In 2024, HR leaders faced rapid change and played a pivotal role in shaping business strategy and performance. As we move through 2025, HR’s role will continue to evolve. To keep pace, HR leaders must be adaptable, empathetic, and forward-thinking. Below are four key lessons from 2024 and top priorities for this year.
Driving Business Strategy and Organizational Performance
Lessons
In 2024, HR leaders showed how essential they are to business strategy. For example, HR played a key role in redesigning workflows and introducing tools for better collaboration amid the shifts we saw around remote, hybrid, and RTO requirements. A key lesson learned was the importance of flexibility and responsiveness — ensuring policies kept employees engaged and aligned, regardless of their work environment.
Businesses that thrived were those where HR leaders were actively involved in decision-making, helping maintain workforce agility and resilience through proactive strategies that fostered a culture of adaptability.
Priorities
Through 2025, HR leaders must remain at the core of business strategy. This involves creating a culture where adaptability is ingrained in every aspect of work. HR leaders can achieve this by leveraging data to make informed decisions that help the organization navigate complexity and change. By analyzing trends and employee feedback, HR can take proactive measures to ensure employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention, even during uncertain times.
Equally important is the HR leader’s role in talent development and enhancing workforce efficiency. By prioritizing upskilling and reskilling, HR can ensure employees are equipped with the right skills to meet evolving business needs. This focus on continuous learning and development helps businesses stay agile and ready for future challenges. HR leaders who invest in both the growth of their people and the optimization of team performance will position their organizations for sustained success.
HR’s Influence on Executive Level Decision Making
Lessons
In 2024, HR leaders came into their own as trusted advisors to executive teams. As companies faced tough decisions around workforce management and employee well-being, HR helped guide decision-makers through it all. HR wasn’t just focused on managing talent — they became a key voice in shaping strategy, offering insights into company culture, engagement, and long-term effects of decisions on employees. The best HR leaders were the ones who built strong relationships with executives and stakeholders, making sure that the needs of employees were front and center when big decisions were made. By bringing data-driven insights and a people-first approach, HR helped executives make smarter, more balanced decisions that benefited both the business and its workforce.
Priorities
Throughout 2025, HR leaders must solidify their role within the executive team by making sure people are prioritized during decision making. This means getting in the room early with the C-suite, making sure employee feedback is heard and aligning people strategies with business goals.
Building strong, transparent relationships with executives and stakeholders will be more important than ever, especially with the uncertainty organizations are still facing. HR leaders who focus on both supporting workforce well-being and driving business results— whether through flexible work policies, leadership development, or employee engagement — will prove essential partners in long-term success.
Embracing Impacts and Managing Risks of Technology
Lessons
In 2024, AI and digital tools made a big impact on business processes, driving efficiency and innovation — but they also raised important questions about data privacy, security and ethics. Many HR leaders jumped in by focusing on upskilling their teams, setting up AI governance frameworks and strengthening data protection practices. The real success came from those that tackled risks head-on and took the time to prepare their people for the changes these technologies would bring.
Priorities
In 2025, HR needs to stay ahead of digital transformation by making sure employees have the skills and support needed to adapt to new technologies. This means investing in ongoing training, offering reskilling opportunities, and encouraging a culture of learning across the organization.
HR leaders will also need to double down on data security and privacy, making sure employees are up to date on best practices and that the company is following necessary regulations. This could include regular training on data protection and transparent communication about how data is handled.
Another key area for HR is setting clear guidelines for the ethical use of technology, especially when it comes to AI and automation. Regular audits will be important to make sure these tools are being used fairly and aren’t creating bias. Transparency will be critical here, as HR will need to be open about how technology might change job roles and proactively offer reskilling and support to employees during transitions.
Holistic Approaches to Times of Uncertainty
Lessons
In 2024, HR leaders played a vital role in managing risks amid geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and changing expectations. One key takeaway was the need for flexibility — HR had to build workforce strategies that could quickly adjust to unexpected challenges and disruptions.
Supporting employee well-being became another crucial tool for risk management. By offering mental health support, stress management resources and burnout prevention, HR helped protect both employee health and productivity.
HR leaders also focused on preparing for talent gaps through upskilling, reskilling, and succession planning. Investing in these areas helped their organizations stay ready for any talent shortages or shifts in business needs. Additionally, flexible work policies became a key tool for mitigating operational risks, keeping employees engaged, and ensuring the business could continue to operate smoothly through changing circumstances.
Priorities
Looking ahead, HR leaders need to take a more holistic approach to risk management, addressing not just workforce planning, but also employee well-being, company reputation, and culture. HR must be proactive in spotting potential issues — like talent shortages, skill gaps, or burnout — and put plans in place before they become problems.
Some key strategies will be strengthening talent pipelines through smarter recruitment and retention efforts, as well as building solid succession plans to ensure business continuity far into the future. HR should also integrate well-being initiatives into everyday practices, offering mental health support and promoting work-life balance, while regularly checking in with employees to spot burnout before it becomes an issue.
Collaboration with leadership will be crucial to ensure that HR’s risk management aligns with broader business goals. By identifying vulnerabilities and aligning strategies, HR leaders can help keep the business resilient. Additionally, HR should play a leading role in protecting the company’s reputation by maintaining transparent communication and being a trusted voice for employees — especially when the organization is going through changes or challenging times.
Conclusion
In the year ahead, the HR leader’s role in shaping business success will be more important than ever. HR leaders will be key in helping organizations stay agile — navigating AI integration, economic shifts, and changing employee expectations. By upskilling the workforce, helping build strong leadership pipelines and leading digital transformation, HR leaders will drive growth while integrating sustainability into core business values. Those who embrace the challenges to come with empathy and forward-thinking will position their organizations for long-term success.
Based in RHR International’s (RHR) London office, Orla Leonard is a Senior Partner and Head of International, Region Lead – Europe, focused on expanding the organization’s market shares in the U.K., Europe and Middle East. Throughout her extensive career at RHR, Leonard has brought her energetic, creative and solutions-focused approach to leadership consulting to the c-suites of Fortune 500 companies across more than 25 countries and counting. Keep up with Orla and RHR International on LinkedIn for insights on the most critical topics shaping the leaders of today.