Chief human resource officers are coming to their roles with increasingly diverse backgrounds.
Aon Hewitt’s recent
“Those well-equipped to achieve the greatest success will have diverse skill sets, be adaptable and agile, and gain hands-on learning from working through real-life situations and acquiring knowledge across disciplines and industries,” says Neil Shastri, Aon Hewitt’s leader, global insights & innovation.
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Close to three quarters of CHROs noted having made at least one industry career change, according to Aon’s study, and a change in industry leads to an increase in the speed at which someone who aspires to be a CHRO progresses toward that goal. For example:
- Those who have never changed their industry had an average work experience of 27.5 years, and an average tenure of just four years as CHRO.
- Those who have changed their industry more than three times had the highest average tenure as a CHRO, with seven years, and the lowest average work experience (23.3 years).
In addition to having a larger perspective across industries, another key component of HR leaders is board and C-suite level experiences. Two-thirds (66%) of respondents to Aon’s survey had prior board exposure.
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Dovetailing with Aon’s findings, similar data from a larger study by the Society for Human Resource Management noted 70% of senior HR professionals hold a spot on the board of directors – compared to 63% in 2009 and 41% in 2004.