The rise of the CHRO, & the future skills needed

“The days of begging for a place at the top table are over,” according to Tim Payne, Head of People & Change at KPMG.

Why is this? Well, KPMG has analysed the position of Chief HR Officer (CHRO) at FTSE 100-listed companies over a five-year period, from September 2011 to September 2016.

They found that: the proportion of FTSE 100 CHROs with a professional HR background has shot up 69% in the last five years; 82% of these have worked in more than one sector (up from 70% in 2011); the majority (56%, up from 50% in 2011) of CHROs were recruited externally, instead of promoted internally; and the amount of female CHROs has risen from 44% to 56%.   

Payne continued: “The fact we are increasingly seeing CHROs recruited externally, with a higher proportion having multi-sector experience, supports anecdotal evidence that those at the top of the profession are increasingly viewed as a catalyst for change.”