Where are all the future HR leaders?

There is a growing succession gap among the top ranks of human resource departments – and organizational culture may be the top culprit, according to a Salveson Stetson Group survey of 382 HR executives.

While eight out of 10 of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, 61 percent are willing to leave for the right opportunity. However, only half believe that their companies have a ready-now successor should they leave their job.

“As the demand for strategic HR leadership grows, it is crucial for employers to both take note of their HR leaders’ job satisfaction and have a formal succession plan in place,” says Sally Stetson, co-founder and principal. “HR plays a key element in executing a company’s business strategy, so ensuring that your company has a capable leader in place has never been more important.”

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Close to 20 percent of the HR leaders point to their organization’s culture as the top reason they would accept a new position. When asked to identify the most fulfilling aspects of their current role, they cite job responsibilities (46 percent), workplace environment (15 percent) and relationship with their bosses (14 percent).

“The HR profession has evolved greatly over the past several years, making the CHRO position increasingly complex,” says John Salveson, the search firm’s other co-founder and principal. “As more HR leaders join the C-suite, CEOs must better understand the unique demands CHROs face and create an environment that is both stimulating and rewarding for them.”

Regardless of how highly regarded a CHRO may be, the potential to lose that executive to another company is real and sometimes unavoidable, Salveson says.

“Only a well-thought-out succession plan mitigates the risk of this loss given the true impact that strong HR leaders have on their organizations,” he says.

Many leadership development programs emerge naturally out of a well-managed company culture based in progression, achievement and appreciation, according to HRDive, and “the two feed into each other naturally.”

“Some studies have shown that HR may be losing influence on the C-suite partly due to a lack of modern business skills, including digital analysis — perhaps another reason HR leadership should reconsider the content of their leadership development programs,” HRDive writes. “The profession requires future leaders that can shake HR’s image as merely reactionaries and demonstrate that they can be proactive about achieving companies’ human capital goals.”