Strengthening the CHRO and CEO Relationship
October, 2023
It’s no secret that a strong relationship between a Chief Executive Officer and a CHRO is crucial to organizational growth and success. With responsibility for helping codify and drive company culture, talent acquisition, organizational development, and retention strategies HR’s impact upon an organization ability to anticipate, adapt and innovate has never been more important. And this is all at play while our workforces endure continuous shifts in global geo-political, economic and workplace environments. While most acknowledge the value of a strong bond between CHROs and their CEO leaders, today we’ll share some insights into how these relationships can be developed to maximize impact. Here are a few recommendations:
Understand the CEO's Vision: Understand thoroughly, the CEO’s vision and business objectives. The CHRO, as the business leader with expertise in human capital, advise the CEO on the best people practices to drive desired outcomes. Anticipate business changes and proactively recommend different people practices to address ever-evolving changes. Be a strategic partner, not just an HR manager.
Know the Revenue Drivers: Be a student of the business to understand how the business makes money, including the levers that impact revenue. That means being able to also read and understand financial statements, etc. Develop meaningful relationships with executives, especially the CFO to understand the financial and all other functional leads, on how their areas impact revenue.
Advisor and Coach: Simply sitting back or not pushing back does not engender respect or demonstrate value to the CEO and ELT. Provide them wise guidance individually and collectively, adding to their understanding and thinking on a topic, particually on people matters.
Collaborate Actively: Work closely with other leaders and departments to foster teamwork and cross-functional collaboration. Provide open feedback through a people lens. Be a confidant to the CEO, share insight into how actions and messages are being received and perceived within the organization.
Report Results and Recommendations: Show the impact of HR initiatives on the organization's success through data and metrics. Work closely with the finance team to include financial data and connect data to key performance indicators (KPIs). Review reports and data with leaders to identify trends and opportunities, offer solutions rather than just identifying problems.
Foster Trust: Build trust by being reliable, ethical, and transparent in your interactions with the CEO. Become a valued thought partner by maintaining open communication, sharing updates on activities, challenges and successes. Be proactive; don’t wait to be asked. Communicate clearly, ensuring focus on what’s most relevant to the CEO. Uphold the highest ethical standards in all decisions.
Stay Current: Stay updated on HR trends, laws, and industry best practices to bring fresh ideas and solutions to the table. Invest in your own professional development and seek opportunities to stretch, learn and grow.
Build Personal Relationships: Understand and take steps to show that you care about the CEOs personal interests.
Building trust with a CEO is on-going and requires consistency, transparency, and a commitment to doing what’s best for the organization. Aligning HR to the CEOs goals and sharing frequent updates and results will help a CHRO develop strong and lasting relationship with the CEO.