Most HR pros see disconnect between their job title and the actual work they do

In the HR field, there’s no shortage of titles to describe exactly what employees do.

Some companies have moved away from the traditional CHRO title for their HR chiefs, instead calling them chief people officers or chief human experience officers. As the field grows, so do the roles and responsibilities of folks working in it—a January LinkedIn report documented niche titles for HR professionals, for example, such as “human resources analytics manager” and “employee experience manager.”

The proliferation of responsibilities assigned to HR employees may be leading to a mismatch between work expectations and work execution, according to a recent poll conducted by Harris Poll in partnership with HR Brew. Most HR pros see a disconnect between their title and the actual work they do, the survey found, and want more training and development from their companies.

Title ≠ job. The poll findings draw from a survey conducted between Oct. 20 and Oct. 29 of 4,240 Americans, 1,121 of whom identified as employed HR professionals.

Almost seven in 10 HR pros (69%) agreed that their current title doesn’t reflect the work they do. This might mean, for example, that they’re asked to do more than expected, or take on work outside of their role. The sentiment held true across the board, with 68% of non-managerial employees, 68% of HR pros at the manager/director level, and 71% of respondents at the VP/CPO level agreeing their title doesn’t reflect their work.

The desire for training and development was also evident among HR pros surveyed, with 78% agreeing that their company could provide them with more of these opportunities. Even HR employees who have presumably reached the higher rungs of their organizations—VPs and CPOs—see room for growth when it comes to their companies’ approaches to L&D, with 80% strongly or somewhat agreeing their firms could provide more training and development.

Looking to leave HR. When employees are asked to take on responsibilities outside of their job title and description, it can pose a conundrum for their career development, particularly if they aren’t being offered higher compensation.

Though HR departments are juggling myriad challenges, it’s worth considering how employees might react before adding more to their plates.

At the same time that most HR pros are being asked to perform tasks outside the scope of their role, more than one-half are also seeking to leave the profession, the Harris Poll survey found. Some 57% said they were looking to switch out of HR roles in the near future, with over one-quarter (26%) strongly agreeing. And the same share said they believed they’d need to switch companies to achieve a significant raise.