Are CEOs Getting the Best from Corporate Functions?

At too many large companies, corporate functions like HR and IT don't get enough strategic direction from the CEO. Four basic steps can help.

Few CEOs give enough direction to the heads of their corporate-level functions. That's the conclusion of a survey we conducted of more than 50 function heads at some of Europe's leading companies. We are referring here to larger companies in which corporate-level functions such as finance, human resources, information technology, strategy, purchasing and legal provide policies, controls and services to decentralized operating divisions. Fortunately, some CEOs have found ways to address the problem.

In our survey, fewer than one in 10 function heads felt they had received sufficient guidance on how their function should contribute to the company's overall strategy. Instead, they were expected to develop their own ideas and functional strategies.