Gartner, Inc. announced the 30 Gartner CEO Talent Champions who have led their organizations to outstanding talent outcomes and set a best-in-class standard. The honorees were recognized during the Gartner ReimagineHR Conference, taking place here through Wednesday.

To determine the 2022 Gartner CEO Talent Champions (see Table 1), Gartner utilized the Russell 3000 U.S. Index and then identified CEOs whose organizations were differentiated by financial overperformance, talent-related ESG excellence, employee voice, and public commitment to the workforce’s employee value proposition (EVP) preferences.

“Our analysis identified an elite group of CEOs whose organizations represent the most talent-oriented 1% of the Russell 3000 U.S. Index over the past two years,” said Anna Krasniewska, group vice president in the Gartner HR practice. “We then explored what these CEOs have done in their respective roles to support these exemplary talent outcomes and found several common themes.”

Table 1. 2022 Gartner CEO Talent Champions 

Source: Gartner (October 2022)

Four Talent Strategy Lessons

Gartner interviewed more than half of these CEOs to better understand their talent priorities, and how they have used their position as CEO to effect positive change. The Gartner CEO Talent Champions interviewed by Gartner all maintain a “human” view of their workforce when making critical people-related decisions, which includes appreciating their talent as members of not just the workforce, but also families, communities, and society.

Specifically, Gartner CEO Talent Champions interviews revealed four key lessons about how to approach talent strategy:

Discover for Yourself

The CEO Talent Champions invest significant personal time absorbing qualitative perspective from all levels of the organization and consider these inputs as critical for effective decision-making. To do this, they focus on asking questions and doing more listening than talking, seeking out smaller-scale, informal opportunities to make themselves accessible, and communicating authentically.

Insist on Candor

The CEO Talent Champions Gartner interviewed value and foster candid and open relationships and routinely seek counsel from trusted advisors. They are open to all feedback, including information about what isn’t working, as opposed to only celebrating successes. They understand their knowledge gaps and rely on stakeholders to help them build a more comprehensive and accurate picture of the organization.

Accelerate Decisions Through Values

The Gartner CEO Talent Champions heavily emphasize the importance of organizational values as the guiding principle around the most difficult talent strategy decisions they face. They craft and document clear core values, which are primary in decision-making, not an aside. The organization’s core values are a consistent reference point in discussions with employees, the executive team and the Board.

Over-invest In Explaining Why

Lastly, the Gartner CEO Talent Champions understand the importance of sharing the real challenges the organization faces and the tough decisions and trade-offs that are made. They prioritize ensuring employees understand why decisions were made and the context in which they were made.

“CEOs who take a human approach empower their organization to better attract and retain talent, while enabling employees to achieve great outcomes,” said Krasniewska. “Supporting employees as whole people is the right thing to do, both for individuals and for the business.”

Access the full report for additional information on the Gartner CEO Talent Champions, including lessons learned for both CEOs and CHROs. Clients and prospects can also secure their spot for the upcoming webinar showcase on November 14 here.                       

About the Gartner ReimagineHR Conference

The Gartner ReimagineHR Conference is the premier event for CHROs and HR leaders to learn from the latest research and Gartner experts covering talent acquisition, diversity, equity and inclusion, learning and development, total rewards, talent analytics, and HR technology. Gartner ReimagineHR is taking place October 24-26 in Florida. Follow news and updates from these events on Twitter using #GartnerHR.

About the Gartner HR Practice

The Gartner HR practice brings together the best relevant content approaches across Gartner to offer individual decision makers strategic business advice on the mission-critical priorities that cut across the HR function. Additional information is available at http://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/human-resources-leaders. Follow news and updates from the Gartner HR practice on Twitter and LinkedIn using #GartnerHR.