Tess Lawrence is a Principal Analyst in Gartner's Business and Technology Insights HR practice. Specializing in HR roles and talent, Tess partners with CHROs and HR leaders to deliver strategic, data-driven guidance that optimizes HR functional performance and supports the evolution of critical HR roles.
Her recent work includes "2026 HR Function Structure Benchmarks: HR's AI Readiness Gap"; "From People-First to Performance-First: Rethinking Manager Effectiveness," in collaboration with Tony Guadagni, Director Analyst; "4 Essential Actions to Upskill HRBPs for the AI Era," in collaboration with Jane Alancheril, Senior Director Analyst; and "Evolve HR Strategy: From Static to Adaptive Plans," in collaboration with Blakeley Hartfelder, Senior Director Analyst.
Previously, Tess was an HR researcher primarily covering topics related to Talent Acquisition. Her work included published articles, presentations, tools and templates to support CHROs and their teams on talent and transformation initiatives, including "Communicate Recruiting’s Strategic Value to Executives Using Metrics," "Template for Communicating Labor Market and Recruiting Trends to Executives," "Delivering Proactive Change Management in Recruiting Transformations," and "Use Internal and Labor Market Data to Inform 4 Scenario-Based Talent Strategies."
Tess has also supported the development and execution of several Gartner research studies on topics such as recruiting role design, quality of hire, recruiting leader effectiveness, and manager and employee performance.
HR Strategy and Management
BA in Anthropology & Media Arts and Design, James Madison University
What are the roles and responsibilities of strategic HRBPs?
How should we develop HRBPs for the future?