Approaching 2025, HR leaders are set to face a rapidly evolving landscape influenced by technological advancements, changing workforce dynamics, and global economic shifts. According to a comprehensive Gartner survey of over 1,400 HR leaders spanning 60 countries and all major industries, several key priorities have emerged as critical focus areas. Preparing for these challenges will be pivotal in enabling organisations to thrive.

The survey results highlight the top five priorities for HR leaders, accompanied by expert recommendations for impactful next steps. The majority of respondents emphasised the importance of leader and manager development.  Additionally, many HR leaders are focusing on organisational culture, strategic workforce planning, change management, and HR technology.

Based on insights from the 2025 Gartner HR Priorities Survey, this blog explores the top five priorities for HR leaders in the coming year and actionable steps to address them.

  1. Leader and manager development

Challenges:

  • 75% of HR leaders report that managers are overwhelmed with expanding responsibilities.
  • 70% believe current leaders are not adequately equipped to develop midlevel leaders.

Actions: traditional leadership development programmes are falling short. Despite significant updates and increased spending, only 36% of HR leaders find their programmes effective. To address this, organisations should focus on creating repeated connections through both learning engagements and social touchpoints. Embedding relationship-building events after applying teachings in real-life scenarios can strengthen connections and support ongoing development.

  1. Organisational culture

Challenges:

  • 57% of HR leaders agree that managers fail to enforce the desired vision of culture within their teams.
  • 53% report that leaders don’t feel accountable for demonstrating the desired culture.

Actions: organisations struggle to activate culture successfully, with less than one in four employees understanding the values driving their culture. To embed culture effectively, leaders must help employees understand core values, demonstrate desired behaviours, and ensure processes support the culture.

  1. Strategic workforce planning

Challenges:

  • 66% of HR leaders agree their workforce planning is limited to headcount planning.
  • 61% agree their efforts are limited to a one-year plan.

Actions: strategic workforce planning (SWP) should focus on capabilities rather than just headcount. A phased approach, starting with small pilots and gradually expanding, can help organisations achieve maturity in SWP. This involves defining deliverables, using advanced data, closing capability gaps, and ensuring adequate staffing support.

  1. Change management

Challenges:

  • 74% of HR leaders say managers are not equipped to lead change.
  • 73% agree that employees are fatigued from change.

Actions: change fatigue is a significant issue, with traditional change management practices often falling short. Successful organisations empower change influencers within the organisation to build strong change implementation. Identifying and amplifying these influencers can boost change adoption and sustain business performance.

  1. HR technology

Challenges:

  • 55% of HR leaders say their current technology solutions do not cover current and future business needs.
  • 51% agree they cannot measure the business value delivered by HR technology transformation.

Actions: HR technology strategies need to move beyond automating traditional tasks to maximise business impact. This involves selecting the right technology, improving user experience, and training HR staff on new functionalities. A transparent partnership with technology vendors can also help prioritise workflow disruptions and achieve faster improvements.

The priorities for HR leaders in 2025 highlight the need for continuous transformation and strategic alignment with business goals. By focusing on leader development, embedding organisational culture, adopting strategic workforce planning, managing change effectively, and leveraging HR technology, HR leaders can navigate the challenges ahead and drive significant business impact.

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