ServiceNow, a cloud computing company based in California, released a comprehensive assessment of global CHROs a few weeks ago. The survey-report offers many valuable lessons on what the quintessential global CHRO of today thinks that must be explored by HR leaders. Let’s explore the survey in detail.
What is the survey?
‘The New CHRO Agenda: Employee Experiences Drive Business Value’ survey and report gathers the viewpoint of over 500 CHROs in 12 countries across 20 industries. Respondents were based in the countries of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.
The aim was to identify some of the top HR challenges, how leaders are navigating recruitment demands, and how far has HR come in its journey to become a business partner.
What did the survey find?
The survey has some really interesting insights on how global CHROs are functioning and what they are prioritizing. Here are some of the top highlights:
The responsibility of the CHRO is increasing
- CHROs said that aside from delivering HR services and attracting top talent, their role will also incorporate the advancement of corporate goals, driving digital initiatives and contributing to business performance.
- 75% of the CHROs said that it was their responsibility to improve employee productivity; 67% believed that enhancing the corporate brand is also their job, and 64% think that it is their responsibility to drive corporate performance as well.
- While 75% of the CHROs believe that their role has become more strategic over the course of last three years, an equal number is of the belief that it will become even more strategic over the coming three years.
The pace of digitization in HR will accelerate
- Today, a majority of CHROs use one application to simplify one or more processes, whereas 62% have digitized less than 30% of the HR tasks. And 36% have digitized between 31% and 60% of the tasks.
- Within the next three years, CHROs are expecting much more innovative technologies to automate HR processes.
- CHROs will be using platform models (that integrate data from multiple sources) to bring consistency to HR operations and increase cross-functional collaboration. This will go up to 48% in just three years time from a mere 14% today.
- HR leaders think that there exists a direct link between use of better technology and improving the employee experience. This, according to them, will improve talent attraction and retention levels, and thus, better business results.
CHROs are betting on technology to enhance the employee experience
- 57% of the CHROs said that HR is a driver of digital transformation, and it can elevate the employee experience and thereby, accelerate productivity, collaboration, and brand performance.
- 66% of the CHROs believe that digital technology that can enable ‘personal, predictive and seamless’ employee experiences will enable a measurable gain in productivity.
- Many HR leaders are yet to apply these innovations efficiently in their organizations.
- 83% of the CHROs are of the view that employee experience is important to their company’s success.
What do the results indicate?
The results confirm that the role of HR, and that of HR leaders, is increasingly supporting business functions directly. HR is no longer operating from behind the curtain, stepping up only to fill vacant positions or arrest attrition. The fact that three out of four global CHROs believe that their role will become more strategic in the next three years is indicative of the fact that this evolution is still underway. Furthermore, the report brings to fore the value of employee experience. The focus on enhancing employee engagement through technology is an exciting opportunity for HR leaders around the world to revitalize HR processes and operations with innovation.
Bottom-Line
Going ahead, HR will play an increasingly important role in the business and will be an equal stakeholder. Additionally, a happy and motivated workforce will be the biggest strength an organization will have in the future, and technology will be used extensively to engage with the workforce. It is as the report concludes, “Investment in the employee experience pays multiple dividends.”
Source: The New CHRO Agenda: Employee Experiences Drive Business Value