Today’s guest blogger is Bill Benson with WilliamCharles Search Group located in Grand Rapids, MI. WilliamCharles is an executive search and professional recruiting firm specialized in finding managerial and executive talent in finance, HR, operations, sales/marketing as well as president/CEO roles. They have a concentration of clients in Michigan but they also work across the US. Bill is a past chairman of the NPAworldwide Board of Directors. Today he discusses 6 HR talent trends to watch in 2025.
We focused our December newsletter on Leader and Manager Development, which remains the top priority on most surveys, from LinkedIn to Gartner to Harvard Business Review. Culture is also at the top of my mind this year. Improving how you develop leaders and creating a culture that supports leader development, growth, and advancement will give you a clear talent advantage.
Other top priorities for 2025…. Here are the top 6 areas of emphasis discovered in our research.
Workforce Planning and Organization Development
Aligning human resources and talent strategies with both short- and long-term business goals has become increasingly critical due to significant shifts in the labor and professional talent markets. Despite this urgency, a recent Gartner survey reveals that only about 15% of companies engage in strategic workforce planning. Why is this a pressing need? Consider the following examples:
Automation in Manufacturing: As manufacturing shifts towards greater automation, the current workforce may struggle to adapt, leading to higher turnover rates. To address this, companies must redefine hiring criteria, implement reskilling programs, and establish new hiring projections to meet the demands of an automated environment.
Leadership and Workforce Retirements: Organizations are facing a surge in retirements, particularly in leadership roles. For instance, some companies anticipate that nearly 50% of their leaders will retire in the coming years. Similarly, hospitals are experiencing record levels of nurse retirements. While managing these short-term challenges can be overwhelming, it is equally essential to step back and develop a long-term strategy to ensure sustained success.
Change Management
Both employees and leaders are navigating an era of rapid transformations, driven by HR talent trends, workplace shifts, advancing technology, leadership transitions, and evolving competitive landscapes. These dynamics have led to widespread change fatigue, with 73% of HR leaders citing it in a recent Gartner survey. Additionally, 74% of managers acknowledge they are not adequately prepared to guide their teams through these transitions. This highlights the essential role of HR in supporting change management. By addressing HR talent trends, fostering readiness, providing targeted resources, and equipping leaders to handle change, HR can alleviate fatigue, strengthen leadership capabilities, and ensure smoother organizational transitions.
HR Technology
Understanding how to use AI is evolving. Everyone agrees AI can be effective in saving time, streamlining processes, and enhancing productivity. Those who have been using AI in the talent acquisition process are finding it less effective. People don’t like to be cat fished by a bot pretending to be a human. Unsurprisingly, candidates will equate their experience as a candidate to the experience they will get as an employee. Candidates strongly prefer a human screening the candidate pool rather than having their fate determined by a keyword search. The human touch remains important!
Candidate Experience and Employee Value Proposition.
Talent remains a top priority for organizational leadership. Creating a compelling employee value proposition (EVP) that aligns the organization’s culture, compensation, and benefits with the evolving needs and expectations of employees is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. The hiring process is often a candidate’s first impression of your organization, making it critical to deliver a seamless and engaging experience that reflects your commitment to employee success. While recent HR talent trends show less job-hopping and a more balanced power dynamic between managers and employees, this should not be seen as an opportunity to revert to outdated practices. Instead, it’s a chance to reinforce a forward-thinking approach that values and supports your workforce, optimizing long-term organizational value.
Innovate Hiring Requirements.
Larger companies are discussing a shift to “key skill hiring” rather than the traditional requirements that included a degree. If you are investing long-term in an employee, it is best to hire someone based on their innate or fixed qualities. Skills and understanding of an industry can often be learned, but more innate capabilities including someone’s drive to succeed, resilience, EQ, and willingness to go the extra mile, are not likely to change. In a talent-short market… prioritizing the list of desired qualities is key.
Workplace – Hybrid is here to stay.
Return to on-site work is trending in some industry sectors. Where will this likely end up? While some companies will successfully impose an RTW strategy, it won’t likely be the norm. An Upwork survey suggests that by the end of 2025, about 36.2 million Americans will work remotely, about an 87% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels. A Gallup study revealed that six in 10 remote-capable employees would actively seek a hybrid arrangement, with only 10% preferring full-time office work. Some professionals have remained at work due to the requirements of the role, but those working remotely will keep looking for a role with some remote work if they are called back to the office full time.
The overall theme this year revolves around HR helping organizations adapt to change, aligning closely with emerging HR talent trends. These initiatives demand a strategic approach rather than a traditional, compliance-driven one. Elevating the HR function should remain a top priority, especially if your department is not yet forward-looking.
This newsletter’s sources include Upwork, Korn Ferry, Harvard Business Review, and Gallup workplace surveys, as well as our own anecdotal research.