HR in France: symptom or lever of the crisis?

In many companies today, the HR function is there. It exists. It runs. But deep down, it’s not (or no longer) strategic. It doesn’t lead — it reacts. And in a post-pandemic, inflationary, competitive, and uncertain context… That’s become risky.

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What the numbers

• 85% of recruiters cite the low number of applications as the main hiring challenge

• 57,4% of hires were considered "difficult" by the end of 2024

• 12,1% of French companies, across all sectors, report that their activity is limited due to staff shortages

• Nearly 40% of permanents contracts are terminated within the first year of hiring

• 41% of employers observed an increase in turnover in 2024.

So, what's going on?

Companies are growing, pivoting, merging, raising funds... But the HR structure isn't keeping up. Or at least, not fast enough. There are:

• vague job descriptions

• no proper onboarding process

• untrained managers

• employees losing their sens of purpose

• HR strategies driven by urgency,, not intention

The result?

• talents walk away

• recruitment happens on repeat... with no real continuity

• employer branding stalls — or worse, takes a hit

• leaders talk "people"... but spend their time putting out fires

Because we've been confusing HR... with payroll and admin

And above all, because nobody really asks the “why” behind HR.

Why this process? Why this management style? Why this type of hiring? Why this training plan?

Without that vision, without that coherence… we’re just slapping on band-aids.

The truth is, HR challenges in 2025 are not the same as they were in 2015:

• You don’t retain talent with a foosball table

• You don’t solve absenteeism with a “Kindness & Performance” email

• You don’t build engagement with a half-baked wellbeing plan

We need to rethink the foundations. And above all, bring meaning back to HR. Because a company is a living system. And HR? It’s the nervous system.