A Job Title That Doesn't Exist Yet

Why the Human Relationship Manager Will Become a Key Role in the Age of Automation

In 1960, a cargo ship sailing under the American flag carried a crew of 45. Twenty on deck, sixteen in the engine room, eight stewards, one radio operator. Losing a sailor was unfortunate but not critical - you could find a replacement at the next port.

Today, the container ship MSC Irina holds up to 24,000 containers. Crew: 25 people. The largest Maersk vessels operate with just 13. The ship has grown tenfold; the crew has shrunk by a factor of three. And each of those remaining isn't a deckhand - they're engineers who understand automation, navigation, propulsion systems, and safety protocols. Losing one is a problem. Replacing them at the next port isn't an option.

What happened to ships over 60 years is happening to companies right now.

Recently, I watched two companies in the same industry go through a wave of automation. Both cut their headcount roughly in half. Both implemented AI for development, analytics, and marketing. The technology stack was nearly identical.

A year later, one had lost three of its five key people. The other - none.

The difference wasn't money or stock options. At the second company, there was someone whose only job was to know what was happening with those five people. Not an HR generalist covering 200 employees. Not an HRBP who shows up when there's already a fire. A person who talked to each of them regularly, who knew their goals, their doubts, their family circumstances.

You could say this role doesn't officially exist. I'm proposing we call it: Human Relationship Manager.

What's Happening to the Workforce

GitHub reports that Copilot generates about 40% of code at companies that use it. Claude and GPT are taking over analytics, content, and financial modeling. By my estimate, 60-70% of functions at most companies can be automated today - not with futuristic technology, but with tools already available.

Companies of the future will be like modern ships: fewer people, more technology, higher dependence on every crew member.

Meanwhile, retention is getting harder. According to PwC, 28% of workers worldwide are considering changing employers within the next year. That's higher than at the peak of the Great Resignation in 2021-22.

The Oversaturated Market Trap

After the frantic, chaotic hiring spree during COVID, the layoffs of 2023-2024-25 flooded the market with candidates. Companies see hundreds of applications and think: there's no shortage - if someone leaves, we'll find a replacement.

This is a mistake.

The market has stratified. In the mass segment, yes, there are plenty of people. But those who actually drive the business - there aren't more of them. And their value has increased precisely because everything else can now be done by algorithms.

Just like on a ship: you could pick up deckhands at any port. An engineer who holds the entire automation system in their head - not so much.

According to ERE, candidate resentment toward employers hit a record high in 2024. In tech and finance, 25% of candidates leave the hiring process with a negative impression. Top talent sees how companies treat people during layoffs. They remember.

What Keeps People

Research points to one thing: relationships.

Gallup, 2024: employees who rated their experience with the company as "exceptional" are 3 times more likely to be satisfied with their job and 3.2 times more likely to feel connected to the culture.

Work Institute, analysis of 17,000 exit interviews: 76% of departures could have been prevented if the company had learned about the problem in time.

In time - meaning not when someone has already decided to leave. Months before that.

But who in a company is responsible for finding out in time?

HR is overloaded. More than half of HR departments are understaffed. Their focus is on processes: hiring, onboarding, compliance.

Managers aren't the answer either. They need results here and now. They can't always be on the employee's side.

The result is a gap: the people the business depends on are left without anyone responsible for them.

Human Relationship Manager: What Is This Role

I'm proposing we make this a dedicated position.

A Human Relationship Manager is someone whose only job is to build and maintain relationships with key employees. Not everyone - just those whose departure creates serious problems.

This isn't HR. HR manages systems. HRM manages relationships.

This isn't a coach. A coach develops the person. HRM makes sure the person stays and wants to work.

This isn't an Employee Relations Manager - that role handles conflicts and grievances. HRM works before problems arise.

The closest analogy is a Key Account Manager, but directed inward. Just as companies assign dedicated people to work with key clients, it makes sense to assign dedicated people to work with key employees.

What an HRM Does

During hiring - assesses whether the person will fit. Not skills - others check that. Whether they can work with the team, handle the pace, whether their goals align with what the company can offer.

During employment - talks regularly with each of their people. Not a performance review - just a conversation. How are things. What's changed. What's bothering you. This reveals early signals - fatigue, boredom, outside offers - long before a resignation letter.

Speaking of signals. A few years ago, David Yang, founder of ABBYY, launched Yva.ai - a system that analyzed metadata from corporate communications to predict burnout and resignation risk. Not the content of emails, but patterns: who writes to whom, response times, how the communication graph changes. They claimed 86% accuracy in predicting departures. In 2022, Yva was acquired by Canadian company Visier - it ceased to exist as a standalone product.

But even when such systems work, they only solve half the problem. An algorithm can show: "this person is at risk." Then what? Someone has to go and talk. Find out what's really happening. Find a solution. Software provides data - but a human takes action.

And there's another problem: people don't like being analyzed. According to Pew Research, 66% of employees feel uncomfortable under monitoring systems. A Harvard Business Review study showed that excessive surveillance doesn't increase productivity - it decreases it, while also provoking rule-breaking. 45% of employees are ready to quit if monitoring becomes too intrusive. Three-quarters say it reduces their job satisfaction.

This is an important lesson: not everything needs to be turned into an algorithm. When it comes to people, you can't do without people. You can put sensors on everything - and create an atmosphere of distrust. Or you can have a person who simply talks to people. And learns the same things - but without the feeling of being watched.

The HRM is the one who acts. They can use analytical tools as a hint, but their work begins where algorithms end: in conversation, in trust, in understanding context that isn't visible in metadata.

In difficult moments - reorganization, leadership change, personal problems - the HRM becomes an anchor. Someone who's on the employee's side but also understands the business's interests.

When someone leaves - conducts a real exit interview. People tell the truth to those they trust. This helps retain the next ones.

The Economics

Losing a key employee is expensive.

Direct costs: finding a replacement - 30-50% of annual salary for senior positions. Onboarding - 3-6 months of reduced productivity. Loss of knowledge and relationships.

Indirect costs: the team loses momentum, projects stall, reputation suffers if the person went to a competitor.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates total replacement cost at 30-150% of annual salary. For complex roles - closer to the upper bound.

Say a company has 10 key people earning $200,000 each. Losing two means $120,000 to $600,000 in direct costs. Plus everything that can't be counted.

An HRM costs one salary - $150,000-$200,000 per year with a load of 10-15 people. At a larger company with 40-50 key employees, you'd need a small team of 3-4.

If the HRM prevents one departure per year - the role pays for itself. Two - it generates returns.

Why This Must Be a Separate Role

Why not just add this to HR or managers?

Focus. Deep relationships take time. An HR generalist covering 200 people can't know each key employee the way they need to.

No conflict of interest. A manager wants results now. An HRM thinks about keeping the person long-term. Sometimes these are different things.

Trust. People open up to those they have relationships with. Not to the boss who controls their bonus. Not to HR, which is associated with formalities. To someone whose job is to listen.

Who's Already Doing This

Formally, this role doesn't exist. But some companies have arrived at it intuitively.

In high-frequency trading - my main field - I see funds assigning dedicated people to work with key traders and developers. They call it different things, but the essence is the same.

According to ERE, candidates who receive quality feedback after rejection are 50% more likely to recommend the company to others. And those who were treated poorly don't just stay silent - 72% share their negative experience with others or on social media. One offended finalist means dozens of people who heard something bad about your company. In tight-knit industries where everyone knows everyone, that's a death sentence.

Some companies have understood this and started treating rejected candidates differently: personal feedback, explaining the reasons, sometimes career advice. Not charity. Calculation: today's reject is tomorrow's recommendation or anti-recommendation.

Who Can Become an HRM

Not just any HR professional. Not just anyone who's "good with people."

This is someone who listens in a way that makes people tell them the truth. Who sees what isn't said. Who can have a difficult conversation and preserve the relationship. Who understands business - otherwise they won't be taken seriously. Who's willing to build trust over months.

There aren't many such people. And they'll be valued more and more.

What This Means

Companies going through automation should ask themselves: who's responsible for relationships with the people who remain?

If the answer is "everyone, a little bit" - that means no one.

The captain of a modern ship knows each of their 13 engineers. The CEO of a company with 15 key people left must either know each one personally - or have someone who does.

The Human Relationship Manager is an acknowledgment of a simple truth: when there are few people and each one matters, relationships with them can't be someone's side task.

Technology will take everything that can be automated. What remains is what can't be: decisions, creativity, and relationships. And the companies that are first to treat relationships as a job - not a side effect - will win.

Mike Torchinsky is the founder of Torchinsky Executive Consulting. 25 years in executive search, specializing in high-frequency trading, cryptocurrency, fintech, and proprietary trading.