The competition for skilled employees will continue to challenge growing companies. Talent will find top organizations.

HR can’t be well managed without thoughtful criteria for assessing talent. The best HR leaders today are doing the math.A New Kind of HR Leader

The rise of the CHRO — Chief HR Officers, participating in the highest levels of decision-making — confirms the seriousness of boards of directors in elevating the role and capabilities of HR leadership. While historically CHROs were added to boards as a way to add diversity, companies in recent years have begun to add top-notch CHROs to broaden their perspective on organizational issues and expertise in talent matters.

The trend has accelerated this year and will continue to do so.

The pressures in this new HR world are enormous. A few of the current crop of HR superstars — Kevin Cox of American Express, Laszlo Bock of Google, Jeff Smith of BlackRock, Tracy Keoch of HP, Matt Schuyler of Hilton Hotels, Ashley Goldsmith of Polycom — are carrying the weight of their organizations on their shoulders.

Leaders like these won’t be caught short when asked for a realistic assessment of their organizations’ critical assets.

The best HR leaders welcome the challenge and in the process are strengthening the role of HR. They understand that talent is the competitive edge and the core of any organization — and that talent development is the most important responsibility of their job.

Organizations will find attracting and retaining top talent their main challenge going forward. This, I believe, is relevant to all organizations looking for skilled employees.

Please comment or call to discuss.