Doing More With Less in HR: Pressures, Trade‑Offs and Opportunities

by Caroline Green

Workforce pressures, shrinking budgets, an uncertain future and rising redundancies all point to one reality: the need for HR to do more with less. Caroline Green talked to a group of HR professionals to examine the lows, and surprising highs, that accompany tackling that challenge, and offers practical ways organisations can cope.

Why are HR teams being asked to do more with less? 

I began by asking what the key drivers behind being asked to do more with less were. As Abby Lacey, Head of Business Operations and an HR professional at a not-for-profit/education organisation, put it: “I’m not experiencing it myself, but the reasons others are is – money!”

Many agreed about this, with an HR professional noting the pressure this creates for HR teams: “With concerns around cash flow, there’s a higher proportion of cost alignment activity that needs HR input, while at the same time many organisations see HR as less business-critical as it’s non-revenue-generating and have cut back HR teams accordingly.”

All believed the trend would continue “until the world stabilises economically”, with added pressure from factors like the implementation of the measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA), increased national insurance contributions and a rising national minimum wage, prompting employers to cut wage costs or demand higher productivity.

The practice is both explicit and implicit, as an HR co-ordinator said: “Sometimes we are told openly to do more with less and sometimes it’s more of an unsaid/understood thing to get the most done with less.” And that “less” takes a variety of forms: reduced headcount, less time or a shrinking budget.

All believed the trend would continue “until the world stabilises economically”, with added pressure from factors like the implementation of the measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA), increased national insurance contributions and a rising national minimum wage, prompting employers to cut wage costs or demand higher productivity.

What challenges does this bring? 

The group also highlighted the wide-ranging challenges of doing more with less. There could be unrealistic expectations on the part of senior management, for one thing. One HR senior leader warned that “not being able to meet the goals can lead to performance issues”, creating extra work for HR through formal processes and manager support.

Another noted that “key work can be rushed and left half-measure rather than carried to completion”. Others focused on the human cost: Abby pointed to “reduced budgets, smaller teams therefore increased workloads, reduced employee support leading to fatigue”; another said they were already seeing the impact on employees: negativity, burnout and fatigue. Put simply, it was “demoralising”.

Are there opportunities too?

Barely in a whisper, I asked whether doing more with less offered any opportunities – and was surprised by the response. My group saw many, highlighting two key themes.

The first was creativity. Many felt the increased demands could drive “innovation – thinking outside the box”. They linked this to “increased resilience and grit” and a welcome chance to “multitask and develop new skills”.

The second was technology. One person suggested “looking at task automation” so teams can “focus on what matters”. Abby agreed, saying HR would be “turning a lot to automating tasks to save time and ‘clicks’”.

The group also identified advantages for HR. As organisations grapple with doing more with less, HR could take the lead on organisation design, employment law changes and upskilling for the future. One HR professional highlighted “the opportunity to put accountability where it belongs and allow HR to become a true partner to the business rather than the doer”. Others felt this shift was already “making better business partners out of HR”. Abby noted technology’s “positive impacts such as things taking less time – worth investing the effort out front”. Another contact noted, “Overdelivering with less resource makes you wonder what you can achieve with more budget and resource.”

Making a success of less

With this approach set to stay, and challenges and opportunities both clear, the question now is how HR can help businesses make “more with less” succeed.

Take your time

HR can help organisations avoid kneejerk cuts by taking a strategic, productivity-focused approach. It’s not simply about having fewer people, it’s about having the right skills, clear development plans and technology that enables teams to work smarter.HR also plays a key role in keeping skills, culture and teamwork at the centre of change. Even when redundancies are necessary, HR can ensure outplacement support for those leaving, and focused upskilling and wellbeing support for those who remain. This isn’t just morally right, it makes good business sense as happy employees are productive employees.

The AI conundrum

When discussing how to do more with less, technology, especially AI, was the obvious focus. The group debated whether AI is genuinely helping or simply driving the expectation to be more productive with less resource. Views were mixed.

Abby felt technology is taking a “huge role in managing workloads and saving time”. Another HR professional said, “AI will eventually step in but I haven’t seen it reduce the administrative burden yet.” A third agreed that AI helps, but only slightly so far, saying it’s “not cutting down time significantly”.

Organisation design isn’t just about job titles, it’s about removing blockers so that work can flow smoothly and productivity increases. That might involve improving cross-team working, clarifying budget ownership or redesigning processes so they enable rather than hinder.

Erica Farmer, author of AI for People Professionals, suggests it’s not about doing more with less, it’s about a “less but better” mindset. She suggests that HR can lead by example. When it comes to all things including technology, ask: “Does this truly make work better for our people and our organisation?”  Further tips include:

1. Choose intuitive AI tools that make work easier, not heavier. The right tools shouldn’t need an army of trainers to implement; they should feel natural to use and add value from day one.
2. You don’t need dozens of tools to look innovative.
3. HR has an opportunity to partner with technology which can result in a better outcome for everyone.

Organisation design

Another approach is maximising the potential of the workforce you already have by ensuring a strong, well-designed organisation structure. As noted in a previous article on the ERA changes, getting your house in order is never wasted effort, whatever the circumstances. This can mean tightening policies and procedures or stepping back to assess whether the overall organisation design still works for now and the future.

Organisation design isn’t just about job titles, it’s about removing blockers so that work can flow smoothly and productivity increases. That might involve improving cross-team working, clarifying budget ownership or redesigning processes so they enable rather than hinder.

Don’t do more, do better

HR plays a key role during any period of change. As Abby says, “We have been under a period of huge change and as such impacted workloads. Regular check-ins with the right teams, flexibility and understanding all contribute to helping the ship stay on course!”  And as Erica puts it, “HR doesn’t need to do more to make impact; it needs to do better.