The Robert Walters Career Lifestyle Survey is based on a poll of 755 professionals within the UK. It suggests 40% of HR professionals see feedback as "very important" for their careers, compared to 29% of accountants and 20% who work in IT or sales.
Conversely, HR professionals are the least likely to see remuneration as the most important factor in their job satisfaction. Only 31% see it as "very important" for career satisfaction, compared to 52% in marketing and 62% in financial services.
Reinsurance specialists SCOR HR manager, learning and talent development Sabrina Kruse told HR magazine HR professionals tend to value "people and processes".
"What they bring more than anything else is business acumen, so they tend to value being a partner to the business," she said. "Communication with the people in the business will be key."
Robert Walters director of legal, HR and support Colin Loth added that many HR professionals "know from their own work the influences and drives that matter most to employees."
"A good illustration of this is pay," he said. "Benchmarking salaries against current market rates does help prevent employees from being poached by competitors, but what counts most at a day-to-day level are balanced working hours, opportunities to learn and the chance to progress."
