{"id":343516,"date":"2026-05-31T11:42:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=343516"},"modified":"2026-05-31T11:42:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:12:42","slug":"how-hr-prepares-for-the-role-of-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/31\/how-hr-prepares-for-the-role-of-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"How HR Prepares for the Role of CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Podcast Player\" src=\"https:\/\/workology.com\/episode-448-how-hr-prepares-for-the-role-of-ceo-with-dr-scott-cawood-ceo-of-worldatwork\/about:blank\" height=\"auto\" width=\"400px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-rocket-lazyload=\"fitvidscompatible\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/creators.spotify.com\/pod\/profile\/workologypodcast\/embed\/episodes\/Episode-448-How-HR-Prepares-for-the-Role-of-CEO-with-Dr--Scott-Cawood--CEO-of-WorldatWork-e3k0tka\"><\/iframe><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Podcast Player\" src=\"https:\/\/creators.spotify.com\/pod\/profile\/workologypodcast\/embed\/episodes\/Episode-448-How-HR-Prepares-for-the-Role-of-CEO-with-Dr--Scott-Cawood--CEO-of-WorldatWork-e3k0tka\" height=\"auto\" width=\"400px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the Workology Podcast a Podcast for the disruptive workplace leader. Join host Jessica Miller-Merrell, founding father of Workology.com, as she sits down and gathers tools and case\u00a0studies for the business leader, HR, and recruiting skilled who&#8217;s bored with the established order. Now here\u2019s Jessica with this episode.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Welcome to the Workology Podcast, sponsored by Ace the HR exam and UpSkill HR. These are two of the courses that we provide for certification prep and recertification for HR leaders. And you may learn more about those over at Workology.com. This interview was recorded during WorldatWork\u2019s Total Rewards Conference in San Antonio, Texas. I\u2019ve met so many smart people during this conference, and I\u2019m thrilled to have the ability to focus on their expertise on this podcast.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s conversation is each timely and crucial as HR continues to navigate the increasing complexity from AI integration to shifting expectations at the chief level. There\u2019s a growing need for HR leaders to step beyond compliance and into true business leadership. And that\u2019s exactly where today\u2019s guest is available in.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re joined today by Scott Cawood, the CEO of WorldatWork, a company long known for its leadership in total rewards and executive compensation. Scott helps lead a daring evolution, one which challenges HR professionals to think greater about their impact, their influence, and their role in driving business outcomes. So, on this episode, we\u2019re going to be talking in regards to the current state of human resources, why the occupation must evolve to earn a stronger seat at the chief table, should you will, and the way WorldatWork is positioning itself and its members for what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n<p>But before I introduce Scott, I do wish to hear from you. Please comment \u201cpodcast\u201d on my pinned Instagram post over at our Instagram account. It\u2019s @WorkologyBlog, where you may ask questions, leave comments, and make suggestions for future guests. I need to listen to from you. So let\u2019s go ahead and get to it.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s guest is Scott Cawood, CEO of WorldatWork, a world nonprofit organization focused on advancing the overall rewards occupation through education, certification, and thought leadership. With a profession that spans HR strategy, talent management, and executive leadership, Scott brings a novel perspective on how organizations can align practices with business performance. His leadership is grounded in the idea that HR has the potential to directly influence organizational success, not only support it.<\/p>\n<p>Since joining WorldatWork, Scott has been instrumental in redefining the organization\u2019s direction with a deal with elevating the HR occupation beyond traditional administrative and compliance functions. He&#8217;s a powerful advocate for constructing more business-savvy HR leaders, professionals who understand revenue, strategy, and the broader enterprise. Under his leadership, WorldatWork continues to leverage its deep roots in executive compensation to assist HR leaders gain greater access to the C-suite and boardroom conversations that shape the longer term of labor. Scott, welcome to the Workology Podcast.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: I couldn&#8217;t be more thrilled to be here. Thanks very much for having me.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Absolutely. And also you\u2019ve had a really diverse profession leading as much as your role at WorldatWork. Are you able to share a bit of bit about your background and the experiences that shaped your perspective on HR as a strategic business function?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Higher Education to HR Leadership<\/h2>\n<p>Scott Cawood: Sure. I began my profession in higher education. I used to be really fascinated with how people learn, especially outside traditional learning environments like a classroom. So I used to be an RA in college and we got to do programming and whatnot. And so I carried that for the primary two years attempting to determine what works for the human brain and what doesn\u2019t. And I stumbled upon a company called W. L. Gore &#038; Associates. And it was my entr\u00e9e into corporate America. I took on a training and development role.<\/p>\n<p>But W. L. Gore was different from most corporations in that that they had no job titles, no hierarchy. There was nothing like a boss. No one had a boss. You had a sponsor, and their job was to assist make you successful. So it was my first intro into this thing we call corporate America, and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with what it meant to be a component of a company that didn\u2019t depend on hierarchy. It did shape me for perhaps being a bit of bit anti-hierarchical in my other roles afterwards. Nevertheless it taught me what was possible when good people wish to get somewhere and do the identical thing and once they care about stuff, it makes an enormous difference. And in order that was my intro into the space years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: What an interesting space so that you can be in. And in a way, not ruined you, but that\u2019s sort of where my brain goes. Prefer it fundamentally probably shifted your perspective and leadership of course.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: You realize, I even have often actually said that it ruined me for many of the remainder of corporate America since it\u2019s traditional top-down. You could have cascading goals from a CEO who\u2019s barking out orders. And that was just not the case at Gore. You realize, the manufacturing plants were only 250 people because no one had a title. So that you needed to know everybody to know who\u2019s doing what. And we call them commitment areas. My commitment was in HR, my commitment was in manufacturing. So it was a really different take a look at coming from higher ed than to Gore. After which I went on to more hierarchical organizations where I just wasn\u2019t quite as completely satisfied, actually.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: I\u2019ve often said \u201cunemployable\u201d because I\u2019m an entrepreneur. So I definitely appreciate and understand, having been in a company environment for a very very long time, moving to entrepreneurship, how that definitely shapes just the way you lead others, communicate, and expect to be a component of the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: No, I often have called myself unmanageable. I just\u2026 I might hate to need to be the person chargeable for managing me. It\u2019s just not going to be a great experience. I just think I like living outside the proverbial box, right? So I don\u2019t even\u2026 I hate standardized processes. And at WorldatWork, I removed all of the policies. Now we have practices. Here\u2019s generally what you need to do to make a great decision. But these hard, fast rules, they really were based on a time of production and manufacturing mentality 100 years ago. They don\u2019t necessarily apply to work as we give it some thought today.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: So I\u2019m just going to color an image for everybody who\u2019s listening because Scott\u2019s very colourful in his conversations, but additionally in his attire. So he\u2019s wearing a sort of a blue checkered striped jacket and an identical vest and bow tie. So it really does well with I feel your personality of course.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: You realize, generally I feel people might know who I&#8217;m at one among the large WorldatWork events, but I used to be talking to a gentleman\u2014this was at our sales comp event\u2014and he\u2019s talking to me, we talked perhaps twenty, thirty minutes, and eventually he said, \u201cSo what do you do at WorldatWork?\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, I\u2019m the CEO.\u201d And he goes, \u201cThat\u2019s why you may get away dressing like that.\u201d And I used to be like, \u201cHuh, wow.\u201d But , he really didn\u2019t think people should probably dress that way. But for me, I don\u2019t do it simply because I\u2019m the CEO. Men\u2019s clothes are sort of boring anyway, so when you could find something fun, why not do it? Let\u2019s live a bit of bit.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Generally speaking, the brighter the colour, the higher for me. So not today, but I\u2019m matching the weather here in San Antonio. So WorldatWork has been long known for its expertise in total rewards and executive compensation. How is that legacy shaping your strategy as you evolve the organization today?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why WorldatWork Is Expanding Beyond Traditional HR<\/h2>\n<p>Scott Cawood: We had an enormous birthday last yr. We turned 70, right. And I at all times joke that it could possibly be retirement age, but I\u2019m putting us into startup mode. We\u2019re doing anything but retiring. And I feel WorldatWork has developed some key capabilities because it pertains to how adults learn. We will get plenty of information and skills into you pretty quickly. We\u2019ve honed our skills on immersion programs. And so you may spend 4 days with us and walk away with a totally different skill set regarding compensation and advantages and the things which are the backbone of your employer\u2019s experience. So we\u2019ve gotten really good at how adults learn.<\/p>\n<p>I feel now my hope is that we\u2019re gonna principally construct a much bigger tent. We\u2019re gonna bring more people into the tent because we understand how we are able to work together to create a very premier ecosystem around the globe, setting good standards for what great HR looks like. But ultimately the winners here ought to be the staff, having a greater work experience, which ultimately then advantages the organizations who can be more competitive and hopefully make quite a bit more cash.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: I feel that\u2019s all wonderful. And employees win, organizations win, HR wins because they\u2019re in additional of those conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: It doesn&#8217;t need to be a difficult construct, right? Work doesn\u2019t need to be that proverbial four-letter word. And we\u2019re all about determining ways to essentially round out that worker experience in order that each win, right? It isn\u2019t a contest. And , there\u2019s plenty of work to be done around the globe, but I\u2019m excited that we\u2019re on this space and I like being a component of WorldatWork.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: So talk over with us how this recent direction for WorldatWork might look in practice and the way it\u2019s gonna higher serve the trendy HR leader.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preparing HR Leaders for the CEO Role<\/h2>\n<p>Scott Cawood: So we prefer to think that should you wanna be an okay HR person, that\u2019s nice. There\u2019s other HR associations so that you can go to. But we actually wanna pick up those individuals who wish to\u2026 I mean, I say it informally quite a bit in our workspace that we&#8217;re people movers. We\u2019re gonna move you from only having one skill here to 2. We\u2019re gonna move you from unemployed to employed, from director to VP, from VP to executive team member, perhaps from executive team member to CEO. You realize, I need people to maneuver. I feel movement is de facto healthy.<\/p>\n<p>And WorldatWork is designing more pathways for people who actually need to be good at what they\u2019re doing and provides back to the organizations that they\u2019re serving within the HR capability. And I need to place more HR people in CEO roles. It\u2019s a skill set that you just don\u2019t see that usually. But really good HR people ought to be positioned for HR roles, for senior roles like a CEO, but additionally in board seats. So I\u2019m enthusiastic about working on that because no one has cracked that proverbial puzzle, right? We still have plenty of HR that sits in a compliance role or will not be invited to that proverbial table. And I\u2019m bored with it. I\u2019m going to repair it. I\u2019m going to alter it.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: So after we had our prep conversation for the podcast we\u2019re up now, I did some prompts over on ChatGPT simply because I used to be curious of the variety of HR leaders which have moved into CEOs for like Fortune 500. And the number is alarmingly low while you compare to even chief revenue officers, or people within the sales role, and even folks in operations that are usually not HR professionals. Which I assumed, wow, I mean, it was very clear that there&#8217;s a gap that we really want to work towards.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: Yeah, and within the few cases where you\u2019ve seen an HR lead move into the CEO role, there was quite good success. So of the few which have done it, there\u2019s a great success. You realize, I never desired to be a CEO. I used to be really completely satisfied being a Chief HR Officer. I loved it. I loved the balance, the stress that the business has with people. I loved managing that tension, and I could see what was possible for growth for the corporate through the people and what we did or didn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n<p>And we had a CEO at one point who just decided he had made enough money. So he told us in the future, \u201cHey, I\u2019m moving to Asia for some time, so just take over the business. I don\u2019t want you to talk over with me for one more eight months. Any person else can lead it.\u201d And so everybody voted. Who was going to be the brand new CEO? I didn\u2019t vote for me. Everybody else did. So I got here back on Monday in a really different role. In order that\u2019s how I even stumbled into this President\/CEO role to start with. But that was in a software firm. So now I\u2019m at WorldatWork, and it\u2019s more of my dream job. I can still keep my place in HR, but additionally be on this role of leadership, which is good.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: So talk over with us about why you&#8217;re thinking that the gap exists where we don\u2019t have plenty of heads of HR moving into that CEO role, and what do you think needs to alter to assist close that?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why HR Struggles to Gain Executive Influence<\/h2>\n<p>Scott Cawood: Well, let me paint a scene here for you. Yearly during a budget cycle, here\u2019s what happens. All the opposite functions give the CFO, whoever she is, they provide a, \u201cHere\u2019s what I need to spend and here\u2019s the return on that margin. Here\u2019s the margin of return I\u2019m gonna get.\u201d And everybody does it. After which they get to HR, and all HR puts in is what number of more perhaps headcount they need or what the price of advantages increase is. Nevertheless it\u2019s never typically attached to an ROI or some addition to the balance sheet aside from making it worse, right?<\/p>\n<p>So every other function is attempting to say, \u201cHey, if we invest 100 grand here, we\u2019re gonna get 200 back,\u201d aside from HR. HR rarely does that. So it\u2019s inevitable that the CFO looks at those numbers and says, \u201cYou realize what? I don\u2019t see any return there. I\u2019m not giving the budget for you in HR.\u201d And HR needs to start out approaching the conversations early on regarding what I\u2019m gonna advocate for and what I\u2019m gonna get a return on, and understand that on the earth of people that need to provide you access to things like money and higher budgets, you\u2019ve got to talk their language in a way that is de facto meaningful. You shouldn\u2019t expect them to select up your language in HR. It\u2019s not a language that perhaps most individuals understand.<\/p>\n<p>So I\u2019m hoping that HR will have the ability to return into the conversations with a level of understanding of what it takes to influence a business final result and not only be on the receiving end of, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not going to provide you more cash, HR. You\u2019re just going to be stuck with what you might have.\u201d And there are such a lot of things we could possibly be doing. We teach a business acumen course that goes over every part HR must learn about really going right into a board meeting and hanging, right? And hanging with the board and understanding what\u2019s vital. Because at the top of the day, businesses are here to make cash. And HR\u2019s agenda has to incorporate that. They need to include the acceleration of that, regardless of what we are saying we\u2019re doing. But at the top of it, we still need to support the business growth.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: I definitely think that HR doesn\u2019t at all times think the best way that you just\u2019re describing. I also think there\u2019s one other challenge, which is that CEOs and executive leaders don\u2019t really understand exactly every part that we do. And I don\u2019t think we do a wonderful job of communicating that, which can also be probably a part of the business acumen problem, right? We\u2019re not in those meetings at all times to say, \u201cWe\u2019re involved in all these different areas of the business, and that is the way it\u2019s impacting the business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: When you\u2026 , what I prefer to do is\u2026 there\u2019s that proverbial query, \u201cWhat keeps CEOs up at night?\u201d or some version of that. Just take a take a look at any of those lists. There are two things that at all times come on the very top of those lists for CEOs and what worries them. It\u2019s growth and it\u2019s people. \u201cDo I even have the talent to execute on all of the plans that we&#8217;ve got, after which do it quicker than my competitors?\u201d Well, if it\u2019s about people and growth on a regular basis for CEOs, who\u2019s higher to reply to that than HR? Right?<\/p>\n<p>You go in with the plan to know: \u201cWe&#8217;re\u2026 I can enable growth. Here\u2019s how I\u2019m going to do it. Here\u2019s the plan for it. And I can enable people.\u201d That ought to be really inside their bandwidth to do. So I feel it\u2019s only a matter of understanding traditional roles like COO and CFO are easily tapped because they understand the core business. It\u2019s only a matter of HR broadening its skills to not only speak the language, but understand what fundamentally drives a business. They usually should have the ability to know that. There\u2019s no reason why HR shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: I agree. Well, let\u2019s go ahead and take a reset here. That is Jessica Miller-Merrell, and also you\u2019re listening to the Workology Podcast. It\u2019s powered by Ace the HR exam and UpSkill HR. Today I\u2019m talking with Scott Cawood, CEO of WorldatWork, in regards to the Total Rewards Conference and really HR and the way we\u2019re gonna grow into these amazing, powerful CEOs running businesses.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s go ahead and get back to it out of your perspective. Scott, what&#8217;s the most important misconception organizations still have about HR\u2019s role in perhaps driving business performance?<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: I feel due to the nature and the history of our occupation, it\u2019s been around quite some time. We\u2019ve been here quite some time. It began on this personnel construct. I mean, it began really because of this of a company years ago having a strike, and someone needed to be brought in to administer the strike. Right? Well, how do you do it? Do you lock them out? Do you give pay? How all these items blew up in a company\u2019s face and so they\u2019re like, \u201cWe want someone to administer all this, including the rehiring or firing,\u201d on this case, way before we had laws there. And that actually was the birth of HR in the US.<\/p>\n<p>So that you began from there. That\u2019s a spot very different than where CFOs or COOs start, right? And so that you\u2019ve began from a really different place. And over time, I feel it has gone tremendous leaps forward, right? That\u2019s been good. So I still think though, you may take a look at HR as a compliance function. You possibly can take a look at HR as saying no, right? You\u2019ve seen HR say no quite a bit. HR must be a company of yes. Let\u2019s start with yes, after which perhaps we\u2019ll get to no over time. Nevertheless it\u2019s a, \u201cYes, let\u2019s attempt to make this work.\u201d And the more control that a company tries to impose on their employees, after which HR has to bolster it, they sort of get a nasty rap for that\u2019s what their role is\u2014to inform me what I can\u2019t do. And I feel HR should really exist to inform me what I can do. Because at the top of the day, if the HR organization is performing prefer it should, it\u2019s helping the corporate perform at its best in whatever which means. So I\u2019m hoping that we are able to reset this whole function and say, \u201cHey, we are only as able to helping drive a business. In reality, we&#8217;re gonna manage the most important asset, which goes to be your people. We spend plenty of money on people yearly\u2014every organization does\u2014and I wanna see a much bigger return on that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: So with that in mind, what practical steps can HR leaders take to shift into being more strategic and revenue-driven?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Moving HR from a Cost Center to a Revenue Driver<\/h2>\n<p>Scott Cawood: Let\u2019s just ensure they\u2019re comfortable with understanding the fundamental fundamentals of business. You realize, get comfortable with the balance sheet, get comfortable with the margins. There\u2019s a bit of little bit of a trick even in business school after we\u2019re in it, it\u2019s you want margins, right? We intend to make a bit more as best we are able to. And so, , you don\u2019t hear HR talk quite a bit about margins. So understanding just the business economics of not only how the corporate\u2019s earning profits, but where it\u2019s losing money. There are methods through which you may probably even give more advantages to your organization for less money should you\u2019re getting strategic and fascinated with it, and just using that lens to drive performance.<\/p>\n<p>There are another things that I feel are vital. Know what\u2019s on the CEO and C-suite\u2019s agenda. Understand what the board expectations are. If it\u2019s purely nearly revenue\u2014accelerating revenue\u2014then you definately could make the choice: is that a spot you must stay? But whether it is, that&#8217;s your job as well. You\u2019re equally held to make those revenue numbers. So there\u2019s not necessarily a large gap between the HR agenda and the business agenda. You only want them to get intertwined more and let one feed off the opposite. So far, if HR operates in isolation, it\u2019s never gonna win. It\u2019s never gonna create the worth that it could if it\u2019s not within the room, in the selections, and really working through that tension between the business and other people, which is at all times gonna exist. Right. So it\u2019s only a matter of are you able to make the most of that and drive the business forward?<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Interesting. I do think the business acumen piece is de facto, really huge. And as a business owner myself, I take a look at expenses and margins on a regular basis. I didn\u2019t at all times think that way. But when you might have a small team, you might have to essentially start taking a look at what strategies are working, what drives probably the most revenue, what\u2019s the fastest path to get there. And I\u2019d like HR to perhaps spend more time in those areas since it does make conversations easier along with your boss or CEO or other business owners much easier while you understand those basics.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: You realize, and I\u2019ll add that too. At the identical time, I feel it\u2019s vital that each executive team puts people on their agenda each meeting. Right. In the event that they\u2019re meeting weekly for an executive team, we must always have some issue around our people and what we\u2019re doing to interact them, to retain them. So it\u2019s not only a one-way street where HR has to step up. It\u2019s also that the business has to know the pivotal role people play in your success. You realize, a CEO is a fairly powerful role in some ways, but it could possibly\u2019t get anything done by itself. I can\u2019t do anything. I\u2019m 100% reliant on the people within the organization to truly execute. There are two things in business that occur all day long: making a decision and also you execute on it. This happens all day long, 1000&#8217;s of times. And the execution is de facto all as much as the people. It very rarely does a CEO ever execute. Right. So keep in mind that that\u2019s a bit of this puzzle too.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Like this concept that we as HR should encourage a people conversation at every executive meeting. Not only subliminally does that sort of plant the seed about people, after which I, as HR, am the leader of the people function, but then they\u2019re beginning to have more organic conversations around people, brainstorming different ideas, and starting to know, perhaps we&#8217;re too, how sales or manufacturing or whatever is directly related to the people. Because sometimes they realize it, but it surely doesn\u2019t at all times\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: It\u2019s not on their mind, right? It\u2019s not top of mind. And I can guarantee you financials are on the agenda. So rattling it, put people there.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: How can HR start pondering otherwise about their impact on the business? Is it just acumen? Is there one other area?<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: There may be one other area. It\u2019s really ensuring that they view their value equally to what they&#8217;ll really create and do, and never deferring to other parts of the organization because they potentially have a unique title or whatnot. And , I like to take a look at things like where does the highest HR person report? Is it into the CEO? Is it into the COO? That also makes a difference. It also sends an announcement of how vital the people element is.<\/p>\n<p>In HR, even in our intro, we talked a bit of bit about that proverbial seat on the table. In a company, while you\u2019re spending 70% of annual revenue on people between your advantages and your pay and every part else, I need to remind HR of a quite simple construct: You don\u2019t need a seat on the table. You&#8217;re the table. Right? You&#8217;re the table. And don\u2019t ever lose that. It\u2019s a robust positioning to influence the business. And I don\u2019t care if it takes you 90 conversations, you gotta keep pushing it and keep having it. Get the people agenda on the agenda of the chief team. And remember, should you can raise your productivity in your workforce eight or nine percent, you\u2019ve given a much bigger gift than that CFO ever could within the margins that they\u2019re after since you\u2019re raising a excellent productivity level across the organization. And that\u2019s where the win is. That\u2019s where the exciting stuff happens.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: I feel that\u2019s some of the vital parts of this and having conversations in regards to the impact that you just\u2019re making, even when it\u2019s in a small like test area or focus group, right? Where you\u2019re like, \u201cNow we have been capable of do perhaps some cross-training and we\u2019ve been capable of increase productivity by 10%. And that is what it&#8217;s for that small department or that focus area by way of sales and revenue. Imagine what the chances are if we were to make this organization-wide and even only a region to see what happens next.\u201d After which suddenly HR is a revenue center, not a price center, which is what we\u2019re really talking about here.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: Yeah, I like that framing. That\u2019s exactly it.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: WorldatWork has historically had access to executive and board-level conversations through compensation. How can HR leaders leverage total rewards as a gateway to perhaps greater influence within the C-suite?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Total Rewards Creates More Strategic HR Leaders<\/h2>\n<p>Scott Cawood: If you might have a great grasp of total rewards, you fundamentally understand business and the analytics that associate with it, right? TR persons are famous for spending plenty of time in spreadsheets because they\u2019re taking a look at every part from market comp ratios to comp ratios, taking a look at all this technique of information that they need to sort of manage. And that inherently puts them closer to conversations that the chief team is having. So a part of it&#8217;s let\u2019s get there. Let\u2019s ensure you may pick up among the technical skills that it&#8217;s worthwhile to be a great TR person because that\u2019s only going to make you a greater HR person.<\/p>\n<p>Now we have countless Chief HR Officers who get within the role and are like, \u201cWait a minute, I didn\u2019t know anything about executive comp.\u201d And we\u2019re like, \u201cOkay, let\u2019s get you into our immersion program because we are able to catch you up in a short time.\u201d But they\u2019ve never studied it. Sometimes HR people don\u2019t take a look at comp and ben as this sexy, fun thing that it truly is, because it truly is. And it gives you insights into the business and the people side of the business should you actually learn these comp and ben skills, since you\u2019re really pulling all of the levers that make me actually need to interact or disengage. And there\u2019s plenty of power in that.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: I&#8217;ll say that as I teach certification prep for SHRM and HRCI, I do find that total rewards and compensation is one among the weakest or the most important opportunities for HR leaders basically. And I feel for myself, I need to border it otherwise\u2014that that is a chance to know the business. But HRCI specifically has plenty of total rewards and comp questions, depending upon the exam. And it is de facto a profit based on what you\u2019re saying here for HR generalists to essentially immerse themselves in that compensation and total rewards process.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: You realize, and we&#8217;re great friends with HRCI. We love them to death and so they\u2019re an enormous partner of ours for this event, and we\u2019re doing plenty of really cool education together. I feel, too, there\u2019s a much bigger play here. If all the abilities that I feel it&#8217;s worthwhile to really adopt AI and agility, you have already got them should you know total rewards. Since you\u2019ve handled plenty of spreadsheets, you\u2019ve handled plenty of data, you\u2019ve handled plenty of big pieces of knowledge that need to be sorted. And so how they learn that&#8217;s the way you\u2019re gonna learn to make use of AI in a more practical way. So there\u2019s plenty of benefits to getting within the compensation and reward space. So it\u2019s a fun place for us to be and I actually need everyone to have a greater skill at it. We will all be higher at managing our financial relationships, right? And absolutely it is a strategy to try this.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: So looking ahead, what do you think will define a successful HR leader over the subsequent three to 5 years? After which how can professionals start to construct those capabilities today?<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: I feel it\u2019s keeping a transparent view on where this thing we call work goes. You realize, you don\u2019t have the identical workforce that you just had before COVID. The one which went out will not be the workforce that got here back. And just being aware of those fundamental and, I might call them, seismic changes. I mean, for instance, work is not any longer a spot, right? That fundamentally changes how HR really interacts with their organization. So I feel being aware of what\u2019s happening within the constructs of labor and understanding that the workforce is coming into work, even in the event that they\u2019re working of their homes, with a certain set of expectations that have to be met and accounted for, and just ensure you\u2019re staying aware of that.<\/p>\n<p>And the opposite piece for me is let\u2019s not keep adding things right into a system that already isn\u2019t working. You realize, like take agility\u2014let\u2019s construct agility into the system versus adding it on later. Every time we add anything on\u2014we add AI to a comp program, we add it\u2014 I would favor to have you ever blow the thing up and begin over and construct it in. Because we don\u2019t want you to need to clean it up later. And constructing it in to me is a a lot better strategy for HR. In whatever thing you\u2019re adding or doing, restart it, rebuild it. Regardless that it\u2019s a bit more work, it\u2019ll serve you higher in the long term.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: In the long term, it\u2019ll be easier to administer, productivity can be higher, and other people have a transparent understanding of what the heck is happening.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood: And , we\u2019re all so busy, it\u2019s easy to think adding it on can be the answer. It\u2019s an answer, but I\u2019m undecided it\u2019s a great one.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Well, Scott, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak with us here today. Where can people go to study you after which WorldatWork?<\/p>\n<p>Scott Cawood:\u00a0Just your best spot is our website. Now we have plenty of great data on the market. We just released a state of rewards report with the International Thought Leadership Group and HRCI. We did an important one together. And just an interesting discover of that. You realize, 70% of the persons are completely satisfied with our compensation, but even two-thirds of those, although they\u2019re completely satisfied with our comp, are still in search of a job somewhere. So we also must query all of the things that we predict is likely to be driving people\u2019s engagement. Since you should you\u2019re satisfied along with your pay, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that you just\u2019re not still in search of a job somewhere.<\/p>\n<p>So come to worldofwork.org and check us out tell us if we will be of help.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Miller-Merrell: Amazing. Thanks, Scott, for taking the time to speak with us.<\/p>\n<p>And as we wrap up today\u2019s episode, it\u2019s clear that the longer term of HR isn\u2019t nearly doing more, it\u2019s about pondering otherwise. From expanding influence within the boardroom to embracing technology with intention, HR leaders have the chance and in addition the responsibility to refine their role within the business. And organizations like WorldatWork are helping lead the charge by equipping HR professionals with tools\u00a0insights and mindset, which I feel is a very powerful, needed to essentially drive real impact.<\/p>\n<p>A giant thanks to Scott for joining us today and sharing his perspective on where the occupation is headed. When you enjoyed the conversation, you should definitely subscribe to the Workology Podcast. We\u2019ll see you next time as we proceed to explore the longer term of labor and the people shaping it. Again, thanks for joining the Workology Podcast. It\u2019s sponsored Ace the HR exam and UpSkill HR.\u00a0Workology\u2019s learning platform for HR certification, recertification, and manager training.\u00a0You can even take a look at our recent HR Tech Marketplace, marketplace.workology.com.<\/p>\n<p>This podcast is for the disruptive workplace leader who\u2019s bored with the established order. That is Jessica Miller Merrill. Until next time, visit workology.com to hearken to all our episodes of the Workology Podcast.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RESOURCES<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/scottcawoodworldatwork\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scott Cawood on LinkedIn<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/worldatwork.org\/people\/scott-cawood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Scott Cawood CEO | WorldatWork<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/totalrewards.worldatwork.org\/2026\/8520497\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World at Work\u2019s Total Rewards conference<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hrexecutive.com\/record-ceo-turnover-is-rewriting-who-gets-the-top-job\/\">Record CEO turnover is rewriting who gets the highest job<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the Workology Podcast a Podcast for the disruptive workplace leader. Join host Jessica Miller-Merrell, founding father of Workology.com, as she sits down and gathers tools and case\u00a0studies for the business leader, HR, and recruiting skilled who&#8217;s bored with the established order. Now here\u2019s Jessica with this episode. Jessica Miller-Merrell: Welcome to the Workology [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":343517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[418,6540,740],"class_list":["post-343516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-growth","tag-ceo","tag-prepares","tag-role"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343516"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":343519,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343516\/revisions\/343519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}