By Maggie Mancini
The nature of work is changing, and the chief human resources officer is evolving along with it. CHROs are responsible for more today than ever before, and the expanded scope of their role has positioned them as strategic partners in driving business results and preparing workforces for the future. In fact, 85% of employers believe that a strategic HR function will be critical to success over the next five years, and 89% believe that HR must continue to change to meet evolving strategic and business needs, according to research from EY.
But this isn’t new. The role of the CHRO has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past five years, says Erin Bushnell, CHRO at Cozen O’Connor. “The pandemic thrust HR into the spotlight, shifting leaders’ perceptions of HR’s strategic value to the business. As we navigate the post-pandemic landscape, the pace of change and challenges businesses face remain relentless. HR has proven itself as a vital strategic contributor.”
As a result, change management has become a central element of the CHRO experience, Bushnell adds. While it’s easy for HR leaders to get excited about new tools or processes, it’s important not to overlook their impact on individuals and consider their hopes and fears regarding the changing nature of work.
“There is absolutely no CHRO playbook for what has occurred over the past several years for HR leadership,” shares Dan Chappell, EVP and CHRO at Seacoast Bank. “From supporting associates and continuing business operations throughout a global pandemic while simultaneously responding to the subsequent return to office challenges, followed by The Great Resignation, HR professionals have seen our fair share of uncertainty.”
The rapidly changing tech environment and embrace of AI tools, a rise in mental health concerns among employees, and recent sociopolitical upheaval impacting several major areas of HR have required CHROs and their teams to flex their agility and navigate these challenges through long-term planning, Chappell says.
Stacey Hoin, CHRO for Guardian, agrees. “Amid rapid labor force shifts, technological disruption, and economic uncertainty, the most effective HR leaders are serving as architects of culture and business change,” she says. “Ensuring the workforce is prepared for dramatic demographic shifts, including the need to lead and reward differently, is critical.”
Research from EY finds 85% of employers believe that a strategic HR function will be critical to success over the next five years, and 89% believe that HR must continue to change to meet evolving strategic and business needs.
CHROs are expected to drive profitable growth, lead with empathy, and embed agility into their organizations, Hoin adds. In any case, CHROs must prioritize the person in any workforce transformation, Bushnell says, making sure that the human element remains at the center of transformation.
More Change on the HorizonNow more than ever, CHROs are strategically aligned with the needs of the organization, have a solid seat at the table, and are substantial part of business exploration and planning, says Gary Burrus, executive officer of HR for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
“For CHROs who haven’t yet established themselves as strategic partners, there’s no better time than the present,” says Robin Corralez, chief people officer at PandaDoc. “AI is shifting the competitive landscape, and the best way to demonstrate strategic value is by pushing conversations with the executive team, leading by example within HR departments, and going beyond compliance obligations to drive business results.”
In addition to AI integration, the CHRO role will continue expanding in areas of business strategy, particularly around workforce transformation, Corralez adds. HR leaders will be increasingly involved in planning, coverage analysis for revenue organizations, and designing compensation structures that incentivize the right behaviors to drive outcomes.
“Systems thinking will be crucial,” Corralez says, “understanding how changes in one area ripple through culture, engagement, and performance. The most successful CHROs will be those who seek to understand business drivers, remain curious about how they can add value beyond their traditional scope, and maintain a growth mindset that accepts continuous evolution rather than seeking perfection.”
The days of HR being seen as purely function focused on benefits, recruiting, and compensation, now mean modernizing core foundations while evolving talent management, compliance, and culture as a key member of the leadership team, says Maggie Driscoll, chief people and culture officer at Blackbaud.
“CHROs need to meet employees where they are, communicating outside of traditional channels, including popular social media platforms,” Driscoll says. “CHROs need to support growth of AI adoption and collaboration strategies. The simplest way to look at the future of HR is to become bolder for how work gets done in an ever-changing world.”
Driving TransformationGuardian faced shifting expectations from employees and customers in the wake of the pandemic, and it became clear that things needed to change, Hoin says. By focusing on well-being and tying it to the organization’s core values, Guardian was able to consider new ways to support customers and colleagues. This change became the foundation for the company’s evolving culture.
“By leading with compassion, we’ve demonstrated to our colleagues that their well-being matters,” Hoin adds. “That shift helped us attract talent we might not have reached before and lowered attrition rates across the board. Just as importantly, it deepened our connection with customers. When employees feel seen and supported, they show up to make a difference, and that’s reflected in how we serve our customers every day.”
At Cozen O’Connor, Bushnell considers culture when introducing new initiatives, which informs the steps the HR team takes to prepare for and implement changes. As the organization has grown, maintaining the company’s culture has become even more crucial, yet more challenging. HR must be deliberate and proactive in cultivating culture, rather than expecting it to develop on its own.
“When making critical decisions or undertaking workforce transformations, culture should always be our guiding principle,” Bushnell says. “Ensuring that changes align with our values and culture can provide clarity in difficult decisions.”
Because the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma relies heavily on the cultural needs of the people it serves, Burrus says that addressing the organization’s culture requires leaders to take a long-term view.
“Relating to organizational transformation, we follow a steadfast path of creating long-term strategic goals, breaking those up into annual short-term goals that help us achieve long-term goals over a minimum five-year return,” he explains. “Then we assess the strength of the workforce today and the necessary skills that will be required by our workforce over the next five years.”
The organization uses Gallup as its benchmark data to improve engagement year-over-year, Burrus says. As a result, there is a solid positive correlation between the growth of the organization’s engagement scores and the retention of its talent.
“In my time with Seacoast Bank, the company has been committed to an M&A strategy of delivering consistent growth and long-term shareholder value,” Chappell says. “As a result of merging so many cultures together, we have focused on scaling and evolving our culture as we have grown while preserving our nearly 100-year-old culture and creating a highly engaged workforce.”
The company has done this by creating a continuous listening strategy that measures the moments that matter most across the employee lifecycle with the goal of having a pulse into the voice of employees. Seacoast now outperforms benchmarks for same-sized companies by 16%, companies in the banking industry by 12%, and companies in the finance and insurance industry by 11%.
“We have built and sustained a highly engaged workforce that is committed to the work they do, their teams, and their managers,” he says. “This is further proven by increased promotion rates, reduced voluntary turnover, greater profitability, and rising customer loyalty and engagement.”
PandaDoc has undergone a significant transformation, shifting from prioritizing comfort to performance while maintaining a core value of empathy, Corralez says. The transformation included major challenges, including a decrease in morale during the change period. This was addressed through increased communication, listening sessions, and transparency surrounding the company’s business performance and direction.
Since Driscoll joined Blackbaud in 2020, the company has embraced a remote-first—rather than remote-only—culture that has allowed the organization to access and develop the best talent internally and externally. The company knew a focus on well-being would be a market differentiator, so Blackbaud designed programs that touch all five key pillars of wellness: financial, social, physical, mental, and emotional.
“Cultural transformation isn’t a ‘soft’ initiative; it’s a business accelerator,” Driscoll says, with the numbers to prove it. “Approximately 45% of employees participate in at least one of our affinity groups, 87% of employees feel that the work they do at Blackbaud matters, and 92% of employees complete the annual engagement survey.”
Preparing for What’s NextOrganizational transformation is a cornerstone of today’s CHRO experience. Leaders who can successfully navigate these periods of change are those who develop comfort with ambiguity and position themselves as business partners, rather than just people managers, Corralez says. Here are some other recommendations for HR executives leading through change.
Understand what's driving the change. “HR must be the guiding force that bridges business objectives with implementation through a people and culture lens,” Bushnell says. “Without the CHRO’s guidance, many transformations could become unnecessarily turbulent.”
Re-assess current practices and challenge them. “Be consistent, be visible to associates, and be transparent,” Chappell says. “Act on feedback and be vocal about the actions you are taking because of your associate’s feedback. Don’t lose sight of the human element. Care and concern for your people and doing the right thing should remain at the core of HR culture.”
Continuously invest in the workforce. “At Guardian, we’ve learned that when you invest in people’s growth and recognize their contributions, you unlock performance, resilience, and innovation,” Hoin says. “That means offering learning opportunities at all levels that flex to the needs of the organization, from personalized learning paths to AI coaching programs, and celebrating everyday wins through initiatives like recognition programs.”
Focus on change management. It’s important to make sure that the coalition formed for necessary organizational change products has an executive sponsor that provides this practitioner with the authority and accountability needed to achieve their goals, Burrus says. “Set your goals. Make sure those goals are aligned to organizational strategy and then measure, measure, measure.”