Emma Woodthorpe
Chief People Officer
Brooks Automation
Episode 356
Future-Proof Your Workforce: CHROs Must Master Adaptability and Business Acumen
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJanuary 8, 2025 · 14:58
Thesis
“In an ever-changing world, CHROs must cultivate adaptability and deep business acumen, strategically leveraging specialized HR technology and robust external networks to drive high-performance cultures and navigate continuous change.”
Show notes
Ask Emma Woodthorpe what a "high-performance culture" means at Brooks Automation and she'll tell you exactly — because she had to define it precisely before she could build it. That discipline — forcing specificity before action — runs through everything she does as Chief People Officer. Rather than gesturing at culture broadly, Emma identifies two or three specific drivers that actually move performance at Brooks and focuses the entire people strategy around those levers. Everything else is a distraction.
Emma's path from headhunter to HR executive gave her a commercial instinct that most people leaders develop only after years of watching business strategy happen around them. Her advice for aspiring CHROs is concrete: go see the customer. Ride along with a salesperson. The financial and business acumen that gives CHROs credibility in board rooms doesn't come from studying business — it comes from getting close enough to the business to understand what winning actually looks like.
On technology, Emma draws a distinction that most HRIS-first HR leaders resist: best-in-class tools for critical functions like OKRs often exist outside your core HR platform. The willingness to invest in specialized technology — even when it creates integration complexity — is what separates organizations building world-class capability from those settling for adequate. And on the isolation of the CHRO role itself: your external network of peers who've seen what you're seeing is not optional. It's infrastructure.
- Defining high-performance culture with precision — why specificity about 2-3 key drivers beats broad cultural aspiration every time
- Business acumen as a CHRO requirement — why customer-facing time is more valuable than internal data for building strategic credibility
- Specialized technology beyond your HRIS — when to invest in best-in-class tools that sit outside your core platform
- Post-COVID cultural reconnection — what hybrid work cost in terms of relational depth and what it takes to rebuild it
- External networks as essential CHRO infrastructure — why peer support outside the company is a strategic necessity for people leaders
What you'll take away
- 1Clearly define what a 'high-performance culture' means for your specific company and focus on 2-3 key drivers to achieve it.
- 2CHROs must develop strong financial and business acumen, including actively seeking out customer perspectives, to be effective strategic partners.
- 3Cultivate adaptability and the ability to pivot quickly; CHROs are critical in helping organizations navigate volatility and constant change.
- 4Be willing to invest in best-in-class, specialized HR technology outside of your core HRIS for critical functions like OKRs if your current tools lack innovation.
- 5Build a robust network of HR and business leaders, as the CHRO role can be isolating, and external support is crucial for navigating complex challenges.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Most CHROs don't come from a compensation and benefits background, yet executive compensation becomes a significant part of the role, highlighting a common knowledge gap.
- •Rather than trying to force all functionality into a single HRIS, CHROs should be willing to go outside their primary HRIS for best-in-class 'subject matter expert' technologies where world-class performance is required (e.g., OKRs).
In Emma's words
“I believe you have to have a really strong HRIS technology, but I think where you want to be world-class and where you want something that is more of a subject matter expert technology, you really need to be willing to go outside your HRIS system.”
This quote highlights a strategic decision to opt for specialized tools over an all-in-one HRIS for critical functions like OKRs.
“One of the things I encourage people who want to, you know, up and coming CHROs, and to be honest, current CHROs, if you're not out there seeing the customer, go see the customer with a salesperson.”
Emma emphasizes the importance of CHROs gaining external business perspective and understanding the customer to inform internal strategy.
“And I think as a CHRO, you have to be able to bring reality of, look, this is our reality and the world is a messy place and there's a lot of change going on and you'll, in the end, what you have to be able to do as CHRO is help executive leaders and company navigate that world.”
This quote articulates the CHRO's crucial role in guiding organizations through uncertainty and adapting to constant change.
“We've lost something along the way in that connection to each other that is quite hard to get when you're completely remote.”
This acknowledges a significant challenge companies face in hybrid models: maintaining deep team connection and collaboration.
“And so having a network of support of other HR leaders, other business leaders outside of your company becomes really important. A place to go and go, have any of you seen this or have any of you dealt with that?”
Emma stresses the vital role of external peer networks for CHROs in navigating complex and often isolating challenges.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Defining and consistently driving a high-performance culture is challenging, especially in rapidly scaling companies, requiring clear outcomes and focused initiatives.
- •New CHROs are often unprepared for the complexities of executive compensation, board dynamics, and the compensation committee due to limited prior exposure.
- •Generic HRIS performance management and objective setting tools often lack the innovation and specific features needed for world-class OKR implementation and transparency.
- •Balancing employee desire for flexibility with the organizational need for face-to-face collaboration and connection in a post-COVID hybrid work environment.
- •The CHRO role can be isolating, making it difficult to find external support and diverse perspectives when dealing with unprecedented challenges.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Emma Woodthorpe is the Chief People Officer of Brooks Automation
Emma Woodthorpe
Brooks Automation is working to foster a high-performance culture
Brooks Automation: Building High-Performance Culture
You've helped design an executive development program for future CHROs
In the Elevator With CHROs
Brooks Automation is wrestling with redefining company culture post-COVID
Brooks Automation Continues to Redefine Company Culture Post
Brooks Automation took OKR system out of HRIS for more tailored approach
CHRO: Best-in-Class OKR System
Emma says having a network is important in today's ever-changing world
CHRO Emma Gaynor on the Lonely ROOM
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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