Please visit to http://www.pearlmeyer.com/hrmetrics for more information and to order.

About Pearl Meyer & Partners
For more than 20 years, Pearl Meyer & Partners (www.pearlmeyer.com) has served as a trusted independent advisor to Boards and their senior management in the areas of compensation strategy and program design, compliance and reporting, and committee structure, policies and procedures. The firm provides comprehensive solutions to complex compensation challenges for companies across all industries ranging from the Fortune 500 to smaller private companies and not-for-profits, as well as emerging high-growth companies. These organizations rely on Pearl Meyer & Partners to develop programs that align rewards with long-term business goals to create value for all stakeholders: shareholders, executives and employees. The firm maintains offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and San Jose.