HR Tech Trends in 2025

AI-Enabled HR

OpenAI first introduced its ChatGPT AI software program in 2022, and ever since, businesses and individuals have been experimenting with various AI platforms and pondering its impact on the workplace — and the world.

Today, AI-enabled technology tools are empowering businesses and HR teams by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For example, automating time-tracking, payroll, benefits administration, and other HR functions reduces your HR team's administrative workload, improves accuracy, and increases efficiencies across the board. This allows employees to focus on more strategic initiatives that can further improve the customer experience.

According to the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR), “Technology and AI are no longer a future trend — it's the current business reality, transforming how organizations function at every level … This tectonic shift requires a strategic rethinking of roles, skills, and processes, prompting HR to consider how these transformations reshape the organization, workplace, and people management. Beyond adopting new tools, HR must focus on instilling a mindset of innovation, agility, and antifragility in their employees to take full advantage of these tech advancements.”

HR teams play a vital role in managing the change that AI-enabled tools introduce to the workplace. As with all new technologies, creating and adopting focused policies, procedures, and parameters that govern how AI tools will be used in day-to-day job functions is essential. HR teams are already playing a key role in establishing training protocols and programs that communicate policies and procedures and upskill employees in AI-enabled technologies. HR managers are also leading strategic efforts to help team leaders envision how AI tools and technology can guide a company's future success.

In fact, Gartner reported that during a six-month period (June 2023 to January 2024), the number of HR leaders conducting pilots on AI-enabled tools like employee-facing chatbots and recruitment and administrative task automation doubled, demonstrating the increased pace of AI-enabled tech tool adoption.

Employee Experience Platforms

Employee experience platforms are an integrated HR tech tool that helps enhance employee communication, feedback, recognition, and wellness. The self-service functionality of employee experience platforms frees up valuable bandwidth for HR employees who can devote less time to administrative tasks and more to big-picture planning. It also houses invaluable data that can be used to make decisions that improve employee experience and drive employee engagement.

“An employee experience platform provides employees with a personalized experience [where they] can access information on their performance, benefits, and career growth,” according to Human Resource Webinars’ “Maximizing Your Human Capital: The Benefits of an Employee Experience Platform.” “They can also set goals, track their progress, and receive real-time feedback. By providing employees with a personalized experience, companies can improve employee engagement and retention.”

Standard features often found on employee experience platforms include:

• Employee self-service tools that allow employees to set up and update account functions like direct deposit, benefits elections, or leave requests at their convenience.
• Onboarding tools that welcome new hires and set the stage for a mutually beneficial employer-employee relationship and guide them through new-hire orientation, administrative tasks, and training programs.
• Performance management tools that help managers and employees perform goal-setting exercises, give and receive feedback, and conduct performance reviews.
• Communication tools that provide an internal platform for company news, announcements, employee feedback, and surveys that measure employee sentiment on various aspects of their work.
• Employee recognition tools that facilitate awards and appreciation programs.
• Learning and development modules that provide employees access to online courses, career development tutorials, and upskilling programs.

Bringing together these different tools in one place reduces time spent searching for information or performing tasks on various platforms and demonstrates your commitment to your employees and their professional growth.

According to Microsoft’s “What is an employee experience platform,” 94% of employees would stay longer if their employers invested in their learning and development and “organizations with highly engaged employees have 23% greater profitability.”

“Businesses should use an employee experience platform to help keep employees engaged and satisfied, improve employee retention, and increase productivity and profitability,” states the Microsoft article.

People Analytics

An evolving HR tech trend, people analytics programs allow SMBs to probe data, gather insights about their workforce, and make decisions based on those insights. For example, some businesses have used people analytics to determine what indicators might lead to higher employee turnover. These businesses can then convert that knowledge into action by enacting policies and procedures designed to reverse the trend.

AIHR’s “People Analytics: An Essential Guide for HR” identified four different types of people analytics:

• Descriptive analytics is used by 83% of businesses to analyze patterns in historical data and determine why something happened. This type of people analytics is not used to make predictions.
• Diagnostic analytics “takes descriptive analytics a step further and offers an underlying explanation for the insights revealed in the trends, correlations, and anomalies of the data.”
• Predictive analytics, used by 20% of organizations, analyzes past and present data to gather insights and applies that information to an “estimating model” to make future predictions.
• Prescriptive analytics “ … channels predictive analytics into decision options and actions to achieve success.”

Business owners can use data from their systems, such as an employee experience platform, and run it through people analytics software or programs. From that point, the information can be analyzed by skilled HR professionals to determine action items and/or policies that can be implemented to impact the subject at hand – whether it be improving employee retention rates, enhancing recruiting techniques, or boosting employee engagement.

Employee Data Privacy

Business owners are tasked with securing and maintaining employee data privacy, which can be challenging in an environment with many cybersecurity risks. Our digital world is increasingly complex, which means data privacy requirements are constantly evolving. Staying on top of these changes – including which requirements apply to your organization under the U.S.'s patchwork of privacy laws and cybersecurity tools that protect company data from cyberattacks, malware, ransomware, and data breaches – demands time, knowledge, and attention.

HR professionals can help companies comply with applicable data protection, privacy, and breach laws and monitor pending legislation. They can also facilitate cross-functional teams that work together to implement data protection and encryption measures and develop comprehensive company policies and procedures that target cybersecurity risks and protect employee privacy.

Following are five data privacy best practices recommended by G&A Partners:

• Know your organization's data. HR teams can facilitate compiling and analyzing your organization's data collection, retention, and sharing processes, which helps your team determine what cybersecurity measures need to be adopted or modified.
• Educate and train your employees. Cyberattacks come in many forms and can lead to other cybercrimes, such as identity or information theft, fraud, extortion, and more. Develop a training program that educates workers on recognizing and avoiding cybersecurity risks and focuses on company-specific policies and practices for maintaining cybersecurity.
• Implement strong cybersecurity measures. HR can work with IT and cybersecurity teams to make cybersecurity measures a mainstay in your workplace. Examples include, but are not limited to:
  • Install, use, and regularly update anti-virus and anti-spyware software on all computers.
  • Download and install software updates for your operating systems and applications as they become available.
  • Regularly make backup copies of essential business data.
  • Require individual user accounts for each employee and strong passwords or a secure password management application.
  • For more information, download G&A’s Cybersecurity Resource Kit.
• Create a resilient employee records storage system. Because you have access to employees' personal and sensitive information, you must ensure it is properly and securely housed within your organization. HR professionals can utilize an employee records storage system that adheres to applicable privacy laws and safeguards the information against internal release and cyberattacks. They can also audit company policies regulating employee records' access, retention, storage, and security.

Personalized Learning and Development

Today's competitive job market means your business must provide innovative training techniques that deliver professional growth programs where employees are and when they need them. Talent management is key to employee engagement and retention, and training tech tools should adapt your business to employees' diverse professional growth needs. AI tools enable business owners to create personalized learning paths or courses specific to their business and industry.

"Personalized learning paths in an LMS can increase employee engagement by creating tailored learning experiences that align with their specific goals and interests," according to Hyperspace Metaverse Platform's "Integrating Personalized Learning in LMS." "It improves comprehension and retention, as employees receive content and training interventions that are highly relevant to their job roles. Additionally, personalized learning paths can help employees identify their career paths and develop the skills needed for their professional growth.”

Many personalized learning and development tools have adaptive learning platforms that use AI to tailor learning experiences based on individual progress.

Remote and Hybrid Work Solutions

As businesses continue to extend flexibility to employees through remote or hybrid work schedules, they seek technology solutions that keep employees engaged and productive while ensuring protection for company data and systems.

HR teams are tasked with implementing tech tools that create intentional connections between onsite and remote workers, ensuring they don’t remain isolated in silos and that they foster collaboration — virtual or in the office — and allow co-workers to discuss opportunities and challenges, brainstorm ideas, network, and build rapport.

At the top of the tech tools “must-have” list are robust communication platforms like video conferencing tools, cloud storage, project management software, instant messaging apps, digital whiteboards, and secure remote access capabilities. It’s essential to ensure that employees have adequate infrastructure in their homes – or remote offices – to support HR tech tools, such as Wi-Fi, internet service, cybersecurity tools, antivirus software, and hardware (laptop, printer, etc.).

It’s also important to design a physical environment that addresses the needs of employees in and out of the office. The traditional one-desk-per-employee may no longer be necessary — or practical — in your workplace. Consider making physical workplace changes that encourage collaboration between co-located employees, such as:

• Purchasing or upgrading video conferencing equipment.
• Investing in a conference room booking system that facilitates the scheduling of in-person and virtual meetings.

Adopting “flex desking,” which allows employees to share desks — or book desks — according to their hybrid work schedules.

How will HR change in the next 5 years?

HR technology trends moving forward will likely be an extension of HR trends in 2025.

“As AI continues to rapidly evolve, what we know for sure is that change is coming and it will be imperative for HR to adapt quickly and engage in change management to help the workforce adjust,” said Lloyd Closson, G&A Partners’ chief technology officer. 

“HR professionals will need to continue working with company leaders to ensure policies and procedures are in place to guide employees on AI usage and protect company information. Partnering with a company at the forefront the AI revolution, like G&A Partners, means HR teams address pain points as they arise and utilize HR tech tools to their full advantage.”

In the coming years, HR tech trends will continue to evolve – driven by AI and automation.

Routine tasks like scheduling, onboarding, and candidate screening will be automated, allowing HR to focus on strategic priorities. AI-powered analytics will provide deeper insights into employee behavior and performance, enabling more informed decisions. HR tech will create personalized employee experiences, from tailored learning paths to customized benefits packages. And mobile platforms and virtual tools will enhance the employee experience, while HR will be key in upskilling and reskilling the workforce to meet changing job market demands.