The Global HR Survey Results 2021

20 Jan 2021

Cover for The Global HR Survey

The latest Global HR Survey for 2021

We are pleased to highlight that our 2020/2021 survey offers a more diverse perspective of HR Leadership than ever before.

With 18 industry sectors represented across 6 regions, this report will truly reflect the key challenges facing HR Leaders in the coming 12 months.

Download Leathwaite Global HR Survey 2021

Matthew Syed welcomes you to the Annual 2021 Global HR Survey

“It’s fair to say that 2020 has seen organizations, HR leaders and their teams face change and challenges on a level that the majority of the current working population have never experienced.

Employee well-being and engagement have come to the fore as a result of coronavirus, virtual working and financial recession. Then increased tensions over issues of race and identity, particularly in Western cultures, catapulted diversity and inclusion back to the top of the leadership agenda.

Sadly, in my view, the power of diversity isn’t always made clear or compelling enough in business. Many recognise that diversity is important, but it often becomes a box-ticking exercise, related exclusively to demographics, and missing the true power of diversity. When diversity is purposefully created, not to tick boxes but to maximise collective intelligence, the results can be staggering…” (View more)

10 things you need to know:

  • The majority of HR leaders (67%) forecast spending 2-3 days per week in the office in 2021.
  • Only 8% of the workforce anticipates being “in the office” 5 days a week throughout 2021.
  • Close to half of polled HR leaders (45%) believe working fully remotely should have an impact on employee salary and bonus.
  • More than one-third (39%) believe working remotely WILL impact promotion prospects.
  • The organizational trauma of COVID has had a galvanizing effect on the HR population, with the majority (58%) feeling more loyal and engaged toward their company.
  • Lack of collaboration and innovation is cited as the biggest potential organizational disabler in the post-COVID world.
  • Erosion of Culture is cited as the second-largest organizational risk.
  • 50% of respondents foresee the phasing out of the Corporate Head Office in the course of their career.
  • Gender (30%) continues to lead the way in terms of priorities for Inclusion & Diversity Hires, followed closely by ethnicity (25%).
  • Unsurprisingly, Flexible Working & the Return to the Office dominates the list of business priorities for 2021.