The bigger the organization, the higher turnover rate in the HRdepartment; For employers with 40 or more HR staff, the averagetenure within the department is just over a year. (Photo:Shutterstock)

It's the job of HR professionals to find ways to not onlyattract talented workers, but retain them as well. Turns out, manyin the HR field are job hoppers, too, according to Namely's“HR Careers Report 2019.”

Individuals in non-management HR positions on average spend 2.2years in their roles, but the average tenure for HR managers — 3.5years – isn't that much better, judging from Namely's database ofmore than 1,000 companies.

Related: Growing importance of HR driving job growth andsalary increases

“So who is responsible keeping HR professionals engaged? Moreoften than not, it's up to the department's leader and theC-Suite,” the authors write. “If HR departments are understaffed,under-resourced, or seen as purely administrative rather than avoice 'at the table,' it's likely that individual representativeswill look to transition to other, more people-centricbusinesses.”

The bigger the organization, the higher turnover rate in the HRdepartment: for employers with 40 or more HR staff, the averagetenure within the department is just over a year. Namely attributesthis to the more complex structure of larger organizations thatnecessitate more specialized roles – as well as more temporaryinterns and contract staff at all levels of the HR department.Those wanting to move up the ladder often see more opportunityelsewhere.

At smaller organizations, however, HR teams are much moreinvolved building processes and fostering a positive culture fromthe ground up, and as such, have a greater stake in hangingaround.

“In small companies, even an entry-level HR specialist plays animportant and strategic role in the employee experience,” theauthors write. “That sense of purpose is hard to replicate, and itmay be fueling long-term retention.”

Job hoppers or not, choosing a career in the HR profession canbe lucrative. The average annual salary for HR non-managers is$75,716, while the average for managers is $135,191 – thoughcompany size has a clear impact on HR professionals' salaries.

“Non-managers hoping to optimize their earnings should look forcompanies with 1 to 50 employees or those with more than 750employees,” the authors write. “Conversely, earnings fornon-managers is lowest at companies with 50 to 750 employees.”

Manager salaries are much more straightforward, rising as thenumber of employees rise – as one would expect. “Managers see aspike in earnings at companies with 300 to 500 employees, whereincreasing team size and direct reports can earn them as much as$148,838 per year, the highest average salary in our dataset,” theauthors write.

If HR professionals stay in the field, they'll likely havestrong earning potential and senior leadership opportunities,according to the report.

“Modern day people teams are expected to be strategic anddata-driven, whilst driving seemingly subjective criteria likeemployee well-being,” the authors write. “If people truly are acompany's most valuable resource, it's hard to overstate an HRprofessional's role in cultivating and maintaining that asset.”

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