The strategic partnership: What CEOs and CHROs expect from one another

Human capital is now integral to achieving strategic objectives and sustainable growth, necessitating a close relationship between the CEO and CHRO. This partnership is essential for driving organisational change, tackling the growing number of talent challenges, and ensuring agility in response to market dynamics.

Together, they shape the culture, enhance employee engagement, and build a workforce that is aligned with the company's mission and future direction. Understanding the expectations CEOs and CHROs have of one another is critical for their joint success. 

What CEOs expect and want from their CHROs:

Help develop the next generation of leaders

CEOs look to CHROs to develop the next-generation of leaders and continuously evolve role criteria to ensure senior managers and leaders are equipped for the future. This includes crafting strategies that align with the organisation's long-term vision and ensuring this is supported through leadership development programmes.  Both expectations will be challenging for CHROs. Almost 40% of employees now say they never want to become managers, placing constraints on the leadership pipeline. At the same time, significant cultural and technological shifts are driving changes in leadership, necessitating CHROs to stay ahead of a rapidly evolving leadership paradigm.

Maintain morale during times of crisis

The pandemic thrust CHROs into the spotlight, tasking them with the transition to remote work, prioritising employee health, managing communication, and implementing EWSS. Now, leaders are bracing for workforce disruptions triggered by Gen AI, which could lead to job losses and necessitate extensive upskilling. Additionally, the escalating mental health crisis presents formidable challenges in maintaining employee engagement. 

As a result, CEOs expect CHROs to be adept in crisis management. In particular, they now count on their CHROs to bolster workforce resilience, ensuring the organisation is agile enough to adapt quickly to new challenges and sustain operational continuity.

Foster united cultures and resilient employees

Organisations continue to face hybrid work challenges and external geopolitical and socioeconomic pressures. CEOs count on CHROs to reshape corporate culture and adapt to these new conditions. This means managing change effectively, fostering a connected culture in a physically disconnected work environment, and ensuring the organisation’s values are reflected in every aspect of the employee experience.

In particular, many organisations are struggling with employee and leadership resilience, productivity, and unity. CEOs will look to their CHROs to help solve these challenges. 

Lead sustainability initiatives

Nearly 40% of employees wouldn’t accept a job if they did not agree with the views of the organisation’s leadership. Corporate sustainability is one of these views and a non-negotiable commitment for huge numbers of job seekers. 

CEOs therefore expect CHROs to lead sustainability initiatives, and increasingly, see them playing a greater role in setting sustainability strategy and goals. This includes promoting a culture of sustainability and embedding sustainability goals into talent management practices to attract and retain talent, drive employee engagement, and improve reputation and branding.  

What CHROs expect and want from their CEOs:

Recognise talent challenges as central to organisational strategy

Workforce dynamics are evolving, with flexible working and employee well-being becoming non-negotiable for talent attraction and retention. CHROs expect CEOs to understand this new landscape, prioritise talent challenges, and shift toward a human-centric approach in leadership and organisational strategy.

In particular, CHROs want CEOs to view the employee as an asset, rather than a cost. Part of this means aligning organisational objectives with the needs and values of the workforce to help foster resilience and talent competitiveness.

Clearly communicate vision and goals

The business landscape is increasingly complex while evolving workforce dynamics create novel challenges. In this environment, it is imperative CEOs articulate a clear vision and goals, providing a strategic framework for CHROs to align HR objectives with. 

This communication is crucial for CHROs to effectively support the organisation’s direction, foster a unified culture, and guide talent management practices that propel the company toward its goals. It enables CHROs to tailor initiatives that support the broader mission, ensuring every function contributes cohesively to the overarching objectives.

Empowerment to be strategic collaborators

89% of CEOs say HR should have a central role in the business, yet only 45% of CEOs say they are creating the conditions for HR to lead business growth successfully. This is recognised by CHROs who want CEOs to empower them as strategic collaborators in shaping business strategy alongside the board.

This empowerment includes involving CHROs in discussions that align HR strategies with overall business objectives, and acknowledging the strategic value CHROs bring in navigating complex workforce dynamics. This collaboration underscores the evolving role of CHROs, who have firmly transitioned from functional leaders to key strategic partners.

Support for culture and values

A values-based culture is now critical for attracting top talent, and retaining and engaging employees. Leaders must live and breathe these values for them to become embedded and bought into by the workforce.

CHROs therefore look to CEOs to actively promote and embody the organisation's culture and values, with passion and authenticity. This top-down support is crucial for fostering an inclusive and positive workplace environment. However, just 25% of employees say their organisation’s leaders are passionate and inspire them to be the best. CHROs will need their CEOs committed to this endeavour if they are to close this gap.  

Odgers Berndtson is a local executive search firm with a global reach. We help identify, assess, and appoint CEOs and CHROs from an expansive network of national and international leadership talent. For more information or help with your next leadership appointment, get in touch: mark.odonnell@odgersberndtson.com