A CHRO's reflection on the CEO wishlist

If there is one thing that a CEO could ask of the leaders, it would be this – “Start with the customer in mind!”

As people who are accountable for driving the long-term strategies and increasing shareholder value, CEOs today need their leadership teams to work towards driving ‘good customer outcomes’, which alone can drive business results. Any other approach seldom adds value in the long-run, if not erode it. For instance, if an Operations process improves internal efficiency of the department and may make the scorecard look good, but in doing so, increases the burden on the customer, then is it really a step in the right direction? Most CEOs will tell you it isn’t.

The expectation is same of CHRO as well. Whether it is talent strategy or a new learning program, the first parameter to judge it must be how it will help enable a better experience for the customer. At Aviva for instance, learning, driven through gamification, is being used to further teach behaviors that encourage a ‘customer first’ approach. Our ‘Values Championship’ campaign uses gamification to help employees across functions to understand behaviors they need to exhibit to make better business decisions that influence good customer outcomes. HR leaders need to understand the importance of bringing an ‘outside-in’ view across the organization so that they can enable the CEO to drive innovation and a different way of doing things. An example of the power of this idea is an initiative called ‘Aviva Boat Race’, where innovations across industries and geographies are researched and shared by employees across the organization. This crowd-sourcing of innovations is being used as a medium to pilot relevant programs to drive success for Aviva. 

CEOs may rightly say that HR leaders have to be more forthcoming in adopting digital. HR teams, which typically have remained slow adapters of digital vis-à-vis other departments, have suddenly found themselves in a business environment where ‘Digital’ is the go-to strategy for organizations. There is a need for CHROs to become ‘Digital Immigrants’, if not ‘Digital Natives’ and lead this to the function. Adoption of analytics and data-driven decision-making within HR teams and driving the same across the organization is key for future progress. CEOs today expect IT and HR to work together with a view to maximizing integration across platforms and enabling an outstanding user experience. 

Realization of the importance of talent management has led to CEOs looking at their HR leaders to design and drive the talent agenda. CEOs today demand the CHROs to ensure talent readiness, acquisition, imparting of skills needed to create a ‘workforce of the future’ and to be key advocates and allies for taking the talent strategy to the Board and ensuring support for the same.

The CEO wish list is long. But it is equally important to also know what HR leaders want from CEOs. HR leaders have often been accused of hiding behind the processes, and CEOs are often frustrated by their unwillingness to trade ‘process’ for agility. While this seems to be a common belief, it does not always hold true. This brings us to an aspect where the two leaders often find common ground – culture! CEOs want HR leaders to champion culture. Interestingly, a lot of HR leaders will tell you that it is exactly what they want their CEOs to do!

Culture is the responsibility of all leaders, and the CEO must lead from the front. It is time for HR leaders to kill processes that don’t add value, and it is time for CEOs to take a ‘long-term view’ when it comes to managing people. A simple example of marrying processes to drive the right culture is something I have witnessed within Aviva, wherein rigor in the Performance Management process is driven by the CEO himself who sets the right example and drives a strong performance culture. The HR team on its part has taken progressive steps like eliminating processes that are not in sync with the times like eliminating the Bell Curve!

It is time for HR leaders to kill processes that don't add value, and it is time for CEOs to take a `long-term view' when it comes to managing people

HR leaders have come a long way from seeking a ‘seat at the table’, to now having a ‘voice on the table’! To become trusted advisors, HR leaders need to be experts in their fields and understand business. They need to have the courage and conviction to take an objective view of business and challenge notions when appropriate. It is lonely at the top and a CEO needs an HR leader who can be a coach, confidant, and consigliere to enable them to perform better. 

While the CEO and CHRO may not always see eye-to-eye on every issue (and this may not always be bad), the gap between what CEOs want from their HR leaders and what the HR leaders deliver is definitely narrowing. In my view, a robust adoption of Digital, a ‘customer-first’ mindset, and an ability to challenge the conventional thought processes will see CHROs becoming better business partners, and this will also lead more CHROs to the corner office.