HR in 2024 has been tough! This year wasnโt just about the day-to-day BAU chaos or the usual surprises from the business. It was about navigating intense transformations, from layoffs and organisational restructuring to redefining operating models.
Across our network, HR professionals are exhaustedโand it comes as no surprise!
You legends have been holding it all together, facilitating your peopleโs success while driving business continuity. On top of that, many of you have faced tight budgets, new ways of working, and massive changes in your own teams.
Letโs acknowledge that you really deserve a break! But just before you do โ whilst itโs fresh โ letโs reflect on what weโve learned and what might occupy our time in 2025.
HR's strategic seat at the table
- In 2024, we saw more people leaders taking on strategic rolesโฆ
For those of us whoโve been in HR for a while, itโs been fantastic to see HRโs evolution over the last few years. Finally, people leaders have a genuine โseat at the tableโ, and HR Business Partners are actively shaping major business decisions. This is where the real value of HR is realisedโwhen our efforts directly contribute to business success.
- 2025 will be about resilience and agility
Looking ahead, itโs clear: the world isnโt going to slow down. Disruptions will keep coming. AI is set to fundamentally change workforce structures and HR value chains. The political and economic landscape will remain volatile, with shifts in global supply chains of both digital services and physical production due to regulatory policies and evident trade challenges. And then there are workforce shifts driven by immigration, the potential normalisation of cryptocurrency (โYou will hear โI want to be paid in Bitcoin!โ very soonโ) and the balancing act of advancing the D&I approach in the workplace.
Amid these challenges, HRโs role will become even more critical. We must use our seat at the table to design systems and processes that empower our businesses to stay resilient, pivot swiftly, and deliver value inclusively to all our people.
Centralising People Services - the painful realisations
- 2024 exposed the cracks in people processes
This year revealed some hard truths. As HR services have become more centralised, the true qualityโor lack thereofโof our processes has been exposed. Managers, already overwhelmed by expanding responsibilities, have been left navigating clunky, bureaucratic systems that seem designed to drain their time and patience. The result? Frustration, inefficiency, and a stark realisation that our processes donโt meet the standard we expect.
- 2025 will be about clarifying product ownership and focusing on user experience
The solution lies in clarifying HR product ownership. By leveraging design thinking and professionalising HR product management, we can create people products that arenโt just functional but exceptional. Letโs make the basic stuffโhiring processes, performance reviews, employee journeysโrun so smoothly that managers and employees feel empowered, not encumbered.
Mid-level management gaps
- 2024 highlighted the neglect of Foundational Management Development
Many organisations have come face-to-face with a glaring gap in 2024: mid-level managers lack basic leadership skills. Years of underinvestment in management development have left these managers unprepared for their roles. Theyโre struggling to lead increasingly demanding teams, and the consequences are becoming impossible to ignore.
- 2025 must include the building of foundational skills and navigating generational differences
In 2025, management development must become a top priority. Beyond flashy HiPo programmes, we need foundational leadership training that focuses on clear behaviours, tough conversations, and effective team management. Generational dynamics will also play a roleโhow do we support Gen Z managers stepping into leadership roles while balancing the expectations of senior leaders? This is where foundational development meets personalisation.
Prioritisation in HR work
- 2024 saw many HR teams transition to quarterly prioritisation
This year marked a growing shift away from rigid annual HR plans to more agile, quarterly prioritisation. This change is long overdue. With work demands constantly shifting, quarterly planning allows HR teams to align more closely with business strategy and adapt to real-time needs.
- In 2025, we should embrace professional portfolio management
The next step is embedding professional portfolio management. By managing work capacity and aligning it with OKRs, we can avoid burnout and ensure HR teams deliver maximum value. Itโs about working smarter, not harderโand itโs essential for surviving and thriving in a fast-paced world.
HR Tech: The AI revolution
- 2024 was about laying the foundations with updated HR/IS solutions
HR teams spent much of this year updating their HR/IS solutions to prepare for the future. The focus has been on improving employee experience, ensuring AI readiness, and streamlining service delivery.
- 2025 will see a strategic revolution of AI in HR
But the real revolution is just beginning. Fourth-generation generative AI tools are poised to disrupt HR services entirely. Weโve already written about how AI is disrupting HR/IS in a previous blog post. Within a few years, AI chatbots could handle 90% of employee and manager Tier 1 queries. This means we need to invest now in upskilling and reskilling our HR services teamsโnot just to handle what AI canโt, but to augment your skills with AI and potentially transfer into more behaviour-related domains of HR.
Looking ahead at HR in 2025...
Weโre not big fans of making wholesale predictions of trends. We know that some of our senior HR peers mostly roll their eyes when reading the trend, always feeling you are behind with everything! Every organisation will face its unique challenges in 2025, shaped by its context, maturity, and priorities. Some will be refining the basics, while others will be pioneering AI-driven innovations or building skills ecosystems.
But one trend must be universal in 2025: taking care of our own people teams. We cannot afford to burn out our people.
Letโs focus on upskilling, prioritising, and innovatingโnot just for the business but for ourselves. The road ahead is demanding, but with the right tools, mindset, and resilience, we can lead the way.
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