Human Resources professionals still believe there needs to be more respect for the contribution HR makes in the boardroom, and the impact HR has on an organisation’s bottom line.

A survey commissioned by Cascade HR showed that 76.22% of respondents – from administrators to senior managers – believe HR’s strategic input remains poorly acknowledged.

The statistics come as no surprise to the Cascade team, who, with nearly 700 clients throughout the UK, have long talked to a variety of professionals about the challenge.  But with discussions surrounding big data continuing apace throughout the industry, a potential turning point is looming, believes Cascade’s CEO Oliver Shaw.

“Some people no doubt think ‘big data’ is just the latest fad to hit the headlines,” he said. “However, as commentary unfolds as to the power of the metrics that HR has at its fingertips, it seems the concept is gradually attracting more attention. And this is important – complex data isn’t just for scientists and analysts anymore.”

If HR can pay attention to some of the data that so many senior business leaders don’t see, Shaw believes the profession could start to shed this long-standing frustration with the boardroom.

“I’m a big believer that HR professionals do hold the key to some much more powerful strategic thinking within private sector organisations,” he continued. “By interrogating the right data, for instance, they could aid much smarter resource planning. It would certainly capture my attention if someone told me how many people I had in work today, their productivity ratio, how many more people we need to fulfil our objectives, how many CVs we’d have to see and interviews we’d need to conduct to fill that gap, what our recruitment pipeline looks like, how long it will all take, and at what cost.”

Cascade is reported to be preparing a series of practical, advice-led resources to help clients with this challenge. Shaw concludes: “73% of survey participants claimed that technology helps them enhance the profile of HR throughout the organisation. The trust that clients place in their HR software vendors, as a result, means we’re well placed to help them with some smarter thinking. Our aim is to show HR and payroll specialists how to uncover and confidently present information in a way that will challenge senior management and help them run their businesses better. This will prove key to the profession strengthening its boardroom position.”

The eleven question survey also revealed that employee engagement, recruitment and Shared Parental Leave (SPL) are the three topics that HR expects to find the most challenging throughout this financial year.