The pandemic highlighted the importance of HR, and it is now regarded as a key player at board level across organisations. In 2023, it will continue to support as businesses navigate economic uncertainty. HR is agile and will remain important in setting up strong employer branding and attraction, as well as pushing forward key agendas and policies across equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) and environmental, social and governance matters.
Companies with a strong brand and culture are seeing more quality HR candidates, which aligns to the progress of ED&I and businesses realising they need an engaged, inclusive workplace to achieve the best from their staff.
Here’s what’s involved in some of the highest paid roles according to our 2023 human resources salary guide:
Training manager - £53,300 average national salary
Develops and administers online and offline employee training programmes. Evaluates training and development needs, implements delivery of skills and knowledge across the workforce, and monitors the efficacy of training.
Operations manager - £56,200 average national salary
Maintains internal HR operations, including overseeing the day-to-day administrative tasks of the department or team. Budget management, policy and strategy planning for recruitment, governance and employee relations will also fall under the duties of this varied role.
Manager - £56,400 average national salary
Plans, coordinates, and directs administrative functions. They oversee recruitment processes and measures and act as a link between an organisation’s management and its employees.
Project manager - £71,400 average national salary
Oversees the implementation and delivery of projects designed to enhance and improve the HR function. The role involves management of the HR team or department, including change management, health and safety, employee evaluations, and performance reviews.
Reward manager - £71,900 average national salary
Supports the design and delivery of a company’s reward and recognition programmes, including discounts, incentive schemes, benefits and employee recognition. The role has become increasingly important as part of the attraction and retention of staff.
Employee rewards and benefits
Reed conducted a snap survey of 5,000 UK workers at the end of 2022. The questionnaire asked them about their current and preferred salary and benefits, their organisation’s performance and priorities, how they rated their job security and the future of their sector, and the key recruitment and skills trends they’re witnessing.
Offering higher salaries may not be viable for many organisations as we battle recession and difficult financial times, so the benefits an organisation offers can potentially tip the balance when people are considering changing jobs.
Of the optional benefits companies provide, flexibility over how, where and when professionals work was among the most common. The majority of workers are now working either on a hybrid basis (39%) or fully remotely (17%).
Nonetheless, flexi working came out top as the most common benefit, with 23% of workers being offered it; coming in second place was annual salary increments (19%) and a company pension that is higher than the required amount (18%).
Analysing the survey results, for the most part, the benefits employers are offering match up with what workers are asking for, but there are still some areas where businesses could align their benefits packages to the wishes of employees. The most popular benefits this year were financial – including salary increments and performance bonuses, and even though these fall into the top benefits employers offer, they aren’t as high up in level of importance in comparison to employee preferences.
Get the guide
For more information on salaries and benefits in the human resources sector, download our free salary guide. This guide will give you all the tools you need to effectively benchmark salaries against your competitors, giving you the edge when it comes to recruiting in this challenging climate.
