Does your company have a chief financial officer? Most likely. Does your company have a chief people officer (or chief human resources officer)? Most likely not. And yet, your people are the catalyst for innovation and growth within your company. Your business would not exist without your people.

So, what exactly is a chief people officer (CPO)? Why is the role so critical? And what are the biggest challenges they face today?

As a former CPO for a well-respected, award-winning company in the wholesale distribution industry, and now as a consultant and speaker working with clients in the same industry, I’ve had a chance to help shape what this role looks like inside and outside my companies. 

Human Resources to People

Before we dive into what a CPO does, we need to take a step back and look at the precursor to People departments: Human Resources (HR). 

HR departments (then usually called employee welfare) began to form in the late 19th century to help keep employees safe on the job. In the early 1900s, we started to see Personnel departments emerge, and they largely focused on payroll, employee records and grievances. 

In the mid-1900s, we saw the beginnings of HR departments, still focusing on administration but adding strategy behind managing people and their roles within the organization. In the mid-2000s, we started to see the term “People” replace HR in some large tech companies, a trend that would grow exponentially over the next two decades. With that shift in title, for many companies, a gradual shift from reactive to proactive and from support function to business function also began. 

But not for everyone.

If your company is still stuck in the 1900s with its approach to people, ask yourself why. There may be many reasons, but the most common that I see are the HR manager/director/etc. started at the company years ago and gradually took on HR responsibilities because someone had to.

You are not viewing HR as a critical business function. Maybe you have not worked with an HR leader who could be a strategic partner. Or maybe you don’t understand what a CPO can do for your company — yet! 

What Is a Chief People Officer?

A CPO is a member of your executive team responsible for aligning your company’s people strategy with its business strategy. And it’s a popular title; hiring for CPOs has grown more than 144 percent since 2019!

CPO responsibilities can vary widely from company to company. As a CPO at The Granite Group, I led through the lens of the employee experience. Everything we did as a team was wrapped around our purpose:  co-creating an incredible, individual people experience. I oversaw all aspects of HR/People — from employer branding through exit and every part of the employee experience in between. 

Far from the compliance-focused administrative departments of old, modern People departments are led by talented business leaders who serve as culture catalysts, change agents, diversity/equity/inclusion/belonging and well-being champions, data storytelling experts, employee experience designers, internal coaches, consultants and guides to help businesses — and their people — grow.

And companies with strong People leaders are more successful. Good CPOs can foster a highly engaged workforce; companies with highly engaged workforces are 21 percent more profitable. 

The Biggest Challenges Facing CPOs Today

Like any business leader, people, profits and competition are things that keep CPOs up at night. However, focusing on the field of people, I’ll explain three of our biggest challenges:

1. Well-being. We may have thought that once the global COVID-19 pandemic ended, we were in the clear for a while. However, we were not prepared for the mental health crisis to follow. And while each employee bears responsibility for their own mental health, employees bring their whole selves to work — including burnout, mental health issues, and more. 

Connecting people to resources and supporting them in ways we haven’t in the past is new territory for many People leaders. And supporting employee health and well-being is not only the right thing to do, it’s critical to the profitability of your business.

2. Upskilling/reskilling. More than 75 million baby boomers will retire soon. Nearly half of tradespeople are approaching retirement age. Are we prepared? How are we ensuring that knowledge transfer is taking place in our companies? Are we adequately partnering our new GenZ employees with those in older generations to learn from each other? 

And what about artificial intelligence (AI)? AI will replace many of our more routine tasks; it’s already started. I use AI every day in my work, and soon we all will. What will that work look like in our warehouses and trucks? Current employees need new skills to continue to grow and develop their careers.

3. Frontline managers. Are we adequately training our frontline managers? In my previous work, this was one of the top focus areas for our team because many frontline managers have day-to-day tasks in addition to leading their teams. Also, many frontline managers become managers because they were the best salesperson, warehouse person or whatever person and are dropped into the role without proper training. This is a huge challenge for many People leaders. 

Additionally, frontline managers are now taking on the responsibilities once regulated to HR: performance management, employee development, discipline, and more. This critical segment of the workforce does not often get the time, attention and training it deserves.

CPOs are empathetic change agents capable of leading your company through global pandemics, acquisitions, downsizings, exponential growth and everything in between. In today’s fast-changing and unpredictable business environment, a strategic and empathetic CPO is not only valuable but also essential. 

By championing your people and aligning their growth and well-being with your company’s mission, a strong CPO will help your organization navigate challenges, seize opportunities and, ultimately, achieve greater success. 

TRACIE SPONENBERG is an award-winning chief people officer, keynote speaker, and former CPO of The Granite Group. She recently left the corporate world tolaunch Tracie Sponenberg LLC, a boutique consulting firm focusing on advisory and fractional consulting, coaching and facilitation in distribution and related industries. Sponenberg is focused on transforming organizations from Paper-First to People-First.  You can reach her at tracie@traciesponenberg.com or  at   www.traciesponenberg.com