7 Hidden Risks ASX Mid-Caps Face Without a Chief People Officer

For many ASX mid-cap organisations, the absence of a Chief People Officer (CPO) isn’t a deliberate choice - it’s a structural gap that emerges as the business grows. Finance, Legal, Operations or Corporate Affairs often absorb responsibilities that should sit within a dedicated executive People function.

While this may feel efficient in the short term, it creates hidden risks that only reveal themselves during times of growth, transformation or market pressure.

Below are the seven most common - and most costly - risks we see across ASX 100–300 organisations.

1. Cultural Drift During Growth

When a company scales, culture shifts. If nobody is intentionally shaping it, culture tends to drift sideways - creating friction, fragmentation and resistance to change. For mid-caps expanding nationally or globally, cultural drift becomes a barrier to execution.

A CPO anchors culture to strategy, closes gaps between teams and ensures growth doesn’t come at the cost of alignment.

2. Workforce Risk Becomes Board Risk

Boards now expect reporting on culture, succession planning, safety, and workforce analytics. Without a CPO in the ELT, these responsibilities become dispersed or undercooked.

This exposes the business to compliance gaps, governance issues and reputational risk. A modern CPO translates People risk into clear, actionable Board insights.

3. Fragmented People Leadership

People leadership spread across multiple executives results in:

· inconsistent decision-making

· unclear accountabilities

· slow execution

· leaders receiving conflicting guidance

When People strategy lacks a single owner, it inevitably becomes reactive. A CPO unifies vision, direction and performance across the workforce.

4. People Costs Rise Without Strategic Control

Turnover, ER/IR complexity, capability gaps, and inefficiencies in recruitment all rise without executive oversight. What begins as “operational HR” quickly becomes a commercial issue.

CPOs take a system-wide view of talent, capability and cost - protecting both productivity and the P&L.

5. Leadership Capability Plateaus

Manager development is often deprioritised in mid-caps without a CPO. The result?

· inconsistent expectations

· variable performance

· increased escalations

· exhaustion at the middle-management layer

A CPO ensures leadership capability evolves in parallel with business growth.

6. AI and Workforce Technology Decisions Become Risky

AI, automation, employee analytics and digital workflow tools all carry ethical and governance implications. If People leadership reports into Legal or Finance, decisions may skew towards compliance or cost, not workforce impact.

A CPO ensures technology is deployed responsibly, safely and strategically.

7. Talent Strategy Becomes Short-Term

Without a CPO, there is rarely a clear plan for:

· future skills

· succession pipelines

· internal mobility

· EVP and employer brand

· critical talent retention

The company becomes reactive, always hiring for today and never preparing for tomorrow. CPO’s design long-term talent systems that create stability and competitive advantage.

The inflection point for ASX mid-caps

The shift from operational HR to strategic People leadership marks a significant maturity milestone.

Introducing a CPO is not simply about adding headcount - it’s about strengthening the leadership architecture of the business.

For ASX 100–300 organisations, the timing often becomes critical when:

· headcount passes 500–1,500

· transformation programs expand

· risk appetite increases

· national or regional operations scale

· the Board seeks more workforce oversight

If your organisation is experiencing even one of these signals, now may be the right time to evaluate the role of a Chief People Officer.

If you’d like a tailored discussion on the capabilities your organisation may require, CPO Search specialises exclusively in executive People leadership appointments across Australia.