Authored By Alexandra bossetta

The human resources department is experiencing the most profound changes in today’s business climate. Traditionally tied to operational execution and largely administrative functions, the HR leader in the most innovative companies has become a partner in planning and executing on strategy and growth.

This heightened focus on of talent strategy and building cohesive cultures from traditional operations signifies how critical the function has become to effective execution on value creation.

In our People & Talent Leader Practice at Bespoke Partners, we see an increased need for the following types of HR leaders as we vet and recruit these executives for private equity backed portfolio companies.

1. The Culture Builder

Corporate culture is widely recognized as a critical success factor in driving growth. Employees who thrive in a high-performance culture will drive hard to deliver the best outcomes. The people leaders who prioritize culture building know that a deliberate and planned corporate culture maximizes the potential for success in such an environment.

Great talent is inspired to go above and beyond. A great talent leader for such employees is an executive who has that ability to inspire, to get the team excited by the vision of what a company can become and go all-out to turn that vision into a reality. The CPOs particularly adept at this are truly marketers who have crisply defined the employee value proposition and can tell its story to attract and retain the best talent.

2. The Talent Guru

There is a lot to be said for tone and style when looking to attract and retain talent. This archetype of a people leader recognizes that their personal brand and attitude can go a long way toward setting a tone that working at the company is “cool” and rewarding. We see this archetype especially in companies that prize innovation and creative thinking as highly desirable attributes.

3. The Operations Expert

No list of people leader archetypes would be complete without acknowledging the HR leader who is operationally focused. While these executives might lack the flashier styles of the newer people leaders, their focus on details and operational processes can be the bedrock of an efficient and high-impact corporate culture. In particular, these leaders can set the stage for scaling companies in the next phase of growth. They also can play essential roles in integrating acquired companies as part of an M&A growth strategy.

Get in touch to learn more about how CPOs can boost your company’s execution and growth prospect.

Author:
Alexandra Bossetta
Partner, Head of People & Talent Practice

As Partner, Alex is currently the practice lead for the firm’s HR, People and Talent practice; co-lead of the firm’s Go-To-Market practice and Head of the Austin office. She leads executive recruitment and assessment for high-growth, PE-backed and public software organizations, placing leaders in CEO, President/ COO, Sales and Marketing, and HR/ Talent leadership roles. During her tenure, she has successfully completed 80+ searches including multiple team builds.

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