Kelley Kronenberg

Lacey Guercia serves as CHRO at Kelley Kronenberg, where she leads Human Resources and Administration for a workforce of more than 500 employees across multiple states of which approximately 70 employees are located internationally. Throughout her career, she has focused on aligning people strategy with business objectives, helping organizations build strong cultures, develop talent, and create workplaces where employees and businesses can grow together.

HR’s Real Responsibility

HR occupies a unique position within every organization. We are advocates for a positive employee experience, but we also have a responsibility to support the business and its strategic objectives. Throughout my career, I have learned that success comes from balancing those priorities rather than viewing them as competing interests. Ultimately, our role is to help employees and businesses succeed together.

This evolution is also reflected in how the function itself is viewed. Traditionally, organizations centered the role around the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), emphasizing human capital management and organizational strategy. More recently, however, there has been a significant shift toward the Chief People Officer (CPO), a title that reflects a broader emphasis on employee experience, culture, engagement, and the recognition that people are the driving force behind business success.

This philosophy shapes how I approach leadership. Working closely with firm leadership, I help align people strategy with business priorities through workforce planning, organizational development, succession planning, and talent strategy. Having visibility into both the human and business sides of the organization enables HR to provide guidance that supports long-term growth and creates an environment where employees can thrive.

Organizations perform best when employee experience and business performance reinforce one another. Employees who feel supported, valued, and connected are more engaged, more collaborative, and better equipped to delibver exceptional results. That engagement translates into stronger client relationships, improved organizational performance, and better business outcomes.

That connection becomes particularly important in professional services, where people are the organization’s greatest asset. Every client interaction, business outcome, and long-term relationship is ultimately shaped by the people delivering the work. When organizations invest in their people, they strengthen their ability to serve clients, adapt to change, and achieve sustained success.

Why Culture Cannot Be Delegated

Since culture influences every aspect of performance, I believe it must be treated as a business priority rather than an HR initiative. Many organizations invest heavily in programs, policies, and engagement activities, but culture is shaped most directly through leadership behavior. Employees pay attention to how leaders communicate, make decisions, recognize contributions, and respond during difficult moments. Those everyday interactions have a greater impact on culture than any formal initiative. At our firm, culture starts with the principal owners. Their leadership establishes the values, expectations, and behaviors that cascade throughout the organization.

That is why manager and partner accountability remains such an important part of our people strategy. Creating a positive employee experience requires leaders who understand how to drive performance while also supporting development, recognition, and wellbeing.

“Building resilient organizations ultimately comes down to trust, transparency, and sound judgment.”

Culture begins long before an employee becomes fully integrated into an organization. At Kelley Kronenberg, every new hire attends a two-day, in-person onboarding experience at our headquarters, regardless of where they work. The program is designed not only to provide operational training, but also to immerse employees in our culture, introduce them to colleagues across the firm, and help them understand how their work contributes to the larger organization. Those early experiences help create a sense of connection and belonging that continues throughout an employee’s journey. They also help build relationships across departments and locations, which becomes increasingly important as organizations grow. Combined with our broader focus on engagement and culture, these efforts have helped us achieve retention rates that consistently outperform many of our industry peers.

More broadly, our commitment to culture has played an important role in Kelley Kronenberg’s recognition as a Top Workplace every year since 2020. While awards are never the goal, they can serve as an important reflection of how employees experience the organization and the culture we work to build every day.

Building Connection in a Flexible Workplace

Over the last several years, employee expectations have changed significantly. People want flexibility in how and where they work. They want opportunities for growth and development. They want meaningful communication and stronger connections to their organizations. Most importantly, they want to feel that they belong.

I do not believe organizations should view flexibility and culture as competing priorities. Flexibility can improve productivity, work-life balance, and employee satisfaction. At the same time, certain experiences are more effective when people come together in person.

Onboarding, mentoring, training, and relationship building all benefit from direct human interaction. Those moments help strengthen culture, accelerate learning, and build trust among colleagues.

Creating a connection requires ongoing effort. We encourage leaders to spend time with employees, visit offices, and engage directly with teams. We also invest in year round engagement opportunities that support wellbeing, professional development, inclusion, and community involvement.

One recent initiative involved partnering with a local Humane Society during Mental Health Awareness Month to host a Puppy Therapy event. While the activity itself was enjoyable, the larger purpose reflected something important about culture. Bringing people together, supporting wellbeing, giving back to the community, and creating shared experiences all contribute to stronger workplace connections. The event also helped three puppies find their forever homes with members of our team.

The organizations that thrive in the future will be those that create flexibility with purpose, rather than flexibility without connection.

Why HR Must Think Like a Business Leader

As organizations grow, HR’s role becomes increasingly strategic. At Kelley Kronenberg, we position HR as a business partner rather than an administrative function. Workforce planning, organizational development, leadership development, succession planning, compensation strategy, and talent acquisition all influence an organization’s ability to achieve its goals.

That responsibility requires a deep understanding of the business itself. I spend significant time working closely with leadership, including regular meetings with our CEO, to understand growth objectives, workforce needs, emerging challenges, and long-term priorities. Those conversations allow HR to provide meaningful guidance on talent strategy, organizational design, and future workforce planning.

Workforce needs can shift quickly, particularly within growing organizations. HR plays an important role in helping leaders anticipate those changes, identify talent gaps across practice areas and geographic markets, and support strategic expansion efforts as the firm continues to grow its footprint.

Strategic HR leadership is not simply about responding to workforce issues. It is about helping organizations prepare for what comes next.

Leading Through Change

If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be this: remain adaptable. The most effective HR leaders are often chameleons. They know how to adapt to changing business priorities while understanding employees’ needs and concerns. Success comes from balancing those perspectives rather than viewing them as competing interests.

One of the most significant workplace shifts in recent years has been the rapid pace of technological change. Rather than viewing technology and AI as threats, we encourage employees and leaders to embrace them as tools that can enhance efficiency, improve client service, and support better decision-making. Effective people leaders recognize that advances like AI are not simply operational tools, they are opportunities for growth and development. By helping employees build new capabilities and adapt to changing ways of working, organizations not only increase their value to the business but also empower individuals to expand their skills and advance their careers.

HR plays an active role in helping employees adapt by providing training, resources, and ongoing support so they feel confident leveraging new technologies in their daily work. As workplace expectations continue to evolve, our focus remains on equipping employees with the skills, tools, and support they need to succeed while strengthening the culture of learning, collaboration and innovation that drives the firm’s long-term success.

Building resilient organizations ultimately comes down to trust, transparency, and sound judgment. When employees trust their leaders, understand how their work contributes to larger goals, and feel supported through change, organizations create a strong foundation for long-term growth and success.