HRMarketer Shows Optimism Among HR Professionals

“Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole!” wrote Oscar Wilde.

It makes sense that Human Resources, a profession designed for working well with other people, is among the fields expressing optimism about work opportunities.

HRmarketer recently released it finding from surveys of people in HR.  The report entitled “Trends in HR Marketing: HR Buyers’ Behavior – What to Expect in 2011” (available here ) reports an optimistic take on the hiring practices in the near future.  The report suggests that more employers will be hiring more people to handle their demands– prioritizing HR in their 2011 budgets.

The report found that forty-seven percent of HR professionals report their company will hire 10%-20% more staff in 2011.  Twenty-four percent of HR buyers plan on increasing their budgets for HR-related products and services in 2011.  As a group, HR buyers plan on increasing their budgets by 20% or more in 2011 for recruitment, training & education, performance management, management & leadership development, assessment and background checks.  Sixty-nine percent of HR buyers are somewhat to highly optimistic about the economy and think that business is starting to improve in 2011.

While the report is meant for marketing professionals targeting HR buyers, the HRMarketer report is a good indicator of the state of Human Resources and company health. When HR is willing to expand their HR software, technology, and recruitment budgets significantly, it is (hopefully) an indicator of economic growth and expansion.