The following is an insightful analysis by Pamela Harding, CEO of Metzano, on the changing expectations of Human Resources leaders.
Her analysis covers the key changes that see has seen from 2015 to 2016.
Here is a transcript of her comments.
2015 was a year in which HR leaders accelerated their shift towards a fact-based and business-oriented mindset. A number of research reports and surveys, including the ones below, confirmed that organizations expected their HR leaders to be data-driven and contribute strategically to the business.
Take a look at these reports from 2015 - and others you may know of - and tell me how this shift is progressing in your organization so far in 2016: Is the push towards strategic, data-driven HR leaders continuing to accelerate, or are things at a standstill?
Or conversely, is HR beginning to settle back into its traditional role, for better or for worse?
Changing Expectations of HR Leadership
Harris Poll® on behalf of Visier surveyed 301 corporate executives across America, asking their views on the changing role of HR leadership. The results showed that effective HR leaders were integral to business success:
• 80% of executives agreed their company could not succeed without an assertive, data-driven CHRO
• 81% of executives agreed that when hiring new senior HR talent, they valued business acumen more than technical HR skills
• 78% of executives agreed that their company could not succeed without a CHRO who took on responsibility for contributing directly to business performance
Download the full survey report at http://bit.ly/1Mlit5w
The Changing Role of the CHRO
Research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services found a large gap between what companies wanted from the CHRO and the capabilities that were necessary to deliver it. Among the key findings:
• Companies wanted HR to contribute strategically: 75% said the most important challenge for the CHRO was attracting, retaining, and developing talent
• Business leaders were split over HR’s role: Among respondents with non-HR titles, 39% said that executives at their company believed HR should mainly focus on aligning HR with business strategy. But 38% reported their executive leaders still believed HR should mainly focus on its traditional role of managing benefits, compensation, and compliance.
• Lack of analytical skills was holding HR back: 24% chose this as the biggest obstacle to using data to make effective strategy decisions
Download the full research report at http://bit.ly/1Zqjuvf
About the author: Pamela Harding is described by HR Magazine as ‘An HR Linker and Thinker’, Pamela Harding runs LinkedIn’s largest group of HR professionals. As CEO of Metzano ‘she brings together 1.5 million professionals as they network within more than 100 groups and subgroups on LinkedIn and is community chair of Linked:HR, the largest single profession group on LinkedIn.
