What Is a CHRO? Chief Human Resources Officer Job Description

Learn what a CHRO is, how it differs from a CXO and get a sample job description that clearly defines the role. 

Chief human resources officer (CHRO). Head of employee experience. Director of employee experience. Chief experience officer (CXO). What’s the difference between these people- and experience-management-focused roles and what are each of these leaders responsible for? Let’s dive in with an overview of the job descriptions for each.

What Is a CHRO?

The acronym CHRO stands for chief human resources officer. A chief human resources officer, or CHRO, is the C-suite executive responsible for overseeing the human resources team. These individuals typically report to the president or CEO of an organization, working alongside other senior leaders to set the strategy and develop an agenda for human resources that is aligned to the company’s mission, strategy, and business goals. 

As you can see in the sample chief human resources officer job description ahead, CHROs serve the interests of the executive team and are responsible for overarching programs and policies that impact personnel, from procedures and strategies related to recruiting and onboarding to professional development and performance reviews. 

Sample Chief Human Resources Officer Job Description

The CHRO for [company name] will be responsible for managing our HR team and all HR matters for all employees, including workforce planning, talent acquisition, compensation, employee relations, training, and legal compliance, as well as developing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizational culture. 

Additional responsibilities include:

• Serving as a trusted advisor to the executive team
• Establishing the strategy for recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent
• Crafting and administering company-wide personnel policies and services to improve organizational performance in alignment with the company’s objectives
• Strengthening the systems, processes, and infrastructure in place to support the company’s business and people strategies
• Ensuring employees understand what’s expected of them by overseeing company policies, job descriptions, and performance reviews
• Developing hiring, onboarding, professional development, and performance evaluation processes
• Managing compensation and benefits programs
• Investing in strategies that lead to increased workforce engagement and satisfaction
• Coaching managers; encouraging managers and employees to work together to resolve workplace and performance issues
• Reducing legal risks for the organization by ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations related to employment matters

What Is a CXO?

A CXO is the C-suite executive responsible for overseeing experience management within a company, whether that’s customer experience management, employee experience management, or, as is the case at the most mature organizations, both customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX). 

At some organizations, the person responsible for setting the company’s employee experience strategy may have the title of head of employee experience, director of employee experience, or chief employee experience officer.

At a high level, employee experience leaders have ownership over creating and managing the company’s EX program and strategies, overseeing EX team members, and evaluating the effectiveness of the company’s EX efforts.

CHRO vs. CXO or Head/Director of Employee Experience

Continuing in the tradition of typical heads of human resources, CHROs are usually responsible for taking ownership of establishing and enforcing rules and processes. The introduction of employee-experience-focused leadership roles like head of employee experience, director of employee experience, and chief employee experience officers/chief experience officers has widened that scope and blurred the line between experience management and HR.

Employee experience leaders are responsible for dismantling organizational silos and fostering collaboration across departments. The key mission of these senior team members is to optimize the employee experience across the entire lifecycle and all interactions and touchpoints. Successful EX leaders work to create cultures of trust and empathy to strengthen:

• Employee engagement
• Productivity
• The company’s product and service quality
• Retention rates
• The quality of candidates applying to work with the organization

If your organization wants to deliver experiences that elevate customer and employee outcomes, it’s time to create a dedicated role for an experience-focused leader, such as a head of employee experience or CXO. Researchers have found that companies that outperform the competition when it comes to EX are more likely to establish a separate functional area within HR focused on EX. Almost 93% of companies with top EX programs indicate they have a dedicated EX team, compared to only 59% of organizations with underperforming EX programs. 

Looking to improve your organization’s employee experience to drive engagement, retention, and other business outcomes? Meet with a Medallia expert to create a world class employee experience.