Today's desired CHROs may not come from HR departments

Dive Brief:

Today, a company needs an assertive, data-driven chief human resources officer (CHRO) who utilizes information to deliver an informed point of view? Without one, odds of success are not high, according to a new survey of senior executives by Visier.
An article at Hunt Scanlon reports that Visier surveyed 301 corporate executives at companies with revenue of $1 billion or more across America, asking for feedback on the changing role of HR leadership. Survey results found that the most sought-after CHRO is a "data-driven, strategic leader who demonstrates business savvy, creativity, and innovation."
The results also reveal the key traits of HR leaders who are perceived as integral to business success, according to Visier – and many of them do not come straight from the HR department.

Dive Insight:

As noted, the Visier survey found that today's successful CHROs are data-driven, as 80% of executives say their company cannot succeed without an assertive, data-driven CHRO. They are also business-oriented, as 81% of executives say that when hiring new senior HR talent they value business acumen more than technical HR skills. Finally they are performance-focused, as 78% of executives say that their company cannot succeed without a CHRO who takes on responsibility for contributing directly to business performance.

Also, the Visier survey results reveal that the majority of all executives expect to find top CHRO talent somewhere other than HR, as 63% of all executives say the most effective CHROs come from non-HR backgrounds (in areas such as finance, operations, or legal). In this vein, C-level leaders are even more convinced of that, as 79% of C-level execs (CEO, president, etc.) say the best CHROs come from non-HR backgrounds.

“CEOs want to think of the CHRO the way they think of the CFO,” said John Schwarz, CEO and founder of Visier, a provider of workforce intelligence solutions, told Hunt Scanlon. Schwarz said senior leaders want a strategic advisor who can speak the language of the business with hard data. But they also need a strong understanding of people dynamics.