AI, generational divides, skills and workforce agility will be big themes next year, so here is a look at the HR and workforce predictions poised to shape organisations in 2025*. These predictions reflect a need for innovation, resilience, and agility in every area from talent management to technology adoption.
Key predictions include:
- AI: Breaking the Hype Cycle and Changes to the C-Suite
“In the gold rush of AI, distinguishing reality from hype has become increasingly challenging, leading to moments of disillusionment alongside the excitement. Next year, we’ll see a clearer divide between leaders and imitators as vendors are pressed to go beyond marketing claims to deliver real solutions for real-world issues. AI is set to re-imagine the employee experience, from adaptive learning and deeply personalised coaching to in-the-flow work guidance and conversational HR platforms. Additionally, AI will offer opportunities to unlock substantial productivity in designing and administering these systems.”
Organisations will also face greater pressure to measure the ROI of their AI initiatives, while ethical AI use and data transparency will become vital for building employee trust and attracting talent. If 2023 was the year of AI excitement, and 2024 the year of AI exploration and initial implementation, then 2025 could be the year of AI Confidence – a time where regulatory changes ‘refine’ the landscape. The winners will likely be ones that go beyond AI compliance to deep commitment towards responsible AI.
The rise of the Chief AI Officer also marks a pivotal shift in executive leadership, highlighting the potential for new roles to emerge as AI continues to reshape the workforce. As AI-driven demands grow, we are likely to see more professionals stepping into leadership roles, even without traditional C-suite experience. This trend will redefine what leadership looks like in the modern workplace, with specialised knowledge becoming as valuable as conventional executive pathways, enabling a more dynamic and adaptive leadership structure.” – Karthik Suri, Chief Product Officer
- The Great Generational Divide
“The presence of five generations in the workplace is a relatively recent phenomenon, emerging prominently in the last decade. With these distinct groups now working side by side, successful companies must go beyond simply recognising their differences and must focus on maximising the unique strengths each generation brings. By cultivating a mindset of mentorship, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning, organisations can turn generational diversity into a strategic advantage that enhances business performance and fosters team alignment. Alongside trends like the “Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting,” the “Great Retirement” threatens to widen both the skills and knowledge gaps unless proactive steps are taken to bridge generational differences. To stay agile, organisations must identify, value, and leverage the diverse skills and perspectives across generations while designing development programs tailored to each generation’s unique needs and learning preferences.” – Mike Bollinger, Global VP Strategic Initiatives
- ROI as a Requirement
“HR has become a strategic partner in cultivating an organisation’s most valuable asset—its people. Now, there is a spotlight on HR to deliver measurable return of investment (ROI), proving its role as a business driver and growth, not merely a support function and a cost centre. An example of a financial and HR discussion to come will be around topics like the impact of the UK Budget announcement, which included significant changes in National Insurance tax employer side. Many UK businesses will reconsider their financial strategies and HR will be part of that discussion. HR need to build agile workforce models, enabling rapid pivots to meet evolving customer, business and employee needs.” – Vincent Belliveau, Chief International Officer
- New UK government and Implication on the World of Work
“The road ahead under the new UK Labour government is beginning to take shape, with their first budget clearly signposting a fundamentally different approach to driving GDP growth. This is why ‘now’ represents a pivotal opportunity for business leaders to get ahead by starting to build tomorrow’s workforce, today. Prioritising employee-focused programmes that foster resilience and adaptability – like introducing skills intelligence – represent a clear opportunity to turn large scale economic policy change into robust competitive advantage. Identifying each employee’s skills, and their gaps, can enable personalised growth at scale. This, in turn, can ultimately help businesses ensure their talent remains engaged, committed, and high performing during this period of uncertainty. Moreover, this skills-centric approach can unlock the new talent ‘beacon on the hill’ – Workforce Agility – which is the real key to becoming future ready faster, whatever that future may look like.” – Dominic Holmes, Principal Consultant, Value and Strategy, EMEA
- The skills crunch point hits
“Early adopters of skill-focused strategies are beginning to reap tangible benefits, such as greater workforce agility, heightened employee engagement, stronger talent pipelines and ultimately better business performance. Skills is the lever that will also drive the democratisation of career development for individuals, while for organisations it nurtures an expert talent pipeline for critical roles. As the lifespan of certain skills starts to shorten because of rapid innovation such as we’re seeing around AI, organisations will explore adaptive learning models to keep pace. And they need to keep up. Getting skills right has proven to be a real challenge for many, but we are heading towards a reckoning in 2025. ‘Skill fluidity’ – the application of existing skills in new contexts, roles, or industries – will gain traction, particularly in high-demand sectors like tech and consulting. Meanwhile, frontline workers will adapt and reskill or upskill on-the-job as the world of work continues to change rapidly. Measurement of hidden or unconscious skills will advance, with AI-driven tools enabling organisations to recognise and leverage overlooked talent. And the pressure to demonstrate ROI on upskilling initiatives will intensify, spurring investments into the right tools and technologies – and ensuring alignment with strategic business goals.” – Kate Graham, Global Director, Competitive Intelligence
- Agile Workforce Models
“The shift towards a gig economy and adaptive, project-based work models is accelerating—not to replace traditional employment, but to evolve into a hybrid system where long-term roles coexist with a more fluid workforce. Project-based work will begin to redefine traditional employment, while talent mobility becomes a strategic necessity. Generational shifts will further elevate the gig economy’s role within organisations, and market constraints, including new legislation, will drive more strategic use of flexible and gig work arrangements.” – Mike Baker, GVP EMEA
- Next Generation of Experiences at the Forefront:
“Immersive learning, GenAI, and adaptive learning have been becoming an increasingly important part of many organisations’ training strategies – however, they’re often not seamlessly integrated into a cohesive vision to meet today’s needs. By 2025, we should see the next generation of experiences taking centre stage in people’s development plans, moving beyond being an exciting but infrequent resource to becoming a fundamental tool alongside traditional learning materials that employees at all levels will regularly engage with. VR and XR hardware and technology are becoming more cost effective and accessible to many. GenAI and AI policies have matured into ready for production scale solutions. With the pace of change, meeting learners where they are with adaptive learning strategies is paramount. Collectively we are entering a new dawn for connecting personal development to organizational goals and it could not be more exciting.” – Kyle Jackson, Global GM XR & Spatial / AI
About Cornerstone
Cornerstone powers the potential of organisations and their people to thrive in a changing world. Cornerstone Galaxy, the complete AI-powered workforce agility platform, meets organisations where they are. With Galaxy, organisations can identify skills gaps and development opportunities, retain and engage top talent, and provide multimodal learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of the modern workforce. More than 7,000 organisations and 140 million users in 186 countries use Cornerstone Galaxy to build high-performing, future-ready organisations and people today.
*Provided by Cornerstone
