Of high ranking HR officials, 50% are reporting directly to the CEO, according to Bloomberg BNA’s HR Department Benchmarks and Analysis 2016-2017 report. A survey of more than 550 HR professionals in the U.S. also found that 70% described their departments as fully or significantly involved in important business decisions.
But HR staff were not as confident that their bosses and departments were being appreciated by C-Suite leaders. “This indicates that HR likely does have a good avenue for influence, but that HR personnel who are not at the top of their organization may just no be aware of it,” noted Molly Huie, manager of the survey. “Increased communication within the HR department could help in this area.”