Three top priorities for the reset-ready organisation in 2025
HR research from Gartner suggests that business leaders are unprepared for changes in work this year. Addressing critical gaps in collaboration, skills and technology would be a start
As business leaders start the new year with a clear determination to focus on managing change, HR research from Gartner reveals that while organisations are in the middle of a reset, most are unprepared for upcoming changes in work and workplace.
The Gartner findings paint a picture of CEOs rolling out revised business strategies to reflect emerging conditions without necessarily being ready to execute them. According to the research, the ‘reset-ready organisation’ must address three critical gaps to successfully reset in pursuit of new strategic ambitions: collaboration, skills and technology.
Collaboration
A Gartner survey of nearly 18,000 employees in 2024 revealed that only 29 per cent are satisfied with their collaboration at work. This is down from 36 per cent of employees who reported they were satisfied in 2021. Satisfaction with collaboration has a critical impact on performance and employees who are satisfied with collaboration are stronger performers on average.
Gartner points to ‘uncertain connection norms following the pandemic, broader social tensions and new technology that can isolate employees and depersonalise work’ as contributors to weaker collaborative ties. These are the factors the reset-ready organisation must address in 2025.
Skills
Organisations also face persistent skills gaps that cannot be addressed through traditional development approaches alone. Gartner research indicates that skill changes today are outpacing levels at the height of the pandemic – a survey of 3,375 employees found that only half feel equipped to respond to unexpected changes in their work.
On-the-job learning is falling short, says Gartner whose findings reveal that nearly 60 per cent of all employees are not getting on-the-job coaching that supports their core job skills. There is also a growing disconnect between employees who have critical technology skills and those who need to learn them. Companies are under pressure to close this skills gap.
Technology
There is a lack of communication between employers and employees around the effects of technology in the workplace, according to Garner’s research, and most employers don’t involve employees in discussions at all. Only 14 per cent of HR leaders, among more than 180 surveyed, said that workers have a voice in technology decisions at their organisation.
Fixing this issue requires organisations to take a human-first approach that puts people at the centre. Using this lens, HR leaders can help organisations prioritise technology for productivity and consider people first when implementing. When organisations take a human-first approach to AI, says Gartner, employees are 1.5 times more likely to be high performers and 2.3 times more likely to be highly engaged.
Time to deliver
Gartner’s latest HR findings, which it developed as part of last autumn’s Reimagine HR Conference in Orlando, Florida, provide some key targets for the ‘reset-ready organisation’ to pursue. Last year many businesses around the world focused on formulating strategy – 2025 is already shaping up as the year of implementation and delivery.
