Jared Oren

The role of the CHRO has never been more complex or more critical. At the Gartner CHRO Inner Circle in New York this week, my colleague Catie Brand and I had the privilege of spending time with over 75 CHROs. The conversations were candid, and the patterns were hard to miss. Here’s some highlights that surfaced again and again: - AI’s real opportunity is long-term The focus should be on unlocking AI’s long-term potential. Coaching and recruitment stood out as the areas where AI can have the biggest impact, scaling access and insight, but only if it remains human-led and tech-enabled. - Change fatigue is hitting harder than ever LHH research shows 56% of leaders are burned out, and 75% want more support. I heard similar observations from the CHROs at this event: nonstop transformation is draining trust and energy. At LHH we see that the organizations that get change right prioritize investing in their leaders. They give them the development support to build the hard and human skills to manage change with confidence. And they create a coaching culture within the organization that makes it safe to talk honestly, learn quickly, and keep energy through disruption. - Reinvention is the new normal We spoke about how forces like AI, economic shifts, and demographics are reshaping careers, not just jobs. LHH research shows 58% of people in transition moved into completely new occupations in the last year. What we see making a big difference in talent management is companies adopting skills-based hiring, investing in upskilling on the job, and providing mobility or outplacement programs that help people spot transferable skills and step into new careers with confidence. The conversations at Gartner confirmed what our data shows daily: the future of work won’t be solved by one-off fixes. It will be built by CHROs who design systems that are adaptable by design and where talent strategies turn disruption into opportunity. A sincere thank you to the CHROs I met during this session. Your candor and insight were invaluable and a reminder of the depth of expertise driving this profession forward.   #FutureOfWork #CHRO #Leadership #AI

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When a top candidate declines an offer, it can feel like a major setback. Discover 4️⃣ pitfalls a hiring team must avoid during key stages of an executive search to stay aligned and successful. https://lnkd.in/ekq2_3H2 Authored by Justin Wilkins, EVP #kimmel #executivesearch #offers

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53% of HR leaders are now C-suite members, making them as important as heads of finance and information. In high-performing companies, this percentage rises to 60%. Personnel Today report on our latest research:  https://lnkd.in/ekqfb7VY #HR #CHRO #FutureOfWork Download the full report, Understanding the Path to CHRO Research here: https://lnkd.in/eh_pmaVH 

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Leading HR Tech analyst Josh Bersin explains in a new conversation how his report reveals the benefits of investing in an often-overlooked part of the hiring process: your frontline workers. Watch the full discussion between Josh and Joshua Secrest: https://lnkd.in/g7Fwqiwh

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In partnership with The Josh Bersin Company, we conducted a series of deep-dive interviews with TA leaders from various industries to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities in talent acquisition this year. Download our latest Talent Climate report to unpack the four key trends, access stories and examples from world-leading organizations, and gain recommendations to help you build a future-ready workforce: https://lnkd.in/d5Rg2hYr #Hiring #Leadership #Recruitment #ArtificialIntelligence #TalentAcquisition #Technology

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The CHRO is no longer a support role. It's a co-pilot seat. During a powerful conversation last week at the Human Resources Policy Institute between Hubert Joly (former CEO of Best Buy) and Peter Fasolo, Ph.D. (Former CHRO of Johnson & Johnson), one truth kept rising to the top: The CEO and Board now expect CHROs to lead on the business, not just the people agenda. Not in theory. In practice. Hubert shared how his CHROs shaped strategy, drove cultural transformation, and even sparked his own personal evolution as a leader. From sending him to work a week in-store to shifting his view on perfectionism and vulnerability. Some takeaways that stuck with me: 1. Start every leadership meeting with people and org... not finance. It changes everything. 2. Co-create culture like a gardener tends to soil. Your job is not to micromanage the flower, but to make sure the environment helps it grow. 3. The frontline isn’t an abstraction. If the board doesn’t know what’s happening at the front lines, it’s flying blind. 4. We track ROI on tech. Why not on people? If we say talent is our top asset, we should hold ourselves to the same investment rigor. 5. It’s time to redefine what boardroom-ready CHROs look like. Not just strategic partners but actually growth partners. Would love to hear from other HR leaders: How are you helping your CEO and board see the connection between people investment and business outcomes?

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I arrived at the Gartner HR Symposium this week with a question that is keeping me up at night: What is my role as Chief People Officer/CHRO to help my company face the AI revolution? Judging by the 7,000 attendees—including hundreds of CHROs—I wasn’t alone. The opening keynote was insightful: HR’s focus must shift from “the workforce” to “the work.” In other words, it’s not just about preparing people, but about reimagining what work needs to be done, and how. AI is changing work in three fundamental ways: 1. Augment: Helping people work better and smarter. 2. Reengineer: Redesigning workflows and even entire functions. 3. Invent: Creating entirely new, AI-driven ways of working. What does this mean for HR? 1. Augment – Be More Directive. Most employees are open to using AI, but don’t know where it adds value. We hand out powerful tools like Copilot, but often forget the playbook. The result? Limited returns. HR must guide AI adoption—tying it directly to business challenges, partnering closely with IT, and making it a priority to work hand-in-hand with the CIO. We need to shift employees from AI users to AI value creators. 2. Reengineer – Anticipate Ripple Effects. Some organizations are redesigning work without HR at the table, leading to empty talent pipelines, skills atrophy, and fractured career paths. The CHRO must be the master of ripple effects—asking not just “Can AI do this?” but “What are the implications if it does in the short and long term?” We must define principles for redesign ahead of time (e.g., keeping humans in the loop at key points), prioritize the biggest ripple effects, and plan the work—not just the workforce. 3. Invent – Sense the Timing. AI will eventually automate more decisions, but the hype is currently outpacing reality. Our role is to reset expectations, sense when AI will truly impact roles, and pave the path to new growth opportunities—through career pivots with upskilling. Gartner predicts that by 2032, 30% of top economies will require certified human quotas. It means we need to think of the importance of people even for these new ways of working including agentic AI that will do tasks autonomously. My key takeaways: • The CHRO and CIO will be instrumental in building the future of work together. Jean-Francois Gamache CIO and Emmanuel Levitte CTO we will get even closer :-) • HR must move from experimentation to intentionality—guiding, prioritizing, and orchestrating change. And for that, HR must elevate its own maturity, its own digital dexterity to be true business partners. We must plan for the work, not just the workforce, to mitigate talent risks and unlock AI’s true value. • HR will need to be the mastermind of ripple effects to ensure we anticipate and mitigate risks and debate them in the C-suite. We need to agree on principles ahead of time. I’m energized by the challenge ahead! #GartnerHRSymposium #FutureOfWork #AI #HRLeadership #CHRO #DigitalTransformation

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As AI continues to transform the workplace, investing in upskilling isn’t optional—it’s essential. Forward-thinking organizations are already preparing their workforce for an AI-driven future. Dive into SHRM’s 2025 CHRO Perspectives & Priorities report to see how top HR leaders are shaping tomorrow’s workplace. Download here: https://shrm.co/6jp3e7

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Imagine L&D so critical to a Fortune 10 company, its leader co-chairs meetings with the CEO. Martha Soehren made that a reality at Comcast. Most L&D leaders dream of truly influencing top-tier strategy. Martha Soehren, PhD, former Chief Talent Development Officer at Comcast, didn't just get a seat at that table; she co-chaired the Executive Learning Council alongside the CEO. This isn't merely about taking orders and delivering impactful learning; it's about redefining L&D's strategic importance and embedding it directly into the highest levels of business decision-making. In the latest episode of The Learning & Development Podcast presented by 360Learning, Martha unveils the audacious steps she took to transform a fragmented learning operation (with 79 different reporting relationships!) into a centralised powerhouse. Her story is a masterclass in governance, influence and proving value that delivered millions of dollars in documented ROI. Dive into this episode to discover how Martha: - Orchestrated a massive L&D centralisation by building a robust business case, using external benchmarks and compelling storytelling; - Secured consistent executive buy-in by mastering "over-communication" and proactive alignment, ensuring L&D was always positioned for success; - Navigated complex organisational politics and turned tough feedback into significant wins; - Connected learning outcomes directly to business success, saving millions and elevating L&D's credibility across the organisation. If you're an L&D leader ready to elevate your function from order-taker to strategic partner and genuinely influence your organisation's trajectory, you need to hear Martha's story. This is how you truly control the L&D narrative. Listen to the full episode via the link in the comments…

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Wondering if your pay strategy is helping (or hurting) your ability to attract and retain top talent? When compensation decisions are based on gut feel or outdated benchmarks, businesses risk overpaying, underpaying, or losing their competitive edge. Our latest article breaks down how to use real market data to make smarter, fairer, and more strategic pay decisions. #compensationstrategy #compensationguidance #hrinsights #employeepay #kmahr #wearehr https://lnkd.in/e3ri6EWP

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Remote work has expanded access to talent in meaningful ways. It has also surfaced a challenge many TA leaders are navigating: authenticity. Across the industry, we are seeing more candidates misrepresent experience, outsource interviews, or apply at scale with little regard for fit. That reality has pushed TA teams to evolve, not just to move faster, but to hire smarter. At Bamboo Health, our TA team has made real progress through innovation. We have strengthened verification, rethought interview design, and built tighter alignment across the hiring process. Hiring in a remote first world looks different today, and better because of it. Talent Acquisition has always been about people. Increasingly, it is also about discernment and design. Curious how other TA leaders are continuing to adapt. What is working for you?

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