Strategies, priorities and 2AM worries of today’s CHRO

June 5, 2024

 

Alex Oliver

4 min read

CHROs are leading the way through a dynamic business environment. But are they keeping up with today’s talent demands? Our 2024 CHRO Report provides insight into what HR and people leaders are thinking about – including their priorities, challenges, 12-month plans and what keeps them up at night.

Let’s explore some of the highlights of the report.

Key stats from the 2024 CHRO Report

Employees are looking for internal mobility

• 20% of workers plan to change jobs this year; younger workers are more eager than their older counterparts.
• 77% of employees who plan to change jobs will look for a new role with their current employer.

CHROs want TA to be more strategic and are leaning on tech

• 90% of CHROs see the recruiter’s role morphing into that of a strategic talent advisor to the business.
• 86% of CHROs say internal mobility is a top priority for their organization this year.
• 65% plan to implement AI technology in the recruiting process.
• 76% say the tech their team uses is more important today than it was two years ago.

For the full list of takeaways from CHROs and workers, check out the report here.

CHROs don’t agree on top priorities

The last few years have seen big changes in how organizations operate, extreme swings in the labor market and economic and geopolitical uncertainty. In each case, CHROs and HR leaders have been asked to lead, direct and guide their organizations. The result is a role that’s become increasingly strategic in nature.

However, what that strategy should be is up for debate. We asked CHROs to share their top five priorities of the year, but no clear winner emerged for either HR as a whole or talent acquisition specifically. The narrow leader: AI.

At a time when everyone is buzzing about AI, it would seem that HR leaders are no exception. In fact, 65% of CHROs reported plans to implement the technology in recruiting processes. Of those, 29% were already using it.

What worries CHROs most

What keeps HR leaders up at night?

We asked them to choose the top three business challenges that concerned them the most. Once again, no clear issue came out on top.

Changes in compliance and regulatory laws and reduced budgets edged ahead of other challenges, keeping U.S. CHROs awake. Compliance policies, such as the introduction of salary transparency laws, are creating instability in the implementation of HR strategies and operations.

When asked if CHROs knew (without looking at their career sites) whether all job descriptions included a salary range, 44% claimed that their job descriptions do include a salary range but only for roles based in states where it is mandated. Only 37% of CHROs claimed that all job postings on their organization’s career site included a salary range.

It’s worth noting that, according to iCIMS research, four out of 10 U.S. workers say they don’t bother applying for jobs that don’t include a salary range.

Retention is the new recruiting

In the face of so much economic uncertainty, CHROs are split on significantly expanding their workforces with external hires. However, there is a near consensus that internal hiring is the right way to go.

An overwhelming 86% of CHROs and chief people officers told us that internal mobility is a priority for their companies this year. More than a third (37%) said that they are actively investing in new tech to support those initiatives.

Employees seem to be on the same page. When asked, 77% said they were open to finding new jobs with their current employers. Of them, one-third would be open to a new role but only with their current company. More than one-quarter of those surveyed said they wished their employers prioritized employee retention.

Final takeaways

The role of people leaders has changed significantly in the last few years. While the role of CHRO has universally become more strategic, the focus of individual leaders varies. Equally, the biggest challenges and concerns also depend on the individual and the organization. However, CHROs are unified on a few issues, including plans to implement AI in their talent acquisition processes and an increased focus on internal mobility.

While these are the highlights, there is a lot we couldn’t cover here, including additional stats, best practices and guidance – which are covered in the full report. To read it for yourself, click here.