A substantial majority of IT leaders believe their organizations will merge human resources and information technology departments within the next five years, according to a new survey that highlights the changing landscape of workplace technology management.
The study, conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne for digital workplace company Nexthink, surveyed 1,100 senior IT decision makers across the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. All respondents work at organizations with at least 1,500 employees.
According to the findings, 94 per cent of IT leaders believe the next wave of digital transformation will trigger the emergence of new departments within their organizations. Of those surveyed, 64 per cent expect HR and IT departments to merge within the next five years, while 31 per cent said the departments will remain separate but become more collaborative.
Expected benefits drive merger interest
IT leaders cited several potential advantages of combining the two departments. According to the survey, 95 per cent believe a merger would result in better employee onboarding, while 94 per cent expect it would lead to faster digital transformation initiatives and more effective adoption of new tools and technology.
Additionally, 93 per cent of respondents said merging HR and IT would improve employee productivity, satisfaction, engagement and retention rates, the study found.
Digital workplace responsibilities overlap
The survey revealed significant overlap in current departmental responsibilities around employee experience. According to the findings, both HR and IT currently share responsibility for employee satisfaction (38 per cent), enterprise productivity (50 per cent) and employee engagement (38 per cent) in many organizations.
When asked about potential responsibilities for a merged department, 69 per cent of respondents identified workplace technology and collaboration tools, including automation and artificial intelligence, as a top priority. Other key areas included digital employee experience management (62 per cent), employee digital training (61 per cent) and workforce analytics such as productivity metrics (55 per cent).
Implementation challenges identified
Despite the optimism, 98 per cent of respondents acknowledged there would be challenges to merging HR and IT functions. The most commonly cited obstacles were lack of clear ownership of responsibilities (58 per cent), poor communication between departments (50 per cent) and differing priorities (49 per cent).
The survey also revealed a skills gap that could complicate digital transformation efforts. While 95 per cent of IT leaders said digital skills will be essential to organizational success within three years, only 47 per cent believe their employees currently have adequate technical abilities to adapt to new technologies like generative AI.
Survey methodology
The research was conducted across organizations ranging from 1,500 to more than 5,000 employees. Respondents included 131 board members and C-level executives, 752 senior managers and 217 mid-level managers. The United States accounted for 500 respondents, while the UK, France and Germany each contributed 200 responses.
Nexthink describes itself as a digital employee experience management company that helps organizations optimize workplace technology for their employees.
