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HR leaders are facing growing pressure to speak the language of finance, analytics and AI as businesses increasingly connect workforce decisions to operating performance and growth.
The trend reflects broader expectations around workforce productivity, talent ROI and organizational design, with HR leaders now expected to engage with the same performance indicators as finance leaders and boards.
Former Squarespace CPO Jarlath Doherty, said the role of the chief people officer is fundamentally changing as organizations move away from viewing HR as an administrative function.
“HR leaders need to understand the numbers that drive the company,” Doherty explained in an interview with Inc.com. “If you cannot connect people decisions to business outcomes, you will struggle to earn credibility at the executive table.”
The emphasis on data literacy is also changing the type of questions HR leaders are expected to answer. Business leaders are increasingly focused on scaling without equivalent headcount growth, workforce design, margin expansion and AI-enabled operating models.
Doherty added: “You cannot be a strategic HR partner if you do not understand the company’s financial drivers. When HR leaders understand the P&L, they can show how talent decisions impact EBITDA and operating margins.”
Workforce analytics and business growth
The focus on analytics comes as organizations continue searching for measurable links between engagement, productivity and financial performance.
Gallup research found that highly engaged teams experience 23% higher profitability and 18% higher productivity, connecting employee engagement directly to revenue and shareholder value.
Meanwhile, a report from Deloitte found that only 15% of organizations believe they have strong people analytics capabilities, suggesting that many HR functions are therefore operating without the level of data credibility required to influence board-level decisions.
Doherty further warned that data quality itself has become a leadership issue.
“If your workforce data is inconsistent or fragmented, leaders will not rely on it,” he said. “Clean data builds credibility.”
The challenge is also becoming more complex as organizations expand the use of agentic capabilities and AI systems across HR operations and workforce planning. Leaders capable of managing both structured and unstructured workforce data are likely to hold an advantage as hybrid employee and AI-supported service models expand.
AI reshapes the chief people officer role
Artificial intelligence is emerging as another defining capability for senior HR leadership teams.
Turning workforce data into early warnings for high-cost employees
According to research from PwC, 72% of business leaders believe AI will significantly reshape organizational operations within the next five years.
Doherty said HR leaders risk losing influence if they fail to build technical understanding alongside traditional people leadership skills.
“Chief people officers need a baseline understanding of technology and AI,” he stated. “Without that knowledge, it becomes difficult to guide responsible and effective organizational design conversations.”
There are also growing expectations around governance, oversight and bias management as AI becomes more deeply embedded into workforce decision-making.
Leaders that understand workforce systems, analytics and financial outcomes are moving beyond traditional HR department leadership toward broader operational influence.
michaela santa barbara