The Chief Human Resources Officer’s role is expanding in response to changes in workforce demographics and expectations, technological impacts on work, and social equity challenges. Organizational growth and scaling will depend on a CHRO who collaborates with the CEO, C-Suite, and leaders on an organization-wide basis. -BY DONNA CHAN

The role of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) was expanding before the pandemic, but during the pandemic, the transition to a strategic role rapidly accelerated. People were the focus during the pandemic, and people’s expectations about employers and the value of work changed. As companies emerged from the pandemic, they quickly learned that future success depends on understanding both the needs of people in the labor market and the needs of employees. The most people-oriented executive is the CHRO, and that person is assuming a strategic role in people planning over the long term. There is a need for data-driven human capital decision-making and a greater understanding of changing labor market demographics, employee expectations about work, and technology. This is changing things such as workforce size and the type of employee skills needed both now and in the future. As companies look ahead, they recognize that their ability to compete in the labor market for the right talent and retain talent across the organization is essential to future growth and scaling, putting the CHRO into a role as a strategic collaborator and decision-maker.

A New Mandate for the CHRO

Everything to do with the workforce has radically changed, and people are now empowered. Some changes were in progress pre-pandemic, but during the pandemic period, changes accelerated, and everything from work schedules to how the employer addresses technology and social justice has become of interest to potential and current employees. Human Resources had to step up and respond to the challenges, and there is no stepping back. In many organizations, the CHRO leads a function that CEOs are increasingly turning to for strategic human capital planning. The Board, CEO, and C-suite are facing challenges that include remaining competitive in a global labor market, reskilling and upskilling employees in response to technology changing work and displacing millions of jobs that will be automated, and adapting to employee perceptions about everything from work-life balance to diversity, equity, and inclusion to the organization’s social justice impact.

The Great Resignation is morphing into the Great Reshuffle. People are empowered to find and accept jobs aligned with their values and career plans. If a job in an industry does not meet work and social expectations, they are willing to change jobs and switch occupations. Posting a job with a list of required qualifications and job duties is no longer enough to remain competitive in hiring and retaining talent. People want to know the corporate values, organizational culture, investment in people’s careers, benefits for themselves and family, and the total expected employee experience. Everything is about people. A company will only move ahead when it can maintain the right teams throughout the organization. The CHRO is in the position of having the ability to have an enterprise-wide impact. The Accenture Chair & CEO, Julie Sweet, believes, “You need to look at your CHRO as being a business leader who’s driving your growth and reinvention. And you need to empower them to follow through on that mandate.” Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership & Human Resources Officer at Accenture, writes, “CHROs who focus on data, people and tech can unlock growth, boost revenue, and accelerate reinvention. This innovative cohort of empowered CHROs can fuel tech-driven insights and boundaryless collaboration to view business strategy in high resolution.” The CHROs are leading C-suite peers in this direction through their skills proficiencies in systems thinking, leadership, financial acumen, technology and data, business acumen, and strategic talent development. They have strong relationships with the CEO, CFO, CTO, and COO and build networks across organizations and industries, leading to innovation through collaboration.

Blending HR Strategy With Other Functions

The collaboration between the CHRO, CEO, C-suite, and Board is crucial to the success of any organization today. HR strategies need to be in line with overall business objectives, making it necessary for CHROs to be involved in strategy development in areas such as talent acquisition, employee engagement, talent development, and workforce diversity and inclusion. However, and as Accenture points out, they also need to be involved in other areas that are not typically the responsibility of the CHRO, such as product innovation and capital allocation. The CEO and Board need the willingness to break free of perceptions of the CHRO as working in a silo in which talent management and compliance are separate from the other functions. When the CFO looks at the data and decides there should be major cutbacks, the CHRO in the strategic role collaborates with the CFO to develop a plan that keeps the company relevant in the labor market going forward and minimizes the impact on the current workforce.

With an understanding that everything the company does impacts employees and how potential employees perceive the company, the expectation for CHROs is that they contribute to strategic planning on ESG, global workforce processes, hybrid and remote workforce strategizing, employee skills transitioning, DEI, and other key areas that impact competitiveness. They are collaborating with the Board of Directors to address issues of importance to the activist community pushing for positive social changes.

Becoming the CHRO Strategist

How does the CHRO move towards becoming a strategist? Society for Human Resource Management CEO Johnny Taylor says HR executives need to become full members of the business, and change their perspective from labor planning to work planning. A growing body of work can be outsourced or automated, so the CHRO should take the lead in assessing current work processes and collaborating with function leaders to strategize work planning. Tim Massa, SVP and Chief People Officer at The Kroger Co, recommends that HR executives focus on employee well-being, ensuring they have the resources needed for a set of circumstances like the pandemic. Leadership listening is crucial to ensuring the organization remains responsive. Monique Herena, Chief Colleague Experience Officer at American Express, says CHROs need to focus on the future of work, and be change managers by developing strong relationships with key company stakeholders. Being data-informed is crucial to gaining a deep understanding of the business in financial management, data, digital, and analytics.

There are changes impacting the workforce that are still in the early stages. For example, SHRM research has found there will be a significant change in workforce composition, with fewer full-time employees and more part-time and gig workers, and more use of digital automation assistants. A good example of the change in the CHRO’s role is that the HR professional would traditionally focus on processes like layoffs or replacing humans with bots. In a strategic role, the CHRO collaborates with the CEO and C-suite to build a new “blended workforce of humans working with bots.”

Making an Organization Wide Impact

For HR leaders who aspire to become business strategists, building strong relationships with the CEO, C-suite and leadership team members is imperative. It's crucial to have a deep understanding of the company's goals, objectives, challenges, and opportunities. By doing so, HR leaders can establish themselves as valuable strategic partners and make significant contributions to the organization's overall success.