Budget constraints and ongoing restructure are set to be HR’s biggest challenges in 2010, according to a survey from recruitment process outsourcer Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS).

The Recruitment Barometer survey suggested that while the industry appears to be stabilising after the economic crisis with 66 per cent of budgets remaining unchanged and one fifth of budgets expected to increase in the coming year, HR departments will still have to manage with limited resources to achieve business objectives.

When HR managers were asked to identify their top priority for the coming year, the survey indicated the top four investment areas for 2010 were employee retention and engagement programmes, training and coaching candidate attraction programmes and recruitment and technology investment in HR.

These findings suggest HR departments are anticipating job movements amongst employees as the economic climate improves and are seeking to counteract this by boosting their retention and development strategies.

Tom Marsden, director of professional services at Alexander Mann Solutions said: “Although the restrictions of the recession aren’t over yet, companies are recognising that in 2010, they will need to take steps to retain their workforce.

“The fact that just 20% of HR departments are working with a single recruitment supplier indicates that there is significant room for greater efficiencies in this area, using numerous suppliers on an ad hoc basis makes each hire a significant budget drain as these agencies can be paid as much as 35 per cent of the hire’s salary,” he added.