The survey included a diverse range of respondents, representing various sectors, industries, organisation sizes, and demographic profiles. Below is a summary of the key demographic insights derived from the data.
The survey had a predominantly female respondent pool.
Most respondents were aged 40-59 age range (56.3%), indicating a significant presence of mid-to-late career professionals. Only 7.6% were under 30, suggesting potential gaps in early-career participation.
More than half of the respondents worked in the private sector (53.8%), followed by the public sector (26.6%) and not-for-profits (19.6%).
Most respondents were from medium-sized organisations (100-499 employees), with small HR teams (2-5 employees) being the most common.
Nationwide or multi-center organisations made up 38.5% of responses, reflecting a significant representation of geographically dispersed businesses.
HR Director/GM HR appears to be the most common role (28.2%), followed by HR Business Partner (22.5%). Roles such as HR Administrator (3.5%) and Academic (1.4%) are less represented, indicating a focus on senior and strategic HR functions.
In terms of industry representation, the "Other" category had the largest share (28.7%), followed by Professional Services (21.7%) and Education/Health (16.8%). Smaller industries like Personal/Caring Services (0.7%) and Banking/Finance (2.1%) had minimal representation, reflecting diverse professional contexts.
Key Findings
HR development needs
Top Areas for development
Analytics & Data Science (highest need).
Workforce Planning.
HR Systems & Technology.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI).
Least frequent needs
HR Administration.
Attraction, Recruitment & Selection.
Comments on HR development needs
Key development areas
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: DEI remains a priority with emphasis on inclusive practices and leadership buy-in.
Change Management: Need to integrate it as a core HR function.
Health, Safety, and Wellbeing (H&S): Especially important for small organisations.
Workforce Planning: Crucial for strategic roles, especially for small private sector businesses.
HR Systems & Technology: Need for access to advanced systems to enhance productivity.
Analytics & Data Science: Specifically mentioned as a growth area for strategic contributions.
Challenges
Skill gaps and limited resources calls for targeted development to ensure all members can contribute effectively. Unique challenges highlighted for sole HR practitioners.
Need for strategic integration with organisational strategy and receiving external support.
Suggestions for Improvement:
Enhanced networking, better HR systems, regular updates, and focus on strategy.
Preparedness for 2025 Challenges
The responses indicated that males are more confident than females, with older respondents (70 or older) showing the highest confidence.
HR teams feel moderate confidence in their organisation’s overall preparedness.
HR Teams show stronger confidence in their own skills.
Mixed perceptions related to availability of workforce skills.
Critical HR issues
Recruitment and Retention: Skill shortages, retention challenges, and market competition.
Resource Constraints: Understaffing, budget constraints, and reduced funding.
Leadership Development: Gaps in strategic mindset and soft skills.
Employee Engagement and Wellbeing: Low morale, burnout, and DEI challenges.
Change and Adaptability: High volume of change and need for agile management.
Technology and AI Integration: Keeping up with advancements and digital literacy.
Performance Management and Culture: Need for effective systems and positive culture.
Workforce Planning and Development: Addressing skill gaps and succession planning.
HR Capabilities for 2025
Except for in diversity related question, females seem to be more positive than males. With regard to age, those 70 or older show highest confidence when asked about diversity, innovative solutions to workplace challenges, bicultural approaches, managing employment risks, and applying commercial judgment to HR solutions. Those aged 60-69 showed highest confidence in providing leadership and influencing people-related decisions whereas those aged 40-49 indicated effectiveness in adapting HR approaches.
Diversity: There is moderate agreement, suggesting that respondents generally perceive their organisations are taking some steps toward reflecting diversity and individual needs in policies and programs, but there is room for improvement.
Leadership and Influence: shows strong agreement, suggesting that respondents generally view their organisations as effective in providing leadership and influencing people-related decisions.
Innovative Solutions: reflect strong agreement, suggesting that respondents generally view their organisations as effective in fostering innovative solutions to workplace challenges.
Adapting HR approaches: indicate strong agreement, suggesting that respondents generally perceive their organisations as effective in adapting HR approaches to meet situational needs.
Bicultural approaches score shows moderate agreement, suggesting that respondents feel their organisations are somewhat effective in understanding and applying bicultural approaches to HR practices, but there is room for significant improvement.
Managing employment risks shows strong agreement, indicating that respondents generally perceive their organisations as effective in managing employment-related risks.
Commercial judgment indicates strong agreement, suggesting that respondents generally perceive their organisations as effective in applying commercial judgment to HR solutions.
Important HR Issues
Leadership Development: Need for strategic and proactive leadership.
Commercial Judgment: Cost-effective HR solutions required and balancing innovation with profitability.
Managing Employment Risks: Increased demand for focus on risk mitigation and compliance.
Change Management: Navigating organisational change and adapting processes to remain relevant.
DEI: Promoting biculturalism and inclusive leadership.
Employee Engagement and Retention: Addressing wellbeing and retention challenges.
Innovative HR Solutions: Embracing technology and flexible work models.
Overall Influence of HR function on the executive team
Results indicate moderately strong influence, with males perceiving stronger influence than females, and highest influence perceived by those 70 or older and lowest by those 30-39.
HR Leadership strength in the organisation
Overall, respondents perceive moderately strong HR leadership, with males rating leadership strength higher than females and highest confidence among those 70 or older and lowest among those 30-39.
Technology and HR
There is indication of moderate effectiveness of HR technology in their organisation, with higher rating by males and highest confidence among those 70 or older.
Professional Accreditation
Respondents perceive professional accreditation to be moderately important, with males rating it higher as well as those 70 or older. Results indicate low likelihood of applying for professional accreditation in 2025.
Code of Practice
Respondents perceive a Code of Practice as moderately useful for HR professional development, with females perceiving slightly higher usefulness than males and those who are 70 or older.
Suggestions for future focus of HRNZ
Leadership and Influence: Strategic leadership development and executive influence.
Commercial Acumen: Business understanding and workforce planning.
Technological Advances: AI and HR technology integration.
DEI: Cultural competency and managing diverse teams.
Practical Tools: Templates, toolkits, and on-demand content.
Change Management: Organisational change and agility.
Resilience and Wellbeing: Managing complexity and mental health.
Professional Development: Future-focused training, mentorship and career pathways, affordability and accessibility of HRNZ’s programs.