Maxxim Consulting, the consultancy firm which advises FTSE companies on organisational design and change, today predicts the top five issues that HR directors will face in 2010.

Sozen Leimon, Partner at Maxxim Consulting, said:

1. “The unstoppable rise of software-as-as-service products, which will take more than 20% of market share by the end of 2010, with challenging implications for the old world ERP suppliers such as Oracle and SAP. Cheaper, more flexible systems which are easier to set up can only be good news for HR professionals;
2. The return of the war for talent. As the recession lifts and employees get their nerve back, companies will struggle to retain their top talent. Already the phone calls from head-hunters have restarted as aggressive firms look to gear up for growth again;
3. A struggle to find HR professionals with international experience of significant breadth and depth. As globalisation continues, people with hands-on experience of managing across borders and inter-culturally will demand a huge premium in the market;
4. A recognition that ‘less is more’ when it comes to business partnering. Fewer business partners operating at a higher level and with greater core capability is the new holy grail in nearly all organisations’ that Maxxim has worked with this year;
5. A continued squeeze on budgets, with ever more focus on securing value for money. Gone are the days of large pyramid-style consulting teams powerpointing out their client’s future. Organisations are still buying consulting support but they are buying niche teams of ‘lean and mean’ expertise.”

Related News:

• Learning not Leaning
• Princes Trust launches skills scheme
• Firms continue to hire migrant workers to help plug skills gap, says CIPD
• Jobless figures confirm ‘extreme fragility’ of labour market, CIPD
• Going for Growth
• Unemployment to peak at 2.8 million in 2010, says CIPD
• Cornerstone OnDemand “Steps on the Gas” to Accelerate Aggressive Growth
• Recession ‘making software compliance less of a priority’
• Are companies using their limited pay budgets effectively?
• Keep Britain Working