The compounding pressures of years-long talent crises and economic uncertainty have given Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) a higher level of influence at the decision making table. CHROs are using their position in the C-suite to impact the top priorities across the enterprise, including driving growth and improving employee satisfaction and engagement.
Talent is the lifeblood of any organization, and CHROs have become strategic business partners to boost recruitment efforts and improve retention strategies in high-need, high-skill areas. They are also on the front lines to respond to economic issues, including recent mass inflation, that put stress and strain on the workforce.
But as the business landscape continues to shift, so do CHROs’ priorities on a functional level. This year, 450 CHRO community members from the world’s leading organizations shared their mission critical priorities in our annual Leadership Perspective survey – here are their responses.
Prioritizing Leadership Development & Succession Planning
This year, CHROs are prioritizing many of the same responsibilities as 2022, but there is a change in their order of importance. Their top priority for 2023 is leadership development and succession planning - a jump from number four last year. This is followed by talent and retention and organizational culture, respectively.
Employee experience dropped from the top spot in 2022, but it is still a core priority at number four on the list, with an added focus on the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Diversity, equity and inclusion declined for the second year in a row, resting at number five. Dropping out of the top five this year, both recruiting and workforce strategy and design have been deprioritized for 2023.
Goals & Challenges
For their top priority of leadership development and succession planning, CHROs cited the following goals they aim to achieve and challenges they are facing in 2023.
Allocating Resources
Despite economic headwinds, 38% of CHROs report that their planned spending on technology and services increased in 2023, and another 39% say that they expect it to remain the same as last year.
Investing in Recruiting
Interestingly, recruiting did not earn a spot as one of the top-five priorities for CHROs this year [it came in 7th place], but it ranks as the top planned spending area, with 35% of CHROs planning to invest here in 2023.
At Evanta, we survey our C-level communities annually to learn their top priorities, challenges and goals for the year ahead. This data enables us to highlight trends, develop session and discussion topics and match like-minded peers based on the real-time needs of C-level executives. Apply now to join your local CHRO community, and connect with peers on these mission critical priorities.
Based on 440 CHRO responses from Evanta’s proprietary Leadership Perspective Survey, March 2023.
by CHROs, for CHROs
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