For some chief human resources officers (CHROs), serving as a strategic influencer is more a goal than a reality. While top executives regard the role as critical, our recent survey of more than 500 C-suite leaders, including CEOs, CFOs, CHROs, CIOs, and COOs at medium-sized and large organisations, shows that many C-suite executives (42% of respondents) do not consider HR to be an equal partner.

Although HR often collaborates with other functions on HR practices, such as recruitment and training, that does not automatically translate into full participation in strategic initiatives, such as market expansion or product development. In fact, of the C-suite executives surveyed, 59% say HR is not well prepared with the skills needed to support C-suite priorities.

However, that may be about to change, and technology is a major reason. The research report "Elevating the role of HR in the C-suite,” which combines the survey results with qualitative interviews of 25 C-suite leaders across regions and industries, reveals two ways in which HR is uniquely positioned to take an active, vital role in business-critical technology endeavours, cementing its place as an important partner in the C-suite:

• Assuming a leadership role in AI initiatives. AI adoption calls for skilful, effective change management. Given their experience in guiding people into new roles and assisting with the acquisition of new skills, HR is the logical place to turn. AI will impact every department and role, making it an organisation-wide change rather than a single-team upgrade.
• Integrating data on people and business performance. With the right data, HR and the C-suite can effectively collaborate on making better-informed decisions, spending wisely, and realising the value of AI investments.

Taking the lead on AI

HR is uniquely positioned to be the voice of the workforce for businesses pursuing AI initiatives. According to the survey, 92% of C-suite leaders believe that HR is somewhat or very critical to the successful adoption of AI across the workforce. This signals recognition of the important roles in AI initiatives that HR is uniquely positioned to fulfil.

The most important of these roles is organisational change management. AI has the potential to bring about organisational changes that could outpace many companies' ability to adapt. For instance, HR can smooth the pathways to acceptance, understanding, and adoption of the technology, especially among employees who are fearful of the ramifications of AI or who need extra support in accepting new technologies. If HR is not involved in making AI implementation decisions and strategising how to communicate those decisions to employees, the chances of a successful rollout will diminish.

Here are several ways in which HR can help ensure successful AI implementation:

• Education and training. Ninety-one per cent of senior executives believe that HR should provide training programmes to help employees understand AI tools, their benefits, and how to use them.
• Onboarding change champions. Eighty-three percent say HR must identify and train change champions within teams to assist colleagues and to advocate for AI adoption.
• Pilot programmes. Seventy-two percent believe that HR must launch pilot projects with small groups of employees to familiarise them with the benefits and effects of the AI use cases that the organisation has adopted.
• Continuous support and feedback. Sixty-seven per cent believe that HR must regularly seek employee feedback on AI tools and processes and provide employees with ongoing support and resources, such as help desks or online forums, to help address AI-related questions.
• Leadership support and role modelling. Sixty per cent believe HR must ensure that leadership actively endorses and uses AI tools, highlighting success stories from within the organisation and setting a positive example for the rest of the workforce.

What’s clear from executives’ responses is that CHROs can’t wait for the C-suite to call. They need to be assertive about the need for their skills and insights in AI initiatives. If AI strategies are run only by the organisation’s CTO or CIO or by a dedicated AI team without HR, the organisation risks important issues such as change management, cross‑functional planning, and governance being overlooked. CHROs must emphasise the need to build these elements into AI strategies from the outset.

One example of how HR can play a key role in an AI team can be seen with a US-based consumer product company we spoke with for the report. As part of its participation on the AI governance board, HR helped analyse which business process would benefit the most from AI, presented the data to the governance board, and secured investments. It is now involved with implementing the AI initiative.

Better decisions through data integration

A key factor in a strong partnership between HR and the C-suite is the extent to which both parties are satisfied with the level of integration between their people data and their business performance data.

When we examined the differentiators between C-suite leaders who were collaborating closely with HR at a strategic level and those who were not, satisfaction with data integration emerged as a key factor.

In particular, C-suite leaders highly value integrated data about workforce skills. With this data, they are able to plan more accurately for potential skills shortages, predict retention risks, invest strategically in training and talent acquisition, and forecast future skill requirements.

For example, we interviewed the Chief Human Resources Officer at a travel and transport organisation who told us about a major investment in electric vehicles as part of a business strategy to improve sustainability and operational efficiency. As the CHRO noted, this endeavour involved extensive training and change management. Because the HR and operational data were integrated, the team could demonstrate that the upfront investment in electric vehicles, including monitoring technologies and employee training, did indeed yield positive outcomes on both the environmental and operational efficiency fronts.

However, many companies are in the early stages of integrating workforce and operational data. In fact, only 38% of C-suite executives are mostly or completely satisfied with HR data integration. While 23% said they had successfully integrated HR and other business data, only 8% are able to use this data for predictive purposes, and only 3% have achieved predictive analytics using AI and machine learning.

This gap gives CHROs an opportunity to take charge and reap numerous benefits, such as improved talent management decisions, greater employee retention, and increased financial savings. Successful CHROs have elevated their position in the C-suite and earned their rightful place as a trusted partner. By taking the lead on technology initiatives that support high-priority strategic business endeavours, all CHROs can achieve the same.