#3 – 2024 in Review, 2025 in Focus
Kicking Off 2025 with a Successful #HR Hour!
Some key takeaways from our discussion:
- The Evolution of Remote & Flexible Working
2024 saw flexible and remote working become the ‘new normal.’ With the UK’s new legislation (from 6th April 2024) allowing employees to request flexible working from day one, debate continues. Some leaders remain firm believers in the traditional office 9-5 for productivity, while others have experienced happier, more engaged and more productive teams when offering flexibility.
- Continuous Learning in a Multi-Generational Workforce
With five generations now working side by side, upskilling and knowledge-sharing are more important than ever. Dual mentoring—where different generations exchange knowledge, creating a more inclusive and innovative workplace looks set to be a key theme for the future.
- AI: A Tool for Efficiency—But with Caution
AI’s role in HR and beyond continues to grow, from automating repetitive tasks to AI-powered coaching. Attendees agreed that while AI can significantly enhance productivity, human input remains crucial—ensuring quality, context and ethical considerations are upheld.
- Employee Wellbeing – Remains a key focus for 2025
It is encouraging to see organisations are doing more and more to ensure the wellbeing of their teams, from creating new roles focussed entirely on wellbeing through to arranging courses and awareness days around specific topics, such as ‘strengthening personal resilience’ and Menopause Awareness, to name just two. One area that remains a constant source of stress and is less openly talked about is financial wellbeing – We have talked about this on previous HR Hour Events. Our Friend Saleem Shaffi, of Money Beam, has created a course: Financial First Aider Training. You can read about it here.
The Reality of Career Progression in 2025
– A Glassdoor Perspective
Key insights:
- 2 out of 3 professionals feel stuck in their current roles
- While quit rates have sharply declined since 2022, this may be due to redundancies, closures and cost-cutting pressures on management.
- Career bottlenecks are forming—middle managers are now competing with frontline managers, and experienced professionals are battling for the same jobs as recent graduates.
- Even if hiring picks up in 2025, entry-level and less experienced workers could struggle as they wait for more experienced peers to move up first.
What Can Employers Do?
Invest in internal L & D programs to provide growth opportunities within the organisation.
Encourage continuous learning and upskilling, especially for early-career professionals.
Rethink management structures to allow for clearer career progression.
Focus on employee engagement and wellbeing to prevent resentment from building up.
At a time when job market dynamics are shifting, organisations that take a proactive approach to career development, retention, and employee satisfaction will be the ones that thrive.
With such a rich discussion, we’ve put together a summary of the event along with further reading on our website. Link in comments.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined the conversation. What trends are at the top of your HR agenda in 2025? Let’s keep the discussion going!
The next #HRHour, takes place on Wednesday 26th February when we will be celebrating neurodiversity in the workplace, link to book on our website.
#HR #FutureOfWork #FlexibleWorking #AI #HRTrends2025 #DiversityAndInclusion #DualMentoring
Useful information
Wiley Workplace Intelligence Annual Report: Top 10 Takeaways from 2024
Join us for our next #HRHour on Wednesday 26th February at 1:00pm to 2:00pm when we will be celebrating neurodiversity in the workplace
Neurodiversity Celebration week 2025 (9th to 15th March) is a worldwide initiative designed to:
- challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences
- recognise the skills and advantages of being neurodivergent, and
- highlight neurodiversity in the workplace.
Understand yourself. Understand others. Manage the difference.
We’ve been using DiSC and The Five Behaviors programmes with big name clients for a long time.
It’s been a total game-changer when it comes to getting everyone on the same page and enjoying their work.
The way it works is it starts from the top down – the leadership team goes through it first, leading by example, and then it’s rolled out to the rest of the organisation. It really helps everyone understand each other’s behavioural and communication styles and how to work together more effectively.
We’ve seen it make a huge difference in avoiding workplace sickness and burnout; people are just way happier and more engaged when they know how to collaborate well.
We all want to go to work happy 😊
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