Over the past two decades, the role of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) has evolved from administrative oversight to strategic leadership. Yet despite this elevation in importance, CHROs continue to exhibit one of the highest turnover rates among C-suite roles. Why?

At JOlivier & Partners, where we advise leadership teams and boards across Europe and beyond, this trend is both visible and deeply telling. It highlights a fundamental tension: the CHRO is increasingly held accountable for driving transformation, without always being granted the institutional power or support to do so effectively.

1. The Burden of Transformation Without the Levers of Execution

CHROs are expected to lead cultural change, implement diversity and inclusion strategies, manage employer branding, drive leadership development, and support ESG commitments. Yet in many organisations, they are still excluded from core strategic decisions. This mismatch between accountability and authority is a primary source of frustration — and attrition.

2. Fragile Alignment with the CEO and the Executive Team

The success of a CHRO is closely tied to their relationship with the CEO, CFO, and other senior executives. Tensions often arise around compensation policy, headcount planning, succession strategy, and budget allocation for people-related initiatives. When alignment breaks down — particularly in the wake of a leadership change — the CHRO is often the first to exit.

3. Ambiguous Expectations and Subjective Metrics

Unlike the CFO or COO, whose success can be measured through clear financial and operational KPIs, the CHRO is often judged based on abstract or qualitative indicators: employee engagement, culture, retention, morale. This makes performance assessments more political — and inherently unstable.

4. Emotional Strain and Reputation Risk

HR leaders must manage some of the most delicate matters within an organisation: redundancies, misconduct, mental health, discrimination, union relations. This emotional toll, compounded by the reputational risk inherent in public-facing HR crises, can rapidly lead to burnout.

5. Aggressive Head-Hunting and Market Competition

Despite the instability of the role, top-performing CHROs are in high demand. As companies embrace organisational transformation, digitisation, and ESG integration, CHROs with vision and board-level gravitas are constantly targeted by headhunters and private equity-backed firms. This market pull accelerates the turnover cycle.

How Can Organisations Retain High-Performing CHROs?

At JOlivier & Partners, we advocate for a strategic revaluation of the HR function. Key recommendations include:

• Giving the CHRO true influence at board level, not just a symbolic presence.
• Setting clear, achievable KPIs, balancing short-term metrics with long-term value creation.
• Promoting shared accountability among the CEO, CFO and CHRO, recognising the interconnectedness of people and performance.
• Providing personal growth opportunities, including representation on external boards and access to international leadership forums.

Final Thought

The future of high-performing organisations will be shaped by their ability to attract, retain, and develop extraordinary talent. To achieve this, companies must treat their CHRO not as an administrator of policy, but as a strategic architect of enterprise value.

At JOlivier & Partners, we operationalise this belief through our Board Services & Succession Planning practice — supporting boards in identifying, assessing, and empowering their People leaders.

If you’re looking to future-proof your leadership team or reimagine your people strategy, we are here to assist.

— JOlivier & Partners