Amid the ongoing circumstances that have engulfed the entire world, the role of CHROs has intensified even further. The chief HR leaders have been put to spot in the wake of the COVID pandemic, given the loads of responsibilities they need to shoulder in the crisis situation as severe as this.
A long-existing myth has surrounded the corporate world that says – business leaders other from HR background cannot do well as CHROs, which is completely wrong. Executives from non-conventional professional backgrounds are doing considerably well in 2020, and there exists an ample of proof to that.
Key Challenges for C-Suite HR Professionals Amid COVID
In the wake of the ongoing crisis, the first and foremost responsibility of chief of human resources across industries, is to help facilitate communication among different divisions within the organization. Hr tech is being widely leveraged to achieve the same.
As per a 2019 survey, constituting 193 CHROs, conducted to deduce key challenges and priorities for C-level hr executives, it was found that 46% of them were concerned the most, about handling talent management. 14% said, they are focusing more on the rapid change in digital transformation, while 13% were found concerned over developing a goal-oriented organization.
What Do the CHROs from Non-Traditional Backgrounds Have to Say?
Chief People Officer of Forrester Research, Lucia Luce Quinn, early in her career left the job role of SVP (Business Development), and joined in Boston Scientific in a senior job position. After gaining some experience over there, she got offered the position of CHRO, which, she refused. The CEO had to ask her four times to take on to the said position, before she finally agreed.
The underlying reason for her refusal to accept the role was similar to what the leaders from other business verticals think of about becoming a CHRO. There is an unknown fear of losing personal relevance at work while taking up the role of a chief HR officer. Especially, executives with backgrounds other than HR, tend to be reluctant to accepting the said role. However, the truth of the matter is, in today’s time, CHRO is among the top positions in a company that report to the CEO, and have a big say in company’s hr strategy.
3 Reasons Why Executives from Non-Conforming Backgrounds Succeed as CHROs
- They concentrate more on achieving business gains than just people management: CHROs coming from non-conventional backgrounds usually do better than the ones having roots firmly cemented in hr studies and management. The reason is their viewpoint. They see their role as a Chief Human Resource Officer, to help businesses earn profits, much more than just managing people in terms of handling their grievances, and other related issues.
An c-suite hr officer from a non-HR background would always focus on producing business results, and will drive hr too, in a similar fashion.
- Chief HR Leaders from Unusual Backgrounds Push Other Leaders Too, at their Firm: With HR tech evolving at an unprecedented pace in the times of the ongoing crisis, there is a big urge among HR leaders to get familiar with the disruptive tech. It helps keep the communication intact among varied teams within the organization, in remote working culture.
CHROs from non-conforming professional backgrounds, not only work hard in their job roles, but also push their fellow readers to do the same. It eventually helps the organization generate increased revenues. In contrast to this, traditional HR leaders, would either support their colleague, or will simply follow their orders, which would limit the business’s growth ultimately.
- Unconventional Hr Leaders Embrace Risks, and Welcome New Opportunities: The future of work will suit well to those executives that are ready to take new challenges, head-on. And HR leaders from non-conformist educational and professional backgrounds, show befitting personality traits. They see positives in each risk they take, while a traditional HR professional would concentrate more on reducing the risks involved with the business, rather than converting them into new business opportunities.
