What CEOs Should Know About How Their HR Executives Feel
This episode is a replay of my first live event under the new Amplify banner, a joint event with PeopleTech Partners. For those who aren’t familiar, they are an incredible tech incubator and chief people officer networking community. It has members all around the U.S. and the world.
I was joined by a diverse group of speakers to address the challenges HR executives are facing right now: Ciara Lakhani, the chief people officer at Dashlane; Cindy Gordon, an HR consultant and adviser; David Hanrahan, the chief HR officer of Eventbrite; and Jevan Soo Lenox, who recently was the chief people and culture officer at Stitch Fix.
I thoroughly believe we have this once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine where, when and how we work, as well as how organizations support us along the way. In this talk, we focused on things CEOs should know about leading, supporting and building people teams in this new climate. Listen in to hear what everyone had to say.
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Ep 103 What CEOs Should Know About How Their HR Executives Feel
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Reactions to an Industry in Flux
The last 18 months have seen incredible workplace transitions. 47 percent of CPOs from January 2020 are no longer in that job. It appears the changes will keep coming: Barely 20% of people currently in a job have no plans on looking for a new one. How does the panel feel about this data?
“It's validating and it's not surprising to me,” says Ciara. “It reflects how we've all been feeling and what we've been experiencing.”
“It is pretty staggering to see the numbers and then the number of people who are looking to move,” Cindy adds. “There are a lot of opportunities out there and a lot of different ways to shape what we can do and flex our muscles.”
There is a sense this is not a fleeting moment, but a change that is likely to last. Jevan notes, “I actually think this is a bit of an inflection point for many of our peers and for a number of us.” It's a moment when HR has been transformed into a more complicated profession, a time when CEOs in particular should consider how they can provide support. Indeed, Jevon believes HR practitioners must “think about what we need in the role and our lives to make this extra sustainable.”
The New Challenges HR Leaders Face
The expectations for HR were increasing even before the pandemic. Now HR needs to deal with remote work, hybrid work, social justice issues and other matters. Regardless of the challenge, the answer is invariably: “HR’s got this.”
But it’s still rare for leadership to consider if HR might need some help.
Let’s be clear: HR has been forced to navigate uncharted territory. Ciara observes the pandemic’s challenges were made even more perplexing because “there were no previous best practices to look to."
Taken altogether, it’s completely understandable Jevan declares leading an HR team has become “exponentially more difficult.”
Indeed, Jevan believes big changes are essential, noting the current environment demands a “pretty massive reset.” But getting that reset is rarely easy: “How can you hopefully have the trust with your CEO to have that really honest conversation? And then, of course, at the end of the day, to have them actually advocate for your team, because that's the only way to really get the boundaries that you need."
What CEOs Can Do to Help HR
HR is, in the best of times, a complicated job. “Our roles can be confusing to executives and to employees alike; we need to be able to switch hats or wear multiple hats at the same time,” Cindy says. In particular, relations with the CEO can be incredibly complex: “We might be the confidant or coach to the CEO, but we also report to the CEO, and we were held accountable for business outcomes.”
CEOs tend to expect a tremendous amount from HR. Jevan finds CEOs invariably want their companies “to be the best place to work” and offer “an amazing culture.” But when it comes to making these ambitions a reality… well, they’d rather not get involved, leaving HR with a massive task: “I’m just supposed to deliver that in 18 months? How about you are a copilot in creating that?” Jevan says that when CEOs refuse to help HR, the result is invariably HR falling short: “If you’re just looking for me to fill the void, no matter how great I show up, we’ve actually already lost the game because that is fundamentally part of the CEO’s responsibility.”
Quite simply, HR deserves a CEO willing to get involved. More than get involved; the CEO and HR should be directly collaborating, making it clear to all that HR has the CEO’s full support. Sadly, this remains all too rare. As Jevan observes, “I don’t think enough CEOs really understand what an amazing partnership with the chief people officer really looks like.”
Whereas the CEO who truly helps HR has a chance at actually achieving their boldest ambitions.