How do I screen CHRO candidates before interviewing?

Send every applicant one link that carries 4 skills tests (HR Management, Performance Management, Change Management, US Employment Law), 2 personality inventories and 5 one-way video questions. springhire scores everything automatically and ranks the candidates, so you interview the top few. The free plan covers 10 candidates a month.

How long does the CHRO screening take a candidate?

About 40 minutes for the tests, plus 10 to 15 minutes for the video questions. Candidates complete it on their own time, on any device.

What should a CHRO job description include?

A short brief, three to five key responsibilities, a fuller list of duties, must-have and nice-to-have skills, and the requirements. The template on this page has all of it, ready to copy.

Which interview questions work best for a CHRO?

Questions that ask for a specific past example and a walkthrough of how the candidate thinks. This page lists 8 with sample answers, and the full bank has more.

Yes. The free plan includes every screening tool with 10 candidate credits a month and no card. Paid plans start at $39 a month.

HR & People

How to hire a CHRO

What the role does, the job description, the interview questions, and the 40-minute screening pack that tells you who can do the job before you book a single interview.

Screen CHRO candidates free See the pack

The role

What a CHRO does

A CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) is the top people executive who owns the human capital strategy and ensures the organization has the talent, culture, and leadership to achieve its goals.

Set the enterprise human capital strategy
Advise the CEO and board on people and culture
Build leadership, culture, and organizational capability

Screen before you interview

The CHRO screening pack

Strategy, performance systems, change leadership and legal footing define the CHRO seat. Every applicant gets one link. You get one ranked report.

Skills tests · 40 minutes total

HR & adminHR Management Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe HR Management Test helps hiring teams assess practical HR judgment for intermediate level roles. It is built for employers hiring people who need to support staffing plans, handle employee issues and apply core compliance knowledge in day-to-day work.HR & adminPerformance Management Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Performance Management Test is for hiring teams assessing managers and team leads who need to set clear goals, run useful review conversations and respond to underperformance. It helps identify candidates with practical judgment in common people management situations.HR & adminChange Management Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Change Management Test helps hiring teams assess how candidates approach change in real work situations. It is suited to intermediate level roles where people need to map stakeholders, plan communication and respond to resistance without losing momentum.HR & adminUS Employment Law Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe US Employment Law Test helps hiring teams assess practical knowledge of common workplace compliance issues. It is built for HR and admin hiring at the intermediate level, especially when you need to evaluate how candidates handle classification, leave, accommodation, and termination decisions.

Personality inventories

Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality TestThe Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality Test helps hiring teams understand how entry level candidates are likely to approach work, people and pressure. It measures five broad personality dimensions that can support decisions for roles where reliability, teamwork, adaptability and communication matter.Culture Add TestThe Culture Add Test helps hiring teams assess how candidates approach values, work habits and team contribution. It is suited to entry level hiring where you need a quick, structured view of how someone is likely to show up, collaborate and make decisions at work.

One-way video questions · answered on camera, scored by AI

1
How do you build a people strategy that the business actually uses?
2
Describe a restructuring you led. What would you do differently?
3
How do you measure whether your HR function is working?
4
Tell us about a time you disagreed with the CEO on a people decision.
5
How do you keep culture intact while doubling headcount?

Send this pack to your applicantsFree plan, 10 candidates a month, no card.

Job description

CHRO job description

We are searching for a CHRO to lead our people agenda at the highest level and act as a true partner to the CEO and board. You will set the human capital strategy, shape culture and leadership, and build an HR function that scales with the business. This is a role for a seasoned executive who connects people decisions to business outcomes and can lead through growth and change.

Responsibilities

Own the human capital strategy and align it with long-term business objectives
Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and present people topics to the board
Lead the entire HR function, including talent, rewards, operations, and business partnering
Shape company culture, values, and employee experience at scale
Drive executive and leadership development and succession planning
Oversee organizational design and workforce planning through growth and change

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, or a related field; a master's or MBA is strongly preferred
15 or more years in HR with significant time in senior executive leadership
Proven experience owning HR strategy for a whole organization and reporting to a board
Deep expertise across talent, culture, organizational design, and total rewards
Track record of leading people strategy through growth, change, or transformation

Full job description template

Interview questions

CHRO interview questions

For the candidates who pass the pack. Each comes with a sample answer on the full page.

Ask these after the screening pack, not instead of it. A candidate who has already scored on HR Management, Performance Management, Change Management, US Employment Law has shown they can do the work, which frees the interview to do what a test cannot: find out how they think, how they explain themselves, and how they behave when something goes wrong.

Ask every CHRO candidate the same questions in the same order. Comparable answers are the whole point; a different conversation with each person tells you who you liked, not who was strongest.
Look for a specific example with a result, not a description of how the candidate would approach it in principle. Follow up once with “what happened next?” and stop talking.
Score each answer before moving to the next question, and write down what was said rather than the impression it left.
At volume, record the first 4 of these instead of calling. Candidates answer on their own time, the answers are transcribed and scored, and you keep live interviews for the shortlist.

The pack takes a candidate about 40 minutes, so a CHRO applicant arrives at this interview already measured on the parts you can measure without a meeting.

01
What is your philosophy on the role of the CHRO in a company?
02
Tell me about the scale and complexity of the organizations you have led people functions for.
03
How do you partner with a CEO and the board?
04
Why this organization and this moment for you?
05
How do you build and execute an enterprise people strategy?
06
How do you approach executive succession planning?
07
How do you shape and shift organizational culture at scale?
08
How do you lead the people side of M and A or major restructuring?

All CHRO interview questions with answers

Frequently asked questions

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