Dive Brief:
- More than half of CxOs — C-suite leaders who report to the CEO, excluding the CHRO — say they are likely or extremely likely to leave their job in the next two years, according to a Feb. 5 report by Gartner, Inc. Of those, 27% expected to leave in the next six months.
- Generally, leaders reported a greater workload than two years ago, the report found. Two in three of the 200 CxOs surveyed said they’ve been tasked with more responsibilities.
- That extra work is leading to extra stress, leaders say, with 44% reporting higher levels of stress.
Dive Insight:
CxO retention matters, Gartner said, because companies with executives with an average tenure of five years or more outperformed their counterparts on revenue, customer experience and other metrics.
“CHROs have a key role in mitigating CxO attrition,” Alexander Kirss, senior principal in the Gartner HR practice, said in a news release — but they are facing considerable headwinds. “Fewer than one in four CxOs say their CHRO is effective at strengthening the C-suite’s ability to function as a cohesive team. On top of that, just 23% of CxOs report their CHRO is effective at managing tension between C-suite members.”
CHROs can help retain the C-suite by serving as career coaches, building trust with the CEO, helping develop relationships with the top executive and by showing support for mental health and work-life balance, Gartner said.
However, CHROs themselves may also be considering leaving organizations, according to an August report by Blu Ivy Group. An estimated 57% of CHROs and 75% of people leaders are thinking about leaving their roles in the next 8-12 months, the report found.
That comes even as CHROs continue to play an increasingly important role as strategic leaders within organizations, per a May report from iCIMS, a talent acquisition technology provider.
