Hello PPMA members and friends

This summer we ran the 2025 President’s Survey to take the pulse of the HR community across public services. In our 50th year the aim was simple: surface what’s really happening on the ground, turn those insights into practical action and shape the PPMA agenda for the years ahead. What follows isn’t a countdown of lessons, but a clear picture of where we are now and what needs to change.

Learning and development: present, but uneven

Professional development is the oxygen of a healthy profession. Most respondents told us they have access to the learning they need to do their job, with training “always” or “mostly” available. But the story shifts when we look at progression.

Only a minority feel their organisation invests significantly in their long-term development, and a notable share described that investment as minimal. Self-directed CPD remains a strength, yet time and funding still block too many. The basics are in place; the depth isn’t.

We need leaders to recognise that sustained investment in development lifts the whole organisation, not just the HR function.

Valued as a partner but firefighting dominates our work

Across the survey, HR practitioners tell us they feel valued, but not consistently as a strategic partner. Too often we’re perceived as necessary support rather than a driver of outcomes.

That perception is reinforced by the daily reality: teams pulled into urgent problem-solving at the expense of forward planning and system change. Encouragingly, most colleagues feel able to challenge peers and bring new ideas forward; fewer feel able to do so always. The credibility is there, but the conditions to use it aren’t.

The shift we need is simple to describe and hard to do: reclaim time from firefighting, secure visible senior sponsorship and anchor HR at the right altitude so people strategy powers service delivery.

Culture we shape and the learning we’re missing

There is real cause for optimism. Most respondents feel they can influence organisational culture, and a substantial group describe that influence as significant.

Culture is where strategy becomes behaviour, and HR can be the catalyst. Yet we are not maximising the wider ecosystem. Fewer than half say their organisations regularly learn from other HR teams or sectors, and a sizeable minority say this rarely happens.

In a field facing shared workforce challenges, not borrowing proven ideas is a missed opportunity. We can accelerate progress by looking over the fence more often and by sharing what works, warts and all.

What will move the dial now

When we asked what would make HR more effective, the answers converged. We need capacity and targeted investment to shift time from reactive work to proactive change. We need consistent sponsorship from senior leaders so HR has a clear mandate to lead on the people systems that enable performance. We need modern, integrated technology – including thoughtful use of AI – to automate the routine and surface better insight.

But to achieve that we also need an operating model that places HR at the top table, with expectations and measures that reflect that role.

Where this takes us next

For me, the survey crystallises a simple truth. We have the expertise and the appetite to lead transformation, but we need the conditions to do so: time reclaimed from the churn, sponsorship that clears the path and tools that let talent breathe.

Over the coming months we’ll be using these findings to prioritise the work of the PPMA and influence peers in the sector.

But as we move forward, your role as members is important too. For this survey, we had just under 100 responses from in a profession that numbers in the thousands across UK public services. If we want to progress our profession and have greater impact for our organisations, we have to speak up and shape our own destinies.

Your voice sharpens the picture of what’s happening on the ground and strengthens our hand when we argue for investment, influence and change.

It’s really important that we ask for and hear your views. So when our next survey goes live, please complete it and encourage colleagues to do the same. Tell us what’s working and where you’re stuck. The more of us who contribute, the clearer our mandate becomes and the faster we’ll move from busy to better.

If you took part this time, thank you. If you didn’t, this is your invitation to join in. Let’s use our collective voice to set the agenda for the year ahead and show, together, what fearless HR can do. And in any case please make sure you share the findings where you can to inform your work and the evolution of your organisations.

Read the full results –  Presidents Survey Results Summary Aug25.

Pam Parkes, PPMA President