Is Your Business in Crisis?

An HR crisis can be either internal or external. An external HR crisis is usually accompanied by negative press or publicity. The sort of thing that happens when the CEO suddenly starts trending on X and for all the wrong reasons. We’ll cover this type of crisis in more detail in our next article.

An internal HR crisis is not the same as crisis management (when the HR team are deployed to manage and resolve the situation). An internal HR crisis involves the HR team itself being in crisis and as this is becoming an increasingly common phenomena, in this article we take a closer look at the triggers behind an HR crisis and the practical steps you can take to support your HR team.

What the stats say

Early in 2025, a report and survey by Cezanne published in HR World called HR Under Pressure revealed some startling statistics. And although the survey only involved 500 participants (members of the HR Ninjas community), the findings should not be ignored. Of the HR professionals involved:

• 64% feel constant stress
• 93% have experienced serious burnout
• 83% needed time off due to stress and burnout-related conditions in the past year
• 73% reporting having experienced emotional and physical exhaustion in the previous six months
• 58% have considered leaving the profession due to the pressures they face

The implications of these statistics for any business in terms of productivity, morale, staff turnover, costs and wellbeing are clear.  And the report does not stand alone. People Management reported in January 2025, that a survey by Personio had found that 54 % of HR professionals experienced burnout in the past five years, with 43% of senior leaders identifying burnout as a significant challenge within HR teams.

What’s the cause?

The causes are many and nuanced. HR’s role has evolved over the course of the last decade and often the resources available to support them have not kept pace. Your HR department may be responsible for the development of new policies and practices, managing the logistic of remote working, payroll, compliance, company culture and employee relations, diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing and engagement, organisational development, hiring processes, compliance/legal issues and the list goes on.

It’s no surprise then that the reasons cited for the high levels of burnout are unmanageable workload, lack of resources or support and leadership/management pressure from outside HR. In the Personio survey, 41% of the respondents said “they spend the majority of their time on managing administrative duties, which many believe contributes heavily to their stress”.

How to support your HR team

Whether or not there are overt signs of crisis in your own HR team, it’s essential to be proactive in your support of them. From the Cezanne report, two clear themes emerged, namely the desire for “fostering a more supportive workplace culture (33%) and streamlining HR’s processes (28%)”. And in order to achieve these, you’re going to need a strategic approach.

Assess and audit

Gather as much information as you can about the wellbeing of your HR team by way of interviews, surveys, focus groups and any data you have. Review your training provision, HR policies and processes as well as your systems and technology, and audit your workflow processes. 

Your communication needs to be clear and honest, and you should invite feedback and suggestions from all stakeholders. You should also keep them updated on your progress and actions.

Strategy and plan  

In creating your strategy, you will need to consider the following main areas:

• Goals and objectives. Your goals and objectives and how they align with current best practices. Ensure HR policies are up to date.
• Workflow optimisation. The use of automation and AI technology can reduce the need for time consuming or mundane tasks and simplify complex tasks.
• Outsource as appropriate. Consider using a legal team, recruitment agency or PR agency to help with some projects.
• Professional development opportunities. Ensure you have development pathways, appropriate training and if necessary, mentor schemes. 
• Communication. Encourage open communication about the role of HR but also more specifically about mental health and health issues. Review communication with senior management and leadership. Review your processes for announcing and implementing initiatives, policies and updates. Involve employees and stakeholders in decision-making process.
• Wellbeing and culture. Review the support and incentives you provide. Do you have a wellbeing programme or strategy? What support is on offer to employees and are they aware of it? What recognition and rewards are there for hard work or achievement? Acknowledge that whilst the HR team may be in charge of supporting the wellbeing of the rest of the team, someone has to support HR.
•  Monitor and review. As with any good plan, the success of it will come from monitoring and reviewing how it performs and adjusting as and when needed. Ensure you gather feedback regularly and identify any gaps or challenges.

If you would like to discuss the above, please call 020 3988 0170 or contact us via our website.

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