Four in ten senior leaders say misaligned C-Suite priorities are stalling people-driven transformation. New research from LACE Partners suggests that while Chief People Officers are increasingly recognised as pivotal change-makers, their influence is still undermined by inconsistent collaboration across the executive team.
The report, From implementer to influencer: Redefining HR’s role in business transformation, draws on insights from 450 C-Suite leaders. It found that 66 percent of Chief People Officers (CPOs) believe they are leading transformation agendas, and 82 percent of Chief Executives agree. But that view is far less common among finance and operations: only 36 percent of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and 32 percent of Chief Operating Officers (COOs) consider CPOs to be leading business change.
Finance and technology leaders also voiced concerns about integration. Thirty percent of CFOs said they want better collaboration with HR, while one in three Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) described HR as too siloed to support transformation effectively. These gaps, according to LACE Partners, show that people strategy is often recognised in principle but not embedded into business decision-making.
Aaron Alburey, Founder of LACE Partners, said: “From our work, and now substantiated by research, we know that HR is taking a greater strategic role in shaping business change. However, in many companies, HR leaders are still brought into transformation projects at the planning or execution stage, well after key decisions have been made.”
He warned that transformation initiatives risk losing momentum before they begin if cross-functional collaboration is not addressed.
The findings point to a mixed picture for mid-to-large organisations, particularly those with 10,000 to 50,000 employees. The study found that these businesses often enjoy stronger internal alignment and more agile operations than smaller enterprises, yet they are still expected to deliver large-scale transformation without sufficient tools, capacity, or analytical capability to position HR at the centre of strategy.
For some leaders, elevating HR to equal partner status is essential. Simon Walsh, Chief Executive of OneAdvanced, said: “If the CEO treats HR as an administrative function, then HR probably doesn’t get to play a role in transformation. However, any transformation, whether its systems and tools, market segments or geographic entry, is entirely predicated on the people that deliver it.”
Walsh added that in his company, daily stand-up meetings with the Chief People Officer and Chief Financial Officer ensure alignment on change: “The CEO, the CPO and the CFO are a triumvirate. We do a daily stand-up to explore and understand any change we are undertaking. The CPO is like a sparring partner to ascertain the magnitude of the people change in any transformation… We believe that the CPO is an absolute equal in every single aspect of the business.”
The research highlights the tension that, while CEOs increasingly view their CPOs as strategic equals, the wider executive bench has not fully closed ranks. Without stronger alignment across functions, HR’s role in delivering transformation remains uneven — and progress risks being slowed before initiatives take root.
