Technology like people analytics and human capital management systems are becoming more frequently utilized in businesses with modern HR practices, and this entry into a data-driven model of managing human capital means that Chief Human Resource Officers are no longer viewed as directors of administrative and compliance tasks only, but as valuable strategic partners on the leadership team.
Has modern HCM changed the job duties of CHROs?
Here are the ways that the role of the modern CHRO will continue to grow and change.
1. More Strategic Insight
CHRO positions are no longer relegated to strategy behind hiring and recruiting, but are being made a more integral part of a holistic business strategy that considers things like how to bring in better quality people to support the business mission, as well as what the company responsibility is to create employee engagement across the enterprise to drive productivity and decrease expensive turnover or negative business reputation.
2. More Departmental Partnerships
Technology may be the driving force behind many HCM systems, but CHROs have a much better time implementing successful technology when they utilize their IT or technology teams. Previously, HR and IT teams may have only crossed paths at company-wide meetings or during a helpdesk issue. Now, though, CHROs and CIOs are having to work together more frequently to find technology solutions that will benefit the whole business and integrate data across all business units. CHROs may even find themselves in the position of chatting with hiring managers or department heads to suggest moving people around into new roles if new HCM data suggests that the talents and skills of an existing employee may be a good fit for an open position. While these conversations were certainly happening before, the data gathered and analyzed through HCM processes is bringing CHROs into contact with more employees for more business reasons than ever before.
3. Increased Focus on People
While CHROs will need to be involved in the overall business strategy, their main function will be to advocate for their employees and create processes that help the business meet strategic goals by empowering and equipping their people to get there. HR leaders like CHROs are increasingly faced with the need to advocate for their employees because it’s best for business (and also the right thing to do) and also helps move forward business goals and objectives. Sometimes these things feel at odds within a company, and the role of CHRO needs to grow to help bring these two areas more in line.
4. More Complex Responsibilities
With a growing emphasis on data to inform HR decisions, many C-suite HR positions are being filled by people who haven’t worked their whole career in HR leadership. Having cross-functional experience to draw from is becoming more desirable in CHRO candidates, as the responsibilities for CHRO have become increasingly complex and require leadership skills and business acumen to both drive HR performance and motivate human resources teams but also help build a strategy that integrates HR processes more solidly into the overall business plan.
Using HCM systems means that leadership has a wealth of information that they didn’t have access to or analyzation of before. That means that CHRO employees are now responsible for helping to answer questions like, “Does our company culture fundamentally need to change to address this high turnover rate? Do we need to address our organizational competencies to make working here less complex and confusing for employees? Will these changes increase our productivity and reduce expensive turnover?” While HR leadership has always dealt with these questions in one way or another, HCM data has brought in more opportunities to align the HR goals with the competencies of other departments and make HR progress more tangible and even help them achieve HR goals faster.
An increasingly integrated workplace can bring greater efficiency, but also comes with challenges and changes. CHROs may find that their roles are growing more complex and varied, but many of these changes mean that they have more of a role in the overall leadership and strategic vision responsible for the success of the business.
