Form and Function: What it Takes to be a Modern Chief People Officer

The discussions were thought-provoking, varied and informative, and the key highlights and discussion points are summarised below.

The evolving role of the Chief People Officer (CPO)

Universally, it feels like the role of CPO has continued to broaden out with internal communications and environmental, social and governance (ESG) being the most common additions. However, in some cases the increased scope also includes finance, operations and facilities. The knock-on effect for the modern CPO is that they must be highly adaptable and drive their purpose around communications, brand and sustainability. With some CPOs also being given internal and external comms, the modern CPO role is morphing increasingly into a Chief Operating Officer (COO) role, which will be helpful for CPOs looking for a route onto the board.

Environmental Social Governance (ESG)

ESG is an additional function that has become an integral part of the CPO function, a trend we are witnessing across clients from numerous sectors. And ESG is much more powerful when it is genuinely woven into the purpose of the organisation, as opposed to being bolted on, which employees see as less authentic. As such, some organisations are trying to link ESG to the fundamental original purpose of the business which can involve a revamping and repositioning of the brand.

The challenge of employee engagement

In an increasingly difficult marketplace, particularly when it comes to talent engagement and retention, emphasising the challenges and effort being put behind employee engagement. Some key themes and areas included:

• Senior leaders continue to be a powerful asset in employee engagement, with organisations continuing to use regular townhalls, walk-abouts and company Q&As to anchor culture and give a ‘reason for being’.
• Some companies are still grappling with motivating people to go above and beyond. It’s often the superstars that leave, not the people who are more generally disengaged. This is a consistent issue at all levels not just generational or functional, although many of the CPOs we talked to are seeing a high churn of younger staff, especially those who have been trained.
• In some cases, trust in senior leadership feels lower than usual, so CPOs have a role to play in promoting internal mobility, positive messages, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/ESG and company values. 

Opportunities

Organisations which were originally founder-led with a clear purpose, authentic passion and narrative as well as those in which the CEO makes themselves ‘visible’ are the companies succeeding with employee engagement.
Mental support from leaders is also a key opportunity; people managers need to behave as coaches and seek to understand rather than impose views. Clear strategic direction from the top is still a priority.

Employees want to feel they are engaged with a business that has meaning and a clear USP in a crowded market, especially in the gaming, media and sports sectors. Therefore, having a competitive and innovative product or value proposition, that fills a market gap augments employee engagement. The modern CPO needs to help tell the story of the organisation and encourage senior leaders to do so too.

The trends in the evolving and widening responsibilities of a CPO could be an indication that more CPOs may become the CEOs of the future, especially when we factor in purpose-driven and people-led businesses, environments and cultures. CPOs need to identify how to improve their skill-sets and experience to make this transition. It is also clear that technical skills will be out of date faster than ever before. Therefore, leaders with transferrable skillsets are vital, combined with essential strengths in areas such as EI/EQ, agility, resilience, authenticity and a global outlook.

For more information, please do get in touch.