Human resources departments excel at operational tasks but struggle to act as strategic partners, with organizational leaders rating HR’s operational support higher than its strategic capabilities in 49 of 50 organizations surveyed, according to a benchmarking report released Oct. 7 by McLean & Company.
“Strategic alignment starts with understanding. This benchmarking report connects the dots between what organizational leaders value and how HR executes,” said Amanda Chaitnarine, practice lead of HR research and advisory services at McLean & Company, in the release.
The HR Organizational Alignment and HR Management & Governance Benchmarking Report 2025 draws on responses from 3,078 organizational leaders across 50 organizations and 971 HR professionals across 32 organizations.
Strategic satisfaction low
Only 30 per cent of leaders are highly satisfied with HR’s consultation abilities, and just 24 per cent are highly satisfied that HR programs support organizational goals, according to the report.
The findings reveal moderate satisfaction levels that indicate room for HR to increase its impact, the company said.
Talent management underperforms
Leaders ranked talent management first in importance but eighth in satisfaction, with an average rating of 6.61 out of 10 and only 20 per cent highly satisfied.
Leaders cited succession planning, performance management and internal mobility as persistent challenges, the firm said.
Organizational effectiveness ranked third in importance but seventh in satisfaction with an average rating of 6.90 out of 10, with feedback pointing to weak HR involvement in strategy and ineffective change management.
Recruitment concerns continue
Talent acquisition ranked second in importance but sixth in satisfaction with an average rating of 6.93 out of 10.
Only 26 per cent of leaders are highly satisfied with recruitment, citing slow processes, poor candidate pools and unclear employer branding.
Perception gap within HR
Just 13 per cent of HR leaders rated their function as highly effective, compared with 28 per cent of HR team members, suggesting leaders see greater unmet strategic potential.
HR technology and analytics ranked lowest in both importance and satisfaction with an average rating of 6.57 out of 10, though qualitative feedback shows technology and people data are central to improving decision-making and HR’s credibility as a strategic partner, according to McLean & Company.
The company advises organizations to review results alongside overall benchmarks to understand their position, assess gaps based on organizational priorities rather than assuming below-benchmark results are negative, and prioritize improvements according to strategic objectives, according to the report.
McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group, the release said.
