As an HR leader, have you thought about your resolutions for 2025? Setting clear priorities for the new year will help you proactively respond to change while supporting high-level business goals.
To get you started, we’ve compiled a short list of the most crucial HR priorities for 2025. Through these strategies, HR can enhance leaders’ effectiveness and further their organization’s mission. Take time to reflect on your core objectives with your team so you can enter the coming year with a shared sense of purpose.
Table of Contents
- Ongoing Leadership Development
- Strategic Upgrades to HR Technology
- Alignment of HR Goals with Business Objectives
- Revamping of Talent Acquisition Strategies
- Centring of Employee Well-Being
- Employee Reskilling
- A Culture of Continuous Learning
- Flexible Career Paths
1. Ongoing Leadership Development
In a survey of HR leaders worldwide, Gartner highlighted predictions for the future of HR in 2025. Preparing managers to lead more effectively will be a crucial HR priority, they found. Currently, 75% of HR leaders report that managers feel overwhelmed, and 70% say they lack appropriate training programs, asserts Gartner.
In particular, managers need guidance in change management. Only 16% of employees feel their company is well-prepared to handle change, PwC found in its own survey. Change has been occurring at a relentless pace across industries, with organizations adapting to AI, new working models, and other shifts. So, companies should provide in-depth training on leading through change to managers at all levels. Development of emotional intelligence will play a key role in guiding teams through times of transition.
As part of this process, help each leader to define and enhance their personal leadership style (and avoid less effective approaches). Pair them with a mentor who can provide invaluable guidance, discussing how to handle challenges. And equip them with sophisticated performance management tools that will help them monitor and coach employees. Track how team morale and productivity change as leaders hone their abilities, and share this feedback with them.
2. Strategic Upgrades to HR Technology
Increasingly, HR teams will rely on evidence-based analytics to aid in decision-making and assessment. According to Gartner’s survey, 55% of HR leaders say their current tech solutions don’t cater to emerging needs. Another recent survey by McLean & Company found that just 7% of businesses have a strategy for deploying AI tools.
HR leaders can use AI solutions to handle repetitive tasks, allowing them to devote more time to activities that shape business success, like strategic planning and developing training initiatives. AI solutions can also aid in optimizing performance management, understanding engagement, and fine-tuning feedback. As organizations learn to leverage big data more efficiently, they’ll empower stronger talent management, as Vic Benuyenah says in Human Resource Management: Rationalising Managerial Decisions.
Moreover, HR leaders must show employees how to use AI as a tool that benefits their own work. Today, 67% of employees don’t know how AI can accelerate their own productivity. Roll out initiatives that introduce specific AI solutions, showing how employees in different functions can use them.
3. Alignment of HR Goals with Business Objectives
Just 15% of organizations engage in strategic workforce planning, reports Gartner. Too few are identifying emerging and future skills gaps, then seeking or training talent accordingly. Talk with company leaders about how HR can further their goals, following these key steps.
- Set up meetings with executives to discuss their priorities.
- Develop plans for recruitment, training, talent management, and succession planning to meet these objectives. Discuss these plans or proposals with senior leaders.
- Share evidence to support your ideas and gain buy-in.
- Continue sharing data highlighting the success of HR initiatives.
Most importantly, don’t wait to be asked for this input. Instead, proactively share well-crafted ideas on strategic personnel management and reach out to senior leaders to set up these meetings.
4. Revamping of Talent Acquisition Strategies
Adopting a skills-first approach to hiring will ensure a stronger match between candidates and roles. However, many companies aren’t sure how to put this philosophy into practice.
“Although one in four talent leaders (39%) recognize the value of skills-based hiring, only one in six (17%) say they plan to switch to a skills-based hiring model in 2025,” reports Korn Ferry. Clearly, many companies need to redefine their hiring practices so they can zero in on critical skills regardless of candidates’ backgrounds.
In particular, HR should identify human skills and other crucial capabilities for specific positions. Understanding that technical skill needs will shift—and that these skills can often be cultivated on the job—they should consider offering training in such areas to promising new hires. Moreover, prioritizing aptitude over specific credentials may draw a more diverse pool of applicants, boosting inclusivity and bringing fresh perspectives that can shape the future of your company.
Utilize a range of channels for recruitment. For instance, cultivate a robust alumni network of former employees who can act as brand ambassadors, as IBM suggests. Consider offering paid internships, returnship programs, and other training experiences to attract new talent. Such initiatives can target mid-career professionals and those seeking lateral career moves, as well as promising young talent.
Then, use analytics to measure the success of your outreach and branding efforts. Track the most valuable pathways for finding talent so you can leverage them further in the future.
5. Centring of Employee Well-Being
With the abundance of changes being introduced, employees often struggle with stress and uncertainty. In particular, some fear that AI might render them irrelevant. These pressing issues can take a serious toll on wellness, as McLean & Company says.
To remain competitive, employers must centre the employee experience, as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends. This means enhancing employee well-being and providing for their needs. To do this, companies should prioritize listening to their concerns by actively seeking their input. Conducting regular anonymous surveys, and responding to issues promptly, will foster employee wellness.
Promote holistic wellness by offering resources that support mental health, too. Discuss self-care practices and how to spot and address symptoms of mental health issues. By normalizing discussions about this formerly taboo topic, you can help strengthen employee well-being.
6. Employee Reskilling
The idea of “future-proofing” career paths has been taking hold in recent years. In fact, 68% of employees are ready to undergo substantial retraining to stay competitive, and in Harvard Business Review, researchers refer to reskilling as “a strategic imperative.”
Organizations can help employees keep their skill set relevant by building new competencies. Let’s briefly discuss what this process entails.
First, through strategic workforce planning, companies can identify the most critical risks and needs. They can also take an inventory of current workforce skills, creating a map of where these skills exist across the organization.
As HR identifies emerging needs, it can determine which employees are best suited to developing those skills. HR and managers can then talk with employees about their interests. They may find that some emerging needs align with employees’ skills and passions in unexpected ways.
This process must be ongoing, as needs will often shift. “The average half-life of skills is now less than five years, and in some tech fields it’s as low as two and a half years,” write Jorge Tamayo and coauthors in HBR. With the help of analytics, HR should reassess skills routinely, highlight reskilling needs, and take action to equip employees with these competencies.
7. A Culture of Continuous Learning
Similarly, continuous learning will play an important role in the workplace through 2025 and beyond. Instilling a culture of learning will enhance employee engagement while equipping them to fill business needs. These training experiences will make work a richer and more rewarding experience.
To foster a culture of continuous learning, begin by setting the right example. Encourage managers and leaders to share engaging content they’ve discovered with their team, for instance. Showing genuine enthusiasm for new ideas and approaches will inspire direct reports to seek new knowledge in turn.
Second, make learning opportunities engaging and accessible. To do this, help each person to create a personal development plan. Then, connect them with learning options that match their goals. Incentivize them to pursue these learning experiences by discussing progress and reminding them of how their efforts are supporting their career ambitions.
Collective learning experiences can also make the process more dynamic and exciting. Create learning cohorts of individuals with similar interests who can discuss these topics together. Use peer coaching to encourage people to share skills with coworkers.
Finally, create a culture of making time for learning; otherwise, work demands will typically take precedence. “The primary obstacle to upskilling is often time,” writes Oracle. “If businesses want their people to add the new skills the company needs, and want to increase employee retention rates by creating growth opportunities, companies should strongly consider designating time for workers to upskill.” For instance, help each employee block out a few hours each month for learning activities.
8. Flexible Career Paths
Employees increasingly seek to design their own career paths, as PwC asserts. Rather than following a prescribed approach up the company ladder, they’re making nontraditional moves.
How can you support them in this effort? Empower their success and fulfillment by holding in-depth conversations about their ambitions. Talk to them about how to prepare and apply for internal opportunities that interest them. Many companies are embracing this mindset by creating an internal job and talent marketplace that all employees can access, PwC notes.
Meanwhile, HR should work to link these options to organizational transformation, as Dawn Kawamoto says in HR Executive. This means communicating emerging and future job opportunities that will support business goals. Discuss these options with managers, who can share them with direct reports.
By focusing on these top HR priorities for 2025, you’ll boost job satisfaction, retention, and strategic planning endeavors. Your efforts to help employees upskill, learn continuously, and take charge of their career path will show them they have a bright future with your organization. Supporting their well-being will greatly enhance their experience and perception of your company. Further, embracing leadership development, HR technology, innovative talent acquisition strategies, and alignment of HR and business needs will help HR contribute more fully to organizational goals. Ultimately, these benefits will foster your company’s overall success.
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