Nearly half of CHROs dedicate less than 10% of their time to strategic planning, potentially hindering their ability to boost business productivity!
Nicolas BEHBAHANI
Global People Analytics & HR Data Leader - People & Culture | Strategical People Analytics Design
💡 75% of leaders, including CHROs, are considering a career move in the next 12 months.
⚠️ Near half of CHROs spend less than 10% of their time on strategy due to operational emergencies and immediate issue management and 58% of CHROs identified burnout, exhaustion, and mental health as their biggest challenge.
☝️ In my yesterday's post, we examined how CHRO turnover decreased in the last quarter of 2024. However, this trend may shift rapidly due to emerging data. CHROs are increasingly tasked with tackling complex issues related to employee well-being, mental health, and technology adoption, frequently lacking sufficient support or resources.
📈 Organizations with a compelling Employer Value Proposition (EVP) and employer brand strategy report positive impacts on talent attraction, engagement, and retention, according to a new interesting research published by Blu Ivy Group using data 📊 from 500+ quantitative surveys with CHROs and People Leaders across North America and 50+ in-depth, long format qualitative interviews with CHROs across North America between February-May 2024.
✅The HR Leaders crisis
Researchers discovered that CHROs find themselves disproportionately burdened with operational emergencies and recurring online meetings with international colleagues, leaving little to no time in their days for strategic contributions.
HR leaders express a growing misalignment between their personal values and those of their organizations, this divergence for many has become more pronounced in 2024.
✅The critical needs of CHROs
Researchers found that understanding what CHROs value most in their roles and employers is crucial for retaining top HR talent.
They listed below the top needs for any CHRO today:
1️⃣ Caliber of leadership Team
2️⃣ Trust and transparency
3️⃣ CEO vision/Reporting
4️⃣ Kindness & Respect
The pace of transformation and change management within organizations demands executive teams with high degrees of trust and credibility. When trust is lacking, HR initiatives face significant resistance and slower adoption, hindering overall progress and effectiveness.
✅CHROs as the pioneers of AI transformation
Research indicates that a significant 75% of CHROs consider AI solutions to be a crucial priority for the future of Human Resources and business operations.
💥 This goes beyond a mere trend; it is a strategic imperative.
Here are some AI solutions CHROs are most eager to implement:
1. Efficiency Tools: Automating repetitive HR and payroll tasks, freeing up valuable time and resources.
2. Candidate Matching and Screening Platforms: Advanced applicant tracking systems to quickly analyze job requirements and candidate profiles, reducing time to fill positions with top talent.
3. Onboarding Automation: Streamlining the onboarding process by automating tasks such as paperwork, orientation, and training.
4. Performance Management Systems: Providing real-time feedback, identifying skill gaps, and recommending personalized development plans for employees.
5. AI-Powered Learning Platforms: Delivering personalized learning experiences and tracking employee progress based on individual needs and preferences.
6. Predictive Analytics: Analyzing data on employee engagement, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, performance reviews, and exit interviews to identify turnover factors and provide real-time insights to enhance company performance and improve retention of top talent.
✅An Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is a crucial driver of business results.
When researchers investigated the efforts in Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and employer branding, over half of the HR leaders who had developed an EVP reported that it was yielding the outcomes they were aiming for.
💡 Numerous CHROs have indicated that introducing the new Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and employer brand experience will be a primary focus for their businesses in the upcoming year.
Special emphasis will be placed on aligning the EVP with internal employees and enhancing its activation both internally and externally.
📍 Finally, researchers offer the following recommendations for CEOs to prioritize a collaborative and supportive relationship with their CHRO:
✔️ Establish a Renewed Strategic Partnership with CHROs:
Recognize and appreciate their role in crisis management and navigation. Listen to their ideas for improving culture, engagement, and pride. Understand how they need better support in terms of resourcing, executive team commitments, and workload balancing.
✔️ Prioritize HRs Strategic Contributions:
Explore with CHROs the roles they need to hire, outsource, or get fractional leadership support for, including employee wellness, coaching, PR, recruitment marketing, project management, and leadership development. Make room for HR budget to cover investment in AI, and resources, so that your CHRO can focus on longer-term planning and strategic contributions to culture, company reputation, and business growth.
✔️ Understand What Leaders Need and Rebuild Pride and Commitment:
Meet with your CHROs to understand what managers and directors need most. Conduct active listening sessions now, across all levels of the organization and build leadership and employee value propositions so that you understand and can commit to giving more of what your talent is seeking in their daily experience.
✔️ Formalize your listening strategy Understanding:
the deeper issues that are facing your individual contributors, HR Leaders, and People leaders requires collecting and listening to impartial feedback. Being open to ideas and suggestions, as well as recognizing employee’s contributions is vital in today’s climate.
☝️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
This interesting research has unveiled alarming insights about CHROs, showing that they spend less than 10% of their time on strategy due to operational emergencies and immediate issue management.
The suggestions from researchers for CEOs are quite intriguing, as they provide guidance on balancing the immediate need to address shareholder and board performance with the looming crisis in human capital. It is critically important for organizations to find a balance between short-term crisis management and long-term strategic planning to foster sustained business growth.
Thank you 🙏 Blu Ivy Group researchers team for these insightful findings:
Stacy Parker Leandra Harris Japneet Gill, CHRL
👉 Follow me as a LinkedIn Top Voice on LinkedIn (+40 000), and click the 🔔 at the top of my profile page to stay on top of the latest on new best HR, People Analytics, Human Capital and Future of Work research, become more effective in your HR function and support your business, and join the conversation on my posts.
👉 Join more than 19,000+ people and subscribe to receive my Weekly People Research
Everyday, I share a new research article about People Analytics, Human Capital, HR analytics, Human Resources, Talent,…
Branch Manager at Unilever Nigeria plc
3moGod bless you boss
HR Director - Transformation & Change
3moI seem to bang on about this way too much. If you want to be taken seriously by your C-suite peers, get the HR Ops stuff right first and then you'll have the 'brain space' to be strategic and properly earn your seat at the top table.
Human Resource Professional | MBA | Coporate Recruiting Professional- ASA | Ex-Wirtgen Group,A John Deere Company
3moThought-provoking research! Today CHROs are increasingly expected to serve as strategic partners rather than just operational managers, yet the disconnect between their strategic aspirations and daily realities is a significant challenge. Organizations need to rethink their approach to supporting HR leaders—not just by providing resources, but by fundamentally reshaping the CHRO role to enable meaningful strategic impact. The evolving landscape requires us to see HR leadership not as reactive problem-solvers, but as strategic architects of company culture and transformation. This means redefining the CHRO's scope to focus more on strategic initiatives—such as new technological integration and enhancing the employee value proposition—by offloading routine tasks through delegation, technology, or outsourcing. Thank you for sharing this valuable insight!
Industry Veteran | Exploring Future of Work | Great Manager’s Coach & Mentor
3mo🙏 Thanks for sharing, Nicolas BEHBAHANI. 10% time at CHRO level for Strategy planning - It's a bit "DTD" Different To Digest. ♨️ ➕ Additionally, any exigencies - especially prevalent in the current times - are also considered within the strategic framework OR in strategic directions. 🫥 While I maintain some skepticism about the research findings, I still hold respect for the diligent work done by the researchers. 🙌 ❓ Board support to CHRO's: STRATEGY: (Inclusive) A well-planned & executed strategy ensures that CHROs spend less time on operational emergencies: S: Show & Share Strategic direction. T: Translate into KPIs for regular monitoring. R: Conduct Regular Reviews & track Results. A: Establish an Accountability Matrix. T: Technology Time Table (implementation) to be proper. E: Energize, Engage, & Explore new approaches. G: Gatherings for effective collaboration (e.g., town halls). Y: Yields are important - Focus on yield (measured in financial terms).
HR Manager | AlRabat Business Group | PHR Certification | Aligning Business Goals with Stakeholders | Driving HR Strategies
3moIt's a daily reality that CHROs are often pulled into urgent challenges that demand immediate attention, consuming energy that could be better spent on strategic initiatives. In many organizations, there's a high level of trust placed in CHROs to manage these crises, but this often leads to them focusing on tasks that are somewhat removed from their core responsibilities. I've personally encountered this, and it’s a challenge that can be alleviated with a stronger focus on HR digitalization and technology. By leveraging these tools, we can offload many operational tasks, freeing CHROs to contribute more strategically to the business.