As organizations evolve and face new challenges, leaders and managers are preparing to tackle pressing workforce priorities that will shape the future of work. Based on our data and experience at EXCELR8, and supported by extensive research conducted by Gartner, these priorities reflect the most significant areas HR leaders (and all leaders in the organization) need to focus on to remain competitive, retain top talent, and drive business outcomes. Below are the top five workforce priorities leaders must incorporate into their strategic imperatives for 2025. We highlight the key trends that will influence human resources strategies moving forward.

1. Leader and Manager Development

In 2025, developing leaders and managers will continue to be a critical focus for HR teams. According to Gartner’s survey, 75% of HR leaders report that managers feel overwhelmed by their expanding responsibilities, while 70% believe current leadership development programs are insufficient for equipping leaders to handle future challenges​. The traditional approaches to leadership development, often centered on one-off seminars and static content, are proving ineffective in preparing leaders for the dynamic nature of modern business.

A new imperative has emerged—leaders need to develop through peer-connection-based learning experiences that foster lasting professional relationships and practical, real-world applications of their knowledge. Leadership teams must prioritize long-term development strategies that emphasize collaboration, on-the-job learning, and regular touchpoints rather than isolated events. Programs must incorporate a blend of consistent in-person training conducted by proven experts, virtual training, peer-to-peer mentorship, and talent development workforce technology platforms. Organizations that integrate leadership development with broader business strategies will be more resilient in the face of continuous change.

2. Organizational Culture

While nearly 97% of CHROs express the desire to change some aspect of their organization’s culture, the challenge lies in bringing these cultural aspirations to life​. Many organizations struggle to translate lofty cultural ideals into actionable day-to-day behaviors, which leads to discrepancies between leadership vision and employee experience. Poorly managed culture initiatives have significant business impacts, affecting employee engagement, performance, retention, and even customer satisfaction.

In 2025, embedding culture into the core values of the organization will become increasingly important. Leaders need to ensure that employees understand the values driving their culture and have the necessary processes and support systems in place to align their daily behaviors with these values. Leaders will be tasked with not only setting the cultural direction but also modeling desired behaviors and holding their teams accountable. Companies that successfully embed culture will see improved employee engagement, performance, and retention rates.

3. Strategic Workforce Planning

As business environments become more volatile, the importance of strategic workforce planning (SWP) has never been greater. Yet, 66% of HR leaders acknowledge that their workforce planning is often limited to headcount planning, which doesn’t adequately address future talent needs. With labor markets shifting, and 23% of global jobs expected to change in the coming years due to factors like AI and automation, HR teams must adopt a more comprehensive approach to planning.

In 2025, HR leaders need to broaden their focus beyond immediate staffing needs and develop capabilities-focused plans that look two or more years into the future. This phased approach to SWP will allow organizations to better align their talent strategies with business goals, close critical skill gaps, and ensure they are prepared for potential disruptions such as technological advancements or economic downturns. By integrating talent strategies into business planning, HR can provide more value and proactively address challenges attracting and retaining employees.

4. Change Management

With the rapid pace of change in today’s business world, 73% of leaders report that employees are experiencing change fatigue​. I have researched and written about this reality extensively – and this data was the same prior to the world moving extensively to remote and hybrid workforce strategies. Employees are increasingly overwhelmed by the constant wave of organizational changes, whether related to technology, processes, or culture. Traditional top-down change management approaches are no longer sufficient, as they fail to account for the human aspect of change and the need for psychological safety and engagement during times of transformation.

To navigate this growing complexity, HR leaders in 2025 must focus on building change resilience within their teams and organizations. Rather than simply managing change from the top, successful organizations will empower employees to be active participants in the change process. Identifying change influencers—employees with strong peer connections who can help communicate and champion changes—will be key to improving change adoption and maintaining business performance. When employees feel involved in shaping change, they are more likely to embrace and sustain it.

5. HR Technology

HR technology will continue to evolve in 2025, but HR leaders face significant challenges in ensuring that the technology they implement delivers real value. 55% of HR leaders say their current technology solutions do not cover future business needs, and 51% struggle to measure the business value of their HR technology investments​. Simply automating administrative tasks isn’t enough; HR technology needs to drive strategic impact by enhancing employee experience, improving workflows, and leveraging emerging tools like generative AI (GenAI).

Leaders at every must adopt a more transformational approach to worksforce technology. This means not just implementing tools to improve efficiency but using technology to create new ways of working and driving business outcomes. In the coming years, GenAI will play a critical role in areas such as employee-facing chatbots, automated document generation, and advanced data analytics for workforce planning. However, leadership teams must also address internal resistance to technology by investing in training and support to ensure that their teams understand how to use these tools effectively.

The future of work is rapidly shifting, and leaders will need to adapt to these changes by focusing on leader and talent development, cultural alignment, strategic workforce planning, change management, and workforce technology. Each of these priorities is interconnected, and success in one area will often reinforce success in another. As we look to 2025, organizations that proactively address these challenges will not only retain top talent but also drive sustainable growth and innovation. By embedding these priorities into their core strategies, HR leaders can ensure that their organizations are well-positioned for the future.



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