Satisfying, yet stressful, but not enough to change it – this is how HR professionals describe their jobs. The year 2023 was not as kind to them as the previous one, but it is still one of the few areas where employees are not particularly interested in retraining – according to the “Salary and Trend Report in Companies” by Grafton Recruitment.
After a very successful previous year, the time for slowing down recruitment in the HR industry has come, mainly due to the limitation of companies’ recruitment activities starting from the fourth quarter of 2022. The hiring freeze in some industries has also resulted in a reduction in offers for recruiters.
“In 2024, we will likely observe a stabilization of the market and an increase in job offers for HRBP positions, employer branding specialists, and learning & development specialists. Despite the slowdown, the demand for training specialists and personnel and payroll department staff also remains high. Additionally, for the past 4-5 years, HR analysts, who are responsible for preparing cyclical reports and analysis, have been sought after,” evaluates Ewa Michalska, Operational Director at Grafton Recruitment.
Despite the changes in the HR area, paradoxically, attracting qualified candidates remains a difficult task, as the lack of talent and recruitment challenges remain at the same level as last year.
Salary increase for 55% of HR department employees
In 2023, employees in company HR departments could expect a salary increase, although not everyone. According to the survey conducted by SW Research on behalf of Grafton Recruitment, 45% of employees received a raise that did not exceed the level of inflation (up to 15%), and 10% started earning over 15% more than their previous salary. The survey shows that 45% of HR professionals did not receive a raise.
Salaries in HR departments vary greatly not only due to the role played in the organization. Employment location also affects earnings – the highest salaries can be expected in the capital, Kraków, and in the IT industry hub – Wrocław. The best-paid position is the HR director (16-40k PLN), yet one can also expect significantly higher-than-average earnings when working in senior positions in human resources and payroll (10-20k PLN) and in HRBP positions (8-20k PLN).
The best-paid recruiters work in the Tri-City and Wrocław (6-13k PLN) and Warsaw, while the least earn in Łódź and Katowice (5.5-11k PLN). However, it’s worth noting that many recruiters work remotely, so the place of employment does not necessarily coincide with the location where they live and perform their duties. Talent sourcers, whose job requires the least experience, can expect pay from 4-5.5k in Poznań, the Tri-City, and Wrocław, to 5-7k in Warsaw.
An industry that’s hard to quit
The research results clearly show loyalty to the employer – as many as 40% of HR professionals do not plan to change their current job. This is a very high percentage compared to other areas of the study.
“For example, 27.5% of logistics professionals and 21% of IT professionals are looking for new employment, while in HR departments it’s only 15% – this is the second-lowest result among the analyzed areas. This may be due to the fact that a record high percentage of surveyed HR employees feel that it will be difficult for them to change jobs. It also matters that the HR industry is predominantly female, and statistically, women change their place of employment less often,” comments Ewa Michalska, Operational Director at Grafton Recruitment.
HR professionals are also loyal to their profession – only 5% of respondents would definitely like to retrain. This may be influenced by the fact that the percentage of people employed in accordance with their education is higher in HR departments than in others, which may mean that these are people who have very consciously chosen their profession.
It is worth noting that among nearly 70% of surveyed HR professionals who express satisfaction or high satisfaction with their work, almost 55% assess their work as stressful (12.5% as “definitely stressful” and 42.5% as “rather stressful”).
