HR Leadership Insights—Is a Mass Exodus on the Horizon?

The latest HR leadership insights from Blu Ivy Group suggest that attrition rates among HR leaders could be extremely high in the coming months. A recent study by the group found that about 57% of CHROs and 75% of People leaders are at risk of leaving their organization in the next 8-12 months. With the Great Resignation coming to an end and the Big Stay trend taking its place, most employees appear to have settled into their jobs permanently with no immediate plans of leaving. However, this trend may not extend to all industries and roles. 

We have not seen signs of HR leaders leaving en masse yet, but if the numbers are to be trusted, organizations could find themselves in a difficult position, forced to rehire for senior roles that they will find most candidates insufficiently prepared for. 

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HR Leadership Insights—Are CHROs Planning on Leaving Their Companies?

After the COVID-19 crisis, organizations had to pivot in many ways to continue to meet targets and keep the wheels turning with their business. From addressing employee grievances in relation to the work-from-home setup and then the transition back to the workplace, to handling the large-scale trend of employees quitting jobs to seek better opportunities, the last few years have been particularly hard on HR teams. The Blu Ivy Group study highlighted the onset of an HR burnout epidemic, stating that 58% of respondents had experienced burnout, exhaustion, and mental health struggles as some of their biggest challenges in the present. 

CHROs are considering leaving their companies because their roles have strayed away from their primary passions of unlocking the potential of their workforce and building a workplace where people are able to thrive and live up to their full potential. Businesses have been faced with one challenge after another, shifting from layoffs to technological changes, leaving HR teams to handle a rush of crisis after crisis. The “dirty work” has become a permanent HR responsibility. 

Short-term efforts have taken priority over long-term, permanent solutions, which means that the issues that are temporarily resolved, keep recurring. The HR leadership insights from the report suggest that 43% of CHROs spend less than 10% of their time on actual strategy, as the majority of their time is taken up by other preoccupations. This hurts the organization as there are no significant strategic advancements made overall, and the blame falls on HR teams, leading to the predicted HR churn rates. 

HR leaders are also considering leaving because while confronting all these crisis management tasks, many of them do not have the resources necessary to handle the problems effectively. One question remains—with high CHRO turnover numbers, where do these leaders intend to go, if not to another organization with similar issues? It’s simple, HR leaders are reportedly looking into taking on coaching roles and fractional HR leadership roles that can offer them greater flexibility and allow them to employ their skills to the best of their abilities,

If these insights into the minds of HR leaders are to be believed, there will soon be a dearth of qualified senior officials with an intimate understanding of their roles. Pair this with the earlier reports we saw of new HR professionals making up 46% of the industry, and the situation becomes clearer—experts seeking new opportunities on the job market will be harder to find. To prevent people leaders and CHROs from leaving, organizations need to seriously look into adopting a more collaborative and supportive approach.

What Can Organizations Do to Prevent HR Leaders from Leaving?

With HR leaders and CHROs intent on leaving their companies, organizations need to be more proactive about employee retention. A dedicated approach to maintaining the workforce is essential at this stage, to ensure that the workforce is not left without leaders who understand them and their needs best. 

These and other HR leadership insights need to be understood in detail, and strategies need to be designed to work with the leaders, rather than against them. Some strategies include:

• Collaborating and discussing the future direction of the organization with CHROs to understand their expert insights on what the company needs
• Planning for the long-term instead of the short-term changes that companies are focused on right now
• Acknowledging and appreciating HR contributions to the organization
• Providing HR leaders with the resources they need to perform their roles
• Considering the needs of the HR team while planning for resource allocation even when it comes to new technology or support structures
• Supporting HR decisions as a company rather than assigning blame on HR leaders when things do not go as planned or evoke the ire of employees
• Ensuring moral support and resources for leadership to avoid burnout while fulfilling their roles
• Temporarily pausing planning for fiscal gains and reviewing what the organization needs in the present 
• Working with HR teams to understand persistent issues within the organization that need to be dealt with before any other changes are made

Organizations need to be more appreciative of the critical roles HR professionals play within the organization and support their needs and requirements to ensure the organization has their support in return.

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