Latest news with #CHROs
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Boards Must Lead AI Governance Or Risk Enterprise Value
AI Governance The headlines are relentless: AI will replace jobs, disrupt industries, and reinvent how we work. We've seen mass layoffs, hiring freezes for entry-level roles, and skyrocketing demand for AI talent. While the fear is real, history offers a reassuring truth: We've been here before. And each time, those who governed the transition—strategically, ethically, and financially—emerged stronger. From the agricultural revolution to the dawn of electricity, technological change has always reshaped how organizations allocate resources, define work, and generate value. The current wave of generative AI is no different—except that this time, CHROs, CFOs, and Boards must act in concert to ensure that the transformation doesn't erode human capital but enhances it. Each major technological leap—from the printing press to the iPhone—has followed a similar pattern: panic, restructuring, adaptation, and eventual uplift. For example: AI may feel unprecedented, but the socio-economic cycle it triggers is strikingly familiar: displacement of routine tasks, creation of new roles, redefinition of value creation, and the urgent need for human adaptation. The current discourse around AI is overly tech-centric. But if history is any guide, what matters more than the technology itself is how leadership governs the transformation. CHROs and CFOs must collaborate to ensure AI delivers sustainable value—not just productivity gains. Last year, Rebecca Ray, Ph.D. and I wrote the definitive guide for Generative AI governance as it impacts HR. We discuss the important context for creating policies in this report: Generative AI: Questions the CHRO Should Ask. According to McKinsey, AI could add $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually in global productivity—but only if organizations govern adoption well. Boards first need to understand AI (according to Wingard) and then need to integrate its governance in their accountabilities,. This means, they must ask: AI offers the chance to shift the narrative of human capital from cost to investment. With the SEC signaling greater expectations around human capital disclosures, governance structures must now include oversight of AI's impact on workforce strategy and value creation, and reported under Item 101. Like past revolutions, AI isn't simply automating tasks—it's reshaping business models. Roles like prompt engineers and AI ethicists didn't exist two years ago. Medical diagnosis, legal analysis, and marketing content are being transformed—not eliminated. Gartner estimates that by 2026, 25% of all knowledge workers will use AI assistants daily. But that stat misses the bigger issue: What are we doing with the capacity created? Are we redeploying talent into innovation? Are we upskilling them to support new services? Or are we using AI as an excuse to downsize, and in the process, eroding our pipeline of future leaders? HR leaders must connect workforce transitions to enterprise strategy. For example, when the industrial revolution upended artisan trades, guilds evolved into formal apprenticeships. Today, we need digital apprenticeships to ensure long-term talent supply. No revolution succeeded on technology alone. It took policy: workplace protections, educational reform, and economic incentives. The same is true today. AI transitions demand: Boards should treat this as a fiduciary issue. Poorly governed AI can lead to litigation, reputation damage, and attrition—all of which carry quantifiable financial risk. From a programming perspective, AI doesn't just require new tools. It requires new work design. We've seen this before. In the early 20th century, Frederick Taylor's scientific management reshaped factory workflows. In the AI era, we need 'intelligent management': human-centric, flexible, and designed for augmentation, not replacement. That includes: Companies that succeed will design programs that support human agency—not just machine efficiency. This is where CHROs shine: guiding the human behavior required for systems-level transformation. Workforce decisions are no longer 'soft' choices. They are material to enterprise value. Research by Edmans (Does the Stock Market Fully Value Intangibles? Employee Satisfaction and Equity Prices) shows that firms investing in employee well-being outperform peers in long-term shareholder returns. Just as past technological revolutions rewarded organizations that prioritized workforce adaptation and engagement, today's AI transformation will demand similar investments in human capital to unlock sustainable financial performance. Human capital ROI (HCROI) should become a standard boardroom metric, just like ROE, ROI, etc. A range of informative human capital metrics can be found in the ISO 30414 standard. Ignoring the human dimension of AI puts these outcomes at risk History teaches us is this: Organizations that thrive during upheaval aren't those with the flashiest tech—they're the ones that manage the transition best. That means, for board directors and C-suite executive, they need to: We've been here before. The stakes are high. But so is the opportunity—if we choose to mindfully lead, not simply react.
Entrepreneur
26-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Indian HR Leaders Anticipate 383% Rise in Agentic AI Adoption by 2027
The shift will require every employee to gain new human, agent, and business skills, says Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer, Salesforce You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Agentic AI is set to transform the Indian workplace, with a projected 383 per cent growth in adoption by 2027, according to new research by Salesforce. The survey reveals that only 12 per cent of Indian organisations have implemented agentic AI so far, but this is expected to surge to 58 per cent within two years. The study highlights that HR leaders foresee major shifts in workforce dynamics. CHROs anticipate redeploying nearly a quarter (24.7 per cent) of their employees to new roles, aiming to enhance productivity by 41.7 per cent and reduce labour costs by 26.2 per cent. Digital labour is no longer viewed as a support function, it is emerging as a strategic imperative. Despite this momentum, 88 per cent of Indian businesses are yet to fully adopt agentic AI, and 63 per cent of HR leaders say employees are unaware of how digital labour will affect their roles. To bridge this gap, 88 per cent of CHROs are either already reskilling workers (15 per cent) or planning to do so (73 per cent), focusing on both technical and soft skills. AI literacy has been identified as the most essential skill in the coming years, alongside interpersonal capabilities. As AI agents take on routine tasks, human workers are expected to shift into relationship-focused roles, such as account management and partnerships. More than half (54 per cent) of CHROs plan to redeploy employees into such positions, while others will be reassigned to roles in compliance, ethics, and AI governance. With research and development (59 per cent) and IT (51 per cent) expected to expand, the HR function is becoming central to navigating the AI transition. Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer, Salesforce, said the shift will require every employee to gain new human, agent, and business skills. "We're in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of work with digital labor that is unlocking new levels of productivity, autonomy, and agency at a speed never before thought possible," said Scardino. "Every industry must redesign jobs, reskill, and redeploy talent — and every employee will need to learn new human, agent, and business skills to thrive in the digital labor revolution."
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
5 Ways Employee Health Will Shape The Future Of Leadership
Employee health and well-being The future of leadership doesn't just belong to those who can adapt to change—it belongs to those who intentionally invest in the well-being and vitality of their people. Amid rapid transformation in healthcare, technology, and workforce dynamics, a critical leadership question is emerging: Are you designing an organization where people can thrive for decades, not just survive quarter to quarter? Longevity—once the domain of biohackers and futurists—is now a core strategic concern. And not just for personal health, but for workforce health, talent retention, and organizational resilience. A quiet revolution is underway. Aging is being redefined not as a linear path to decline, but as a modifiable, and in some ways reversible, biological process. Many chronic diseases that drive healthcare costs and shorten careers—heart disease, neurodegeneration, diabetes—are deeply tied to aging itself. For today's leaders, this insight unlocks new ways to think about workforce sustainability. From a macroeconomic standpoint, the opportunity is massive. The global longevity economy reached $25 trillion in 2022 and is expected to hit $33 trillion by 2026, according to Aging Analytics Agency. That's not a niche—it's a full-blown frontier. For CEOs and CHROs alike, this means rethinking employee experience through the lens of long-term health, retention, and cognitive performance. Investing in longevity isn't just about capital—it's about culture. While family offices and VCs are backing breakthroughs in diagnostics, regenerative medicine, and AI-powered biomarkers, forward-thinking companies are embedding health span into their leadership models and employee value propositions. 'Even simple changes such as sleep optimization, metabolic tracking, and individualized care protocols can yield powerful results in energy, clarity, and resilience,' says longevity investor Andrew Medjuck. 'When leaders adopt and promote these strategies, they create a ripple effect across their teams and industries.' The companies that prioritize human performance—mental, physical, and emotional—aren't just creating healthier teams. They're reducing burnout, improving decision-making, and building trust. In the modern workplace, longevity and retention go hand in hand. With professionals now working into their 60s, 70s, and beyond, it's time to view age as an asset, not a liability. Supporting health and cognitive endurance is no longer a nice-to-have—it's a strategic necessity. According to Harvard Business Review: 'In the long run, companies that care about their employees' health and well-being will be more likely to have employees who care about the company's health and well-being too.' The rise of enterprise-grade wearables and digital health tools further proves the point. These are no longer fringe gadgets—they're mainstream tools for optimizing performance, preventing burnout, and catching decline before it becomes crisis. With the wearables market projected to hit $380 billion by 2028, leaders have a unique opportunity to make workplace wellness measurable, personalized, and effective. There's also a deeper ethical responsibility. If longevity advances are only accessible to the elite, inequality will widen. That's why true leadership means not only embracing these tools personally but also working to make them accessible across teams, income levels, and communities. Philanthropic leaders, policymakers, and executives alike should be asking: How do we democratize access to the science of staying well? Whether through inclusive benefit design, employer-sponsored preventative care, or support for early-stage health startups, leaders can expand access and equity—while still driving business outcomes. As Medjuck points out, family offices are especially suited to invest in longevity with long-term vision, prioritizing impact over short-term ROI. But any leader can take a stand by shaping strategies that center human flourishing as a core business objective. The most powerful leaders don't just manage for this quarter—they invest in people for the long haul. And in a world where burnout, chronic stress, and attrition are rising threats, health is the ultimate competitive advantage. Longevity isn't just about living longer—it's about working better, thinking sharper, and showing up more fully for the teams we lead. As aging shifts from being a burden to a solvable challenge, forward-thinking organizations will distinguish themselves by how well they care for, retain, and elevate their people. This isn't just a health initiative. It's a leadership imperative. The future belongs to long-term thinkers. And in today's business landscape, the leaders who go ALL IN on the health and well-being of their people will build the most resilient and future-ready organizations of all.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Managers Report More Negativity Than Their Teams — Why That Matters
Managers might be the most misunderstood role in the modern workplace. A lot rides on them. But they carry the most pressure too. Read any article about organizational success and you'll hear about visionary leaders, heroic founders, transformative strategies. But behind those headlines and high-wire acts is the quiet, steady presence of managers. Especially middle managers. They're asked to be culture carriers, performance drivers, emotional shock absorbers. All while hitting targets they didn't set, with resources they don't control. Gallup's latest research confirms what many have sensed: managers are less engaged than before and many are looking for change. They are also struggling more than the people they lead. They report more negative daily experiences. More stress, more sadness, more loneliness. Manager engagement Gallup If you're a CEO, CHRO or senior leader, this isn't just a middle management issue — it's a leadership pipeline crisis in slow motion. Today's disengaged managers are tomorrow's missing leaders. That should give us pause. Because when the manager is disengaged, it doesn't stop with them. It spreads. Culture frays. Performance drops. Innovation stalls. The manager is the message — and if they're emotionally underwater, the signal gets distorted. This isn't just a mental health issue. It's a performance crisis. Gallup's meta-analysis shows 70% of the variance in team engagement comes down to the manager. When they're depleted, it cascades. And the signs are building. Take this: 41% of employees say they don't have time to learn at work. That includes many managers. Even when the desire to grow is there, the space isn't. Add to that the emotional weight they carry — part performance monitor, part team therapist, part culture keeper — and there's barely time to breathe, let alone lead. Many managers know they're still growing. Four in 10 say they haven't mastered team engagement or performance management. Six in 10 don't feel confident developing people or shaping careers. It's not about effort—it's about support. This is where AI enters the story. There's hope that AI could ease the load. In the right hands, it might. It can reduce admin clutter — manage schedules, budgets, updates, and reports. That's not just convenience. That's capacity. It could give managers back the time they desperately need to coach, reflect, and develop their teams. But it won't fix everything. An Oracle study on AI and the future of work is telling. Workers said robots outperform managers in areas like maintaining schedules, solving problems, and delivering unbiased data. But when it comes to empathy, coaching, and shaping culture — humans still lead. That's not just a difference in skills. It's a shift in what matters. But the Oracle study also revealed something chilling – 64 percent of people would trust a robot more than their manager and half have turned to a robot instead of their manager for advice. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Managers have been set up to fail and then faulted for failing. But part of me still finds it heartbreaking — that we've made technology feel more trustworthy than a human who means well. As AI absorbs more operational tasks, the differentiators for human managers will evolve. It won't be about who can track more data. It will be about who can hold a better conversation. Build trust. Read the room. Have the hard dialogue. Create safety and spark courage. So here's the challenge: we can't just automate away the stress. Delegating admin to algorithms won't be enough. We need a new kind of investment. Leadership development often feels like a luxury brand. Curated. Exclusive. Reserved for those who've arrived. Manager development, in contrast, is mass-produced. Standard modules. Generic content. 'Training' that rarely connects to the realities of the job. But not all overload looks the same, and not all development should either. If you want sustainable performance, stop treating manager development like an assembly line. It needs to be tailored and individualized, not templated. Expansive, not extractive. And deeply aligned with where a manager is — emotionally, cognitively and professionally. Career stage matters. So does emotional load. A first-time manager isn't wrestling with the same challenges as a mid-career one. Pretending otherwise is a setup for disengagement. Support should feel more like a refueling station than a staircase. Personalized. Just-in-time. Built around what unlocks each manager's next leap. If 41 percent of employees say they don't have time to learn, your systems aren't just flawed — they're actively blocking development. AI can give time back by clearing inboxes, summarizing meetings and automating workflows. But reclaimed time isn't growth unless it's intentionally reallocated. Organizations must shift learning from extra to embedded. If development isn't part of the job, it won't be part of the culture. Most performance systems track deliverables. Few track depletion. You can't solve burnout with bonuses. You can't spot it with quarterly reviews. You have to ask — consistently and compassionately — 'How are you really doing?' Burnout is emotional. Engagement is relational. Make that part of your operating system, not an HR campaign. Most managers don't need another dashboard. They need the courage to enter tough conversations and the skill to come out the other side with trust intact. Start here: These aren't soft skills. They are core capabilities, and they should be measured like any other metric. A manager's ability to coach directly impacts retention, trust and innovation. Map these skills to measurable outcomes like retention, customer engagement and collaboration. If it's not being measured, it won't be taken seriously. If your most grounded, values-driven managers burn out quietly and you only notice when they resign, your definition of success is too narrow. Start expanding the lens: Rest, reflection and renewal shouldn't be post-burnout interventions. They should be built into your performance architecture. Otherwise, you're rewarding erosion and calling it excellence. Managers aren't just the middle. They are the infrastructure. The memory. The movement. If you want culture, strategy and performance to last, invest in them early, personally and deeply. Because when a manager is emotionally spent, it shows up. In meetings that fall flat. In hallway silences. In the idea that never gets voiced. In turnover that looks abrupt but was quietly unfolding for months. And if we want to protect our future, we need to listen upstream. Not just to what they do, but how they're doing. Because no AI can replace a leader who believes in you, stretches you, and sees your worth before you see it yourself. That's the kind of leadership today's managers are still capable of. But only if we see them too. And if we invest in them now — before it's too late.
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
AI Is Reshaping Work—It's Time For CHROs To Lead The Change
Generative AI Anadolu via Getty Images By now, it's clear that generative AI is not just another HR tech trend. It is a general-purpose technology—like electricity or the internet—that will permanently reshape how work is designed, executed, and governed. But while most of the conversation has focused on productivity gains and cost efficiencies, the real question for CHROs is this: How can AI adoption be managed to create sustainable financial value? At the intersection of HR, Finance, and Governance, CHROs have a unique opportunity—and responsibility—to ensure that AI enhances human capital rather than erodes it. This is not just about keeping humans in the loop. It's about redesigning the loop entirely to reflect new workflows, risk realities, and value drivers. Let's start with the ground floor: entry-level roles. As AI tools become more capable of drafting communications, synthesizing research, and automating workflows, organizations are quietly phasing out internships and junior positions. On paper, this looks like efficiency. But in practice, it severs the pipeline through which companies develop future leaders and institutional knowledge. A study entitled "Experimental evidence on the productivity effects of generative artificial intelligence" found that professionals using AI reduced their writing time by 40%. Another study entitled The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot showed a 55.8% productivity boost among developers. That productivity is real—but how we allocate the time saved will determine whether organizations create more value or just hollow out career development. As discussed in Are Entry-Level Jobs Going Away? The Hidden Workforce Shift, replacing entry-level labor with AI may improve short-term margins. But it raises long-term governance questions: Who are we training? Where will the next generation of managers come from? What happens to culture when new employees never learn by doing? AI governance is no longer the CIO's domain alone. As I've written in collaboration with Rebecca Ray, Ph.D., formerly of The Conference Board, CHROs must actively design how AI is integrated into HR programs, performance management, and workforce planning. This includes: Managing AI adoption isn't just about ethical governance—it's a financially strategic imperative. With people-related costs comprising 50–70% of operating expenses, AI investments must deliver measurable returns in the form of improved HCROI, reduced attrition, and increased productivity—not merely headcount reduction. This also requires a mindset shift: treating human capital not as a cost center, but as an investment in a long-term intangible asset, fully aligned with how the SEC is beginning to frame human capital disclosures. AI isn't just about replacing human labor—it's about creating capacity. But the capacity to do more does not automatically translate into strategic advantage. If AI saves an employee two hours per day, the CHRO must work with finance and line leaders to determine: Do we expect more output? Do we redirect that time toward innovation? Or do we treat it as white space for creativity and learning? This decision is a financial one. It affects productivity ratios, employee engagement, and long-term value creation. It also affects governance—because misalignment here can lead to burnout, misallocation of labor, or worse: value leakage through disengagement. There's a paradox emerging in the research: AI can improve individual creativity (especially for less-experienced workers) but often reduces group originality. Outputs become more homogenous, and divergent thinking fades. If HR leaders retreat from workforce development or DEI efforts in favor of 'efficiency,' the company risks becoming less innovative over time—just when innovation is its biggest competitive edge. Preserving human originality isn't a soft skill issue—it's a governance priority. Innovation correlates to intangible value, brand strength, and long-term equity returns. Homogenization is a hidden tax on your future enterprise value. The role of HR is evolving from function to sense-making system. Generative AI demands that CHROs master three new competencies: This is governance in motion. It's how organizations protect human capital as an asset class and align it to enterprise outcomes. AI doesn't just change jobs. It changes workflows. This is where CHROs must collaborate with COOs and CFOs to unlock strategic value. From automating performance reviews to streamlining internal mobility, AI enables smarter work design. But if those workflows aren't tied to outcomes—like margin improvement, time-to-productivity, or customer experience—they become shiny distractions. Just as factories had to rewire operations when electricity replaced steam, we must rethink workflows—not simply layer AI on top of outdated processes. AI is an accelerant. But only human judgment, creativity, and empathy can direct it toward value creation. The organizations that will win aren't those that replace the most people with AI. They're the ones that redesign work so humans and machines together generate more value than either could alone. That's not just a workforce strategy. It's a financial one. And it puts the CHRO—uniquely—at the center of enterprise value creation in the AI age.
