One of the clearest signs that a chief human resources officer will be viewed as ineffective is one the CHRO has zero control over: a change in who serves as the CEO.
The quality of the CHRO’s relationship with the CEO is the single most crucial predictor of how a CHRO’s performance will be viewed. Furthermore, research reveals that a leadership transition in the CEO seat led to nearly seven out of 10 CHROs eventually being replaced, according to Rosanna Trasatti, a leadership and effectiveness expert and CEO at Eleva Executive Leadership Advisory. Trasatti spoke to Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit attendees in California on Monday.
She noted that one might not think it’s all that unusual for a new CEO to come in and make changes to the senior team. But the findings from a study on CHRO performance factors spanning more than a decade were sobering.
“No other C-suite leader’s perceived performance had anywhere near the same level of dependency on the CEO,” said Trasatti.
The other factor that divides the perceived performance of a high-performing CHRO and an underperformer?
Situations in which a CHRO runs HR functions with cumbersome processes and administrative bottlenecks— “noise and inefficiency,” as Trasatti put it.
“Those CHROs were significantly more likely to be rated ineffective and exited,” she said.
On top of those dynamics, only 11.8% of all C-level roles among S&P 100 companies are held by women. However, among CHROs, a staggering 72% are women.
Essentially, CHROs, many of whom are women, face unique vulnerabilities compared to other C-suite leaders, explained Trasatti. Their success is disproportionately tied to a strong relationship with the CEO and they’re judged on administrative operations. Add the gender dynamics on top—CHROs have to make sure the house is in order and everyone has been fed in order to be seen as effective, just as a baseline.
However, there are ways to overcome the failure risks, said Trasatti. Research showed CHROs can succeed, or continue to be viewed as high performers, by developing business and financial acumen and connecting HR metrics to business outcomes.
Trasatti’s four factors for CHRO success, based on over a decade worth of research:
