SPONSORED BY

Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly!

A shout-out to Erin Hanley Bostick, Head of Talent Management for Par Pacific Holdings, Inc., for referring new subscribers to Talent Edge Weekly. Thank you, Erin, for your support of this newsletter!

Not subscribed to Talent Edge Weekly?

PRESENTED BY SelectSoftware Reviews (SSR)

3 Reasons You Must Try SSR’s Free HR Tech Matching Service:

1. It’s 100% Free: No cost, no catch, and zero sales pressure.

2. Get Tailored Matches: 2–3 tailored HRIS, ATS, or Payroll options shortlisted from 1,000+ HR tools.

3. HR Teams Love It: Rated 4.9/5 and trusted by 15,000+ HR teams.

Bonus: You’ll get a $50 gift card just for trying it out—fast, free, and rewarding!

The above offer is only for HR leaders in the US and Canada who are in the market to purchase a new HR system.

THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

Below are links and descriptions of the topics covered in this issue. If you're interested in my deep dive, you can read the full newsletter.

• 8 Questions to Help Elevate the Impact of Manager and Direct Report 1:1 Discussions | Brian Heger | My cheat sheet with questions managers and direct reports can use to help get more value from their 1:1 discussions.

• Getting Ahead of the Looming C-Suite Succession Crisis | Harvard Law School Forum for Corporate Governance | A new article highlighting gaps in succession planning. I reshare two of my cheat sheets on succession.

• Agentic AI Is Already Changing the Workforce | Harvard Business Review | Explores how AI agents are becoming digital teammates, not just tools that support human work, presenting implications for workforce strategy.

• The CHRO of The Future: How CHROs and Organizations Can Prepare for What’s Next | Russell Reynolds Associates | A new report explores how the CHRO role is evolving—and what it will take to succeed in the years ahead.

• Moms in the Sandwich Generation: Career Optimism Special Report | University of Phoenix and Motherly | Shares research on the career cost of dual-caregiving for working mothers, underscoring the need for employers to integrate caregiving support into their workforce strategies.

Also, check out my job cuts tracker & Chief HR Officer move of the week.

Want to explore talent management practices in-depth with me and other internal HR practitioners? Learn about my new Talent Edge Circle community! Please note that this is a paid community. Already a member? Login here 

Brian

THIS WEEK'S EDGE 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

8 Questions to Help Elevate the Impact of Manager and Direct Report 1:1 Discussions | Brian Heger

My cheat sheet with questions managers and direct reports can use to help get more value from their 1:1 discussions.

Performance management (PM) is one of the most effective practices for driving organizational, team, and individual performance. While technology and process play important roles, one of the most overlooked drivers of PM is the quality of regular 1:1 discussions between managers and direct reports. I previously shared my one-page infographic, which includes 24 sample questions, to support these conversations. When done well, 1:1s help clarify priorities, remove roadblocks, and sustain momentum. But when underutilized, even small missed opportunities—though seemingly minor on their own—compound over time, quietly undermining performance. With the first five months (151 days) of the year behind us, there’s still time to reset and use 1:1s as a performance differentiator for the remainder of the year. To help, here are eight reflection questions managers and direct reports can use to identify ways to improve the impact of their 1:1s, such as: Are we consistently holding them, or do they get delayed or deprioritized? Are we spending most of our time on what matters—performance, priorities, and development? Is this a space for honest, two-way feedback—not just tactical updates? While the fundamentals of PM may not feel exciting, consistently executing them at a high level often makes the biggest difference. Even experienced leaders may have untapped opportunities to elevate their 1:1s. Use these questions to unlock them.

Access cheat sheet

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Getting Ahead of the Looming C-Suite Succession Crisis | Harvard Law School Forum for Corporate Governance

A new article highlighting gaps in succession planning. I reshare two of my cheat sheets on succession.

In one of my previously shared infographics, I outlined three core succession challenges: 1) lack of succession depth, 2) insufficient successor readiness, and 3) turnover in the successor pool. A new article from the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance reinforces these issues and highlights additional concerns among next-generation C-suite leaders. Survey insights reveal key gaps, including: 1) only 36% of participants in a succession process felt it was transparent; 2) just 52% report access to development opportunities that support their growth; and only 34% believe their current role provides a clear path to the C-suite. 3) While coaching and mentoring are seen as two of the most impactful development tools, only 45% have access to coaching, and just 27% receive mentoring. These findings suggest that even when leadership development is happening, it may be misaligned with what high-potential leaders actually need. 4) From a retention perspective, the stakes are high—71% of next-gen C-suite leaders that were part of this research are considering a move, and those who feel misaligned with leadership culture are 1.5x more likely to leave. To help identify where you can strengthen your succession efforts and address these challenges, I’m resharing my one-page cheat sheet with 10 guiding questions, 12 metrics to track progress, and 9 trigger events that may prompt a reassessment of succession plans. While succession planning involves more than what’s on the sheet, this tool helps streamline critical elements to support focused discussions and better decisions.

Read article

AI IN THE WORKPLACE

Agentic AI Is Already Changing the Workforce | Harvard Business Review

Explores how AI agents are becoming digital teammates, not just tools that support human work, presenting implications for workforce strategy.

As AI agents—autonomous software programs that can perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with systems or people—become more advanced, they’re evolving from support tools into digital teammates and a new category of talent. As pointed out in this new article, this shift requires HR and procurement leaders to develop an operational playbook for integrating AI into hybrid teams and workforce strategies. The authors outline seven actions to guide this transition: map work to outcomes to determine the ideal mix of human and AI contributions; build a catalog of AI capabilities linked to key tasks; clarify roles and escalation points in hybrid teams; redesign workforce models to include leasing or outsourcing digital labor; establish legal and ethical guardrails; create feedback loops to refine the AI-human mix; and invest in human skills like creativity, judgment, and relationship-building. They also provide guiding questions to navigate emerging challenges—such as “When AI is trained on your proprietary data, who owns the resulting capabilities—you or the AI provider?” As digital labor becomes increasingly embedded in business models, this article offers valuable insights to consider. As a bonus, I’m including my one-page cheat sheet to help teams assess how AI may change the way critical work tasks are executed. In addition, this Microsoft WorkLab article explores how AI agents can serve as digital collaborators within teams.

Read HBR article

CHIEF HR OFFICER

The CHRO of The Future: How CHROs and Organizations Can Prepare for What’s Next | Russell Reynolds Associates

A new report explores how the CHRO role is evolving—and what it will take to succeed in the years ahead.

This new report explores how the Chief HR Officer (CHRO) role is evolving—and what it will take to succeed going forward. Based on interviews with global CHROs and analysis of public companies across regions, it examines how the role is broadening, who the next generation of CHROs will be, and how leaders can prepare. A few key insights: Future CHROs Will Have Broader, Cross-Functional Experience. Only 26% of new CHROs in 2024 came from traditional HR tracks, with many rising through operations, governance, or even the CEO track. Implication: Career paths into the CHRO role are diversifying, making rotational experience—especially in business-facing HRBP or regional roles—increasingly important. AI is Redefining Work—and the CHRO Role. CHROs will play a key role in AI integration, workforce redesign, and emerging roles like “AI Workforce Architect.” Implication: CHROs must build HR tech fluency, partner with tech leaders, and lead reskilling and change initiatives. Other implications are also discussed. As a bonus, I’m resharing Deloitte’s recent article, Reimagining CHRO Roles and Responsibilities for Strategic Growth, based on 748 CHRO job postings and interviews across 20 industries. It highlights how the CHRO role is expanding in scope and complexity, requiring mastery in analytics, regulatory acumen, and business management.

Read report

WORKFORCE TRENDS

Moms in the Sandwich Generation: Career Optimism Special Report | University of Phoenix and Motherly

Shares research on the career cost of dual-caregiving for working mothers, underscoring the need for employers to integrate caregiving support into their workforce strategies.

This report explores the growing impact of dual-caregiving—supporting both children and aging parents—on working mothers. It reveals the significant career, financial, and emotional toll on this fast-growing employee segment and highlights the urgent need for employer action. Among the findings: 51% of sandwich generation moms have left a job due to caregiving demands; 66% say employer benefits don’t meet their adult caregiving (66%) and childcare (68%) needs; and 64% of their sick and PTO days are used for caregiving, with nearly 70% dipping into savings to support their families. The report also notes that 61% of ‘sandwich moms’ have been in their caregiving role for five years or less, while 56% of all moms surveyed anticipate entering a dual-caregiving role—indicating this is a growing workforce trend. While the report focuses on working moms, others across the workforce face similar dual-caregiving demands, making the issue even more widespread than the data suggest. Employers that want to access this growing talent segment must integrate caregiving into their workforce strategy—through flexible work arrangements, caregiver leave, and accessible support programs. These decisions can significantly impact talent acquisition and workforce planning strategies, both now and in the years to come. To supplement this report, I am resharing the 2024 Women in the Workplace report, published by McKinsey and LeanIn in September 2024.

Read report

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST ISSUE

INTERNAL MOBILITY

Is Talent Hoarding Blocking Internal Mobility in Your Organization? A Self-Reflection for Managers | Brian Heger

My one-page diagnostic to help managers identify and address behaviors that may unintentionally limit internal mobility within the organization.

Access cheat sheet

JOB CUTS AND LAYOFF TRACKER

Check out my tracker of announcements from a segment of organizations that have conducted job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

A few job cuts announced this past week:

• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX). The energy giant is laying off nearly 800 employees in Midland County, Texas, as part of a global restructuring effort aimed at reducing its workforce by up to 20% by the end of 2026.

• IBM. (NYSE: IBM). The tech giant has announced plans to lay off approximately 8,000 employees, many from its Human Resources division, as part of a strategic shift towards integrating AI into its operations.

• Volvo Cars (OTCMKTS: VLVLY). The Swedish automaker announced it is cutting 3,000 office jobs—about 15% of its office staff—as part of a restructuring program aimed at improving efficiency and addressing weak demand and tariff-driven uncertainty.

 Click here to access all listed announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER MOVE OF THE WEEK

This past week, seven new Chief HR Officer announcements were posted on CHROs on the Go, my subscription-based platform tracking movement in and out of the CHRO role. This week’s CHRO move of the week is:

• Pizza Hut—and the Yum! Brands family  (PLANO, TEXAS) [NYSE: YUM]— has named Tara Shawel Chief People Officer. Tara joins from Walgreens Boots Alliance, where she most recently served as VP, HR for Retail and Consumer business. During her nine-year tenure with Walgreens Boots Alliance, and prior to that, almost 15 years with Walgreens, she held several HR roles, including HR Business Partner across multiple areas as well as organizational development roles. ​​

CHROs on the Go has over 4,000 archived announcements in its database, with new announcements added daily!

If you are already a subscriber to CHROs on the Go, log in here.

FROM ME ON LINKEDIN

THE BEST OF APRIL 2025

Did you miss the “Best of April ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #294, which includes 15 of the most popular resources from the month.

Thank you to our sponsor, Draup, who sponsored the Best of April.

Download Draup’s report, AI-Driven Skills-Based Talent Architecture, and learn how organizations are unlocking the potential of their skills-based practices. 

Read the Best of April

If you are not already signed up to receive Talent Edge Weekly,  subscribe here to receive future issues. It’s FREE!

Want to explore talent management practices in-depth with me and other internal HR practitioners? Learn about my new Talent Edge Circle community! Please note that this is a paid community. Already a member? Login here