We’ve talked a lot about the younger cohort of employees entering the workplace and what they stand to bring (along with their expectations). But what about the younger cohort of HR professionals entering the C-suite? Millennials, some of whom are now in their early-40s, are joining the C-suite as retirement and burnout hit the executive people function. What’s more, they bring a new generational outlook to their roles.

In my latest piece for Fortune, I spoke with millennial HR executives about how their lived experiences influence their approach to talent strategy. Most say their leadership has been shaped just as heavily by their time outside the office as the time spent inside. “[Millennials have] had to fundamentally shift how we think about the world and decide how we want to curate the experience of our interactions,” KeyAnna Schmiedl, chief human experience officer at HR software company Workhuman, told me.

Millennials’ growing presence in the CHRO role has led to a shift toward a more human-centric strategy and a willingness to be early adopters of new technologies that lighten their administrative loads. The following excerpt details how young leaders are reimagining HR. 

“These newly minted executives have markedly different generational ideas for talent strategy, influenced by their lived experiences in and out of the workforce. They’ve experienced the Great Recession, crushing student loan debt, a heightened push for social justice, digital transformation, and much more. Coupled with HR’s recent pivot from a mainly compliance-focused function to one that’s expected to serve as a trusted, strategic business partner, millennial talent heads are broadening HR’s scope by centering data, holistic wellness, and the acutely human element of human resources.

The new wave of HR heads are more analytically driven than their predecessors, and they’re leveraging the many digital tools at their disposal to learn more about their workforces.

They’re assessing turnover rates, employee sentiment, promotion rates across demographics, and real-time engagement levels, says Brian Kropp, a managing director at Accenture who works closely with HR leaders. He’s observed a particular interest among younger leaders in harnessing more active data collection techniques and building new listening strategies with the help of technology. As Fortune previously reported, those endeavors will only increase as A.I. moves forcefully into HR.”

Read the full story here.

Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton

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Watercooler

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