Must Have Skills for CHROs

By HRMAM

With five generations all in one workplace, the workforce of the future will look much different than it does today. As these changes occur, research shows that HR leaders are preparing in diverse ways to assume this challenging role. Among the findings of a recent Aon Hewitt study:

• 73% of the study participants have changed their industry at least once in their career. According to Aon, a change in industry leads to an increase in the velocity with which a CHRO aspirant progresses in their career

o   Those who never changed industry had an average work experience of 27.5 years, and an average tenure of just four years as CHRO

o   Those who had changed their industry more than three times had the highest average tenure as a CHRO (seven years), and the lowest average work experience (23.3 years).

• 24% took a rotation or assignment in a line role (outside of HR) to build their business and commercial acumen
• 65% indicated “business knowledge” as a key competency they required, but it was also among the competencies for which they felt least prepared

 “CHROs have become critical stakeholders in defining the strategy of a firm, and they are expected to tackle the HR challenges and evolving expectations of a dynamic workplace environment that will consist of constant change, calculated risk taking and evolving expectations from top stakeholders,” said Madeline Avedon, associate partner, HR effectiveness, Aon Hewitt. “Those well-equipped to achieve the greatest success will have diverse skill sets, be adaptable and agile, and gain hands-on learning from working through real life situations and acquiring knowledge across disciplines and industries.”

When participants from a recent Aon Hewitt study were asked about some of the emerging capabilities that future CHROs will need to be successful, six key themes emerged:

• Data and analytics-based decision making. Don’t focus on giving the right answers, but on asking the right questions.
• Being the architect and assessor of shifts in organizational culture. Make sure a company’s culture is moving in the right direction by ensuring leaders’ styles align with the cultural goals.
• Proactively mapping organization capability needs to the future strategy of the firm. Examine the gap between existing capabilities and the ones needed in the future.
• Playing the role of and internal and external talent scout. Build the critical ability of spotting pools of talent, using a mix of intuition and data and assessment backed insight.
• Understanding the impact of technology. Be cognizant of the rapid progress in HR technology, particularly SaaS solutions, to improve HR processes and analytic capabilities.
• Asking organization-specific questions rather than following the herd. Realize how different practices can be best applied to their own organizational contexts.

For a full copy of Aon’s study results, visit www.aon.com/NextGenCHRO