Priorities for CHROs: Adaptability, change management, human-AI workplaces

A new report by Gartner has identified looming priorities for chief human resources officers (CHROs) that will enable them to achieve their organisational goals and respond to broad trends impacting the workforce and business environment.

Gartner’s HR practice vice president of advisory, Mark Whittle (pictured), said: “CHROs should take an enterprise-wide view of AI’s impact on work, the impact of change on leaders and employees, and how to evolve organisational culture to support performance expectations.”

The tech company’s HR director, Jonathan Tabah, highlighted the urgency for HR leaders to adapt, the unique transformation focus in Australia, and the critical role of leadership in navigating the human-machine era.

He added that top priorities for Australia are generally aligned with those of global peers, although there is a greater focus on change management here.

AI, an HR disruptor

Tabah said: “Harnessing AI to revolutionise HR isn’t just an opportunity – it’s an existential imperative. If HR leaders in Australia don’t aggressively disrupt themselves, it will be done to them. Every HR leader should be questioning whether HR will still be an independent strategic function in the next two to three years.”

The tech company urged that CHROs use a “now-next” strategy – recommending the development of a 12-month plan to get the most out of their current employees’ skills, and actions CHROs can take over the next one to three years to “inflect better talent incomes”.

It said that, along with a centralised AI strategy to provide an overarching vision and guidance, CHROs must have an HR-focused AI strategy that will allow them to “evolve their HR operating models to unlock new strategic capabilities”.

“Most organisations and vendors are still experimenting, but CHROs need to be open to reimagining work, processes and talent to truly harness AI’s value,” it said.

Human-AI workplace plan

To achieve organisational goals and to boost productivity, leveraging human talent as well as AI capabilities is crucial, Gartner said.

It stressed the role of CHROs in anticipating and preparing for the integration of AI in the workplace, managing the changes to worker responsibilities, and facilitating new opportunities for innovation with AI.

“Pervasive use of AI will shape work going forward, but the exact shape organisations take will depend largely on the decisions executive leaders make about how and why AI is used,” Whittle said.

Managing change

“There’s a heavier focus on change management and executing transformation in Australia, rather than rethinking HR operating models. Australia is where transformation and change agendas are being pushed forward the most aggressively,” Tabah said.

The tech company found that change has become ungovernable, recommending that CHROs “routinise” rather than inspire change, for effective change management.

To “routinise”, Gartner proposed that CHROs encourage employees to focus on making progress on their own change journeys.

“Employees must feel empowered to solve their own productivity problems,” Whittle said.

It said, this support includes helping employees regulate change discomfort – by teaching emotional self-awareness and actionable steps and working with employees to build change reflexes “by helping leaders identify what core change skills matter most, finding moments within daily work to practice those skills and securing employee commitment to building the necessary reflexes”.

Culture, a driver of productivity

In July 2025, Gartner surveyed 222 CHROs and found that nearly half (47 per cent) indicated that their culture drives employee performance today.

Despite the impact of culture on worker productivity, Gartner said that CHROs “struggle to create and embed a culture that drives this success”.

“The leadership capabilities that got us here aren’t necessarily the ones we need to take us forward in an AI-driven enterprise. Succession planning now means equipping leaders to drive transformation and engage employees in continuous change – Gartner’s research highlights manager quality, respect and people management are the top drivers of attrition in Australia,” Tabah said.

Whittle said: “At the team level, employees must feel empowered to provide open feedback on team-defined productivity behaviours, actively shaping what works best for them and working together effectively.”

“HR must equip managers to have actionable productivity discussions with employees.”

“In today’s climate, it is critical for CHROs to focus on the priorities that will enable their organisation to respond to the broad trends impacting the workforce and business environment.”