Aligning HR to the CEO Growth Agenda

Throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s, CEOs were rewarded for cost reduction and cost containment. With a clear focus on the bottom line and tantalizing ROIs, companies invested heavily to get lean, outsource nonstrategic work, improve quality, and introduce better products. For HR to remain a strategic partner in the new, growth-driven future, it must answer the call to support and systemize innovations that achieve the growth goals now topping the corporate agenda. Growth attracts talent, creates the capital to grow faster, and can transform the market valuation of a company. Yet many companies have a significant enterprise growth gap. Almost 60% of respondents to the HRPS/i4cp survey list the primary objective for their organization as organic growth. Looking forward, the HR agenda will change because the CEO agenda has shifted to the top line. Sustained, steady top-line growth, including the creation of new growth platforms, has real implications for HR in innovation, leadership, and organization design.