HR-na-zdrozdu-2025

HR at the Crossroads 2025: 4 dimensions of reality you can't ignore (even if you really want to)

Why is this text important for HR?

The year 2025 brings dynamic changes for HR professionals: new technologies, new regulations, new generations, new expectations. Organizations no longer need just HR administration - they need HR as an architect of organizational resilience. In short: if you're not thinking systemically about AI, ESG, competencies and misinformation, you may not be able to keep up - and it will hurt the entire business.

HR has long ceased to be a support function. Today, it is the center of gravity of organizational transformation - at the intersection of new technologies, changing societal values, global tensions and rising employee expectations.

Traditional competency, process or leadership models are failing in the clash with the reality of 2025. Instead of a single trend, we have a constellation of challenges that together create a new map of HR responsibilities.

Below you will find four key areas that every HR manager should know, understand and turn into practice.

1. AI in HR - technology with a human face,
2. ESG and DEI - ethics, diversity and responsibility,
3. Competencies of the future - in a world of aging societies and global tensions,
4. Disinformation and education - HR as a cognitive filter for organizations.

These are not abstract ideas - they are realities that already affect HR decisions, development processes and the way people are managed. It is up to HR to make sure that organizations find themselves in this reality , adapt and win - or remain hostage to outdated schemes.

1. AI in HR - automation with a human face

Just a few years ago, artificial intelligence in HR was treated as a curiosity. Today it is becoming its backbone - only that it requires a new kind of flexibility and accountability. As the PwC report "Global AI Jobs Barometer 2025" shows , in roles exposed to AI, competencies are changing as muchas 66% faster than in other professions. This means that HR must not only keep up with this, but begin to proactively project this phenomenon and manage its consequences.

Meanwhile, as McKinsey notes, only 1%of companies worldwide are assessed as fully prepared to implement AI on an operational and strategic level. This creates a clear gap: between investment and the organization's actual ability to realize the potential of this technology. HR is therefore becoming not only a user of AI, but also a curator of AI-literate workforce competencies, i.e. employees capable of working with intelligent systems.

The data speaks clearly:

• PwC: in industries with the most exposure to AI, productivity has increased from 7%(2018-22) to 27%(2018-24), and salaries of AI professionals are on average 56%higher than their counterparts without AI competencies.
• WEF (Future of Jobs 2023):86% of companies believe AI-based technologies will transform their industries by 2030.
• McKinsey: AI is a "cognitive industrialrevolution" - an ongoing cognitive revolution that is forcing a change in work structure and competency models.

Key implications for HR:

• Recruitment transformation - AI assists in resume selection, conducts initial interviews and generates competency assessments, but requires careful oversight to avoid bias (e.g., replicating gender, age, background stereotypes).
• Strategic workforce planning - according to McKinsey HR Monitor, only12% of European companies are thinking about hiring in a 3-5 year horizon. This is far too little to effectively develop the teams of the future.
• Development of AI competencies - the importance of so-called prompt engineering, i.e. the ability to communicate accurately with language models (e.g. ChatGPT), is growing. HR needs to support the development of such micro-competencies with training, workshops and practice-based microteaching.

CASE STUDY: Smartmanager.cloud - AI for competencies without biases

One example of the conscious use of technology in HR practice is the Smartmanager.cloud platform, which supports organizations in competency assessment and development planning. Thanks to AI-based data analysis mechanisms, the user receives not only an assessment of current skills, but also development guidance - without the influence of unconscious biases.

The HR team can, in real time:

• identify competency gaps,
• analyze team data in the context of future roles,
• design development paths aligned with the pace of market change.

In this way, the tool not only facilitates HR's work, but realistically supports decisions based on data rather than intuition or routine. This is an example of "automation with a human face," in which technology does not replace the HR professional - it only arms him with new capabilities.

Artificial intelligence in HR is no longer a "gadget to automate administrative tasks," but a strategic partner in people management. HR is no longer just a service provider - it is becoming the architect of the work of the future, where AI supports development, equity and quality decisions.

The question is no longer: "if?", but: "when and how will you wisely implement AI in HR?"
Ideally - before someone else does it, faster and more effectively.

2. ESG and HR - ethics, sustainability and good governance

Until recently, the acronym ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) functioned mainly in board documents and stock market reports. Today, in the era of EU directives, growing social pressure and generational transformation, ESG is becoming a viable area for HR - with measurable indicators, policies and responsibilities.

On the one hand - there is a growing awareness of the organization's impact on the social and environmental environment. On the other - specific regulations are emerging that are forcing a change in approach, such as:

• AI Act - requires transparency and oversight of algorithms (including recruitment),
• Work-life balance directive - introduces principles of equality and work flexibility,
• Pay Transparency Directive - obliges employers to disclose pay gaps and corrective actions,
• ESRS 3 (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) - explicitly links ESG to DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) policies as a key social impact factor.

ESG is not "soft HR," but hard data, accountability and strategy

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), organizations that have strong ESG policies perform better financially and attract more diverse talent. And iSAW (International Sustainability and Women) research shows that companies with equal representation of women in management and commitment to ESG goals grow faster and more stably.

Meanwhile, HRZone reminds us: the responsibility for implementing ESG policies - especially in the "S" and "G" areas - rests largely with the HR department. It's no longer just about "nice-to-haves ," but about real actions that support equality, inclusion, data protection and algorithmic fairness.

New social expectations: EU law + social responsibility

According to an analysis by ILO and the World Bank, one of the main challenges facing the labor market is the inclusion of underrepresented communities (the elderly, people with disabilities, minorities), as well as combating the skills gap in aging societies. HR today must be able to manage diversity - but also design workplaces in an inclusive and sustainable way.

CASE STUDY: implementing ESG & DEI using HR tech

A company in the manufacturing industry, preparing for mandatory CSRD- and ESRS-compliant reporting, launched an internal audit of HR policies - with a focus on diversity and compensation. It used the smartmanager.cloud platform, which enables analysis of competencies and career paths-without the risk of algorithmic bias (bias-free analytics).

As a result:

• unconscious differences in promotions and salaries between departments were identified,
• mentoring and development activities for women and 50+ employees were implemented,
• transparent salary criteria were developed,
• prepared the HR team for full ESRS 3 reporting.

This demonstrates that social responsibility and compliance can be not just an obligation, but a driving force for organizational development and a new language of values.

Modern HR cannot operate "the old way." ESG and DEI are not a fad, but a new dimension of HR professionalism - based on data, values, regulatory compliance and real social impact.

If you want to build an organization that:

• attracts the best people,
• reports fairly and in compliance with regulations,
• manages diversity instead of ignoring it,
• uses technology for equality rather than distorting it,

it is HR that needs to lead the ESG transformation - with the knowledge, tools and readiness to act.

3. Competencies of the future - they are changing faster than we describe them

Just a decade ago, predicting the competencies of the future resembled science fiction - today it is an everyday necessity. The world of work is changing faster than education systems and organizational structures can keep up. Phenomena such as automation, digital transformation, geopolitics, migration, aging populations and competency stratification require HR not just to react - but to anticipate, build and validate competencies in real time.

Development paths to be designed dynamically

According to PwC and McKinsey reports, the competencies required for "AI-exposed" roles are changing as much as66% faster than the market average. At the same time, McKinsey shows, up to 60%ofleadersbelieve their employeesare ready for transformation, but lack the processes and systems to turn that readiness into real action.

Formal education is losing relevance - in AI-exposed roles, the need for a master's degree has dropped from 66%to59% (PwC 2025). LinkedIn and Staffing Industry Analysts indicate that companies are increasingly recruiting based on skills, not diplomas - leading to an increase in the importance of micro-certifications, professional accreditations and portfolios.

Silver economy - the future has gray hairs

In parallel, old age is no longer the end of a career, but is becoming its new phase. ILO and CEDEFOP reports warn that by 2030, as much as 1/3 of Europe's workforce will be over 50. This is not just a health or ergonomic challenge - it's also a gigantic knowledge capital that we can't afford to squander.

HR today must design intergenerational strategies in which retraining, mentoring and adapting positions for older people are not a privilege, but part of organizational strategy.

Multiculturalism and globalization - the complex reality of HR

On the other hand, we have geopolitical and migration pressures. According to HR Dive, policies restricting the hiring of foreigners (e.g., US, Hungary) are affecting the global talent market. As a result, even local companies today have to manage global culture, legal complexity and language differences - while maintaining DEI principles.

In addition, the phenomenon of "Borderless AI workforce " - that is, remote work independent of borders - is becoming the norm. The rise of digital nomads and remote teams from Southeast Europe is forcing HR to be able to:

• harmonize compensation (global payroll),
• manage cultural and legal differences,
• maintain a consistent organizational culture in distributed environments.

Certification vs. diplomas - the new currency of trust in a world of competence

In a world where the pace of change is outpacing the capabilities of educational systems, a diploma is no longer sufficient proof of competence. Both McKinsey and PwC emphasize: organizations are increasingly abandoning the rigid requirement of "completed university degree" in favor of verified, measurable and up-to-date professional competencies.

Instead of asking "do you have a degree?", recruiters and team leaders are asking:

"what do you really know, what are you certified in, and are your skills up to date?"

Certification = transparency of competence

A certification is not just a document - it is a clear signal to the labor market that a person:

• has a certain range of knowledge and skills,
• has passed an objective assessment,
• and - most importantly - commits to updating this knowledge over time (re-certification, CPD, competence audit).

Thus, certification builds trust faster than a multi-page resume - both for the employer and the HR team. It facilitates matching, speeds up onboarding and eliminates the risk of a "paper" candidate.

Recruitment and development - shorter, cheaper, more effective

Thanks to certification:

• recruitment time is reduced because competencies are clearly defined and comparable,
• recruitment costs decrease, because there is no need for lengthy tests or knowledge verification,
• internal development paths are simpler to plan, because competencies are mappable (e.g., using tools like smartmanager.cloud),
• the culture of continuous learning becomes systemic - maintaining a certificate requires regular refreshing of knowledge.

In a world of AI, ESG, increasing mobility and remote teams, trust in competencies is becoming a strategic resource.
And certification is the new currency of this trust - measurable, transparent, up-to-date.

For HR, this means concrete benefits:

• better candidate matching,
• cheaper and faster HR processes,
• a development culture based on facts - not the past.

The HR of the future is not the administration of training, but the design of an organization's ability to survive and grow. In this world, there is no single list of "competencies of the future." Instead, there are specific HR roles that:

• anticipate the directions of change,
• design adaptive systems,
• validate knowledge not by diploma but by practice,
• build an environment in which a 23-year-old and a 58-year-old learn from each other.

This is not futurism - it's a necessity. And competent HR is the best engine of organizational resilience today.

4. Disinformation, education and knowledge management - HR as an organization's cognitive resilience system

Today's HR faces not only a competence deficit, but also an excess of... information. The problem is that much of this information is disinformation: rumors, conjecture, fake news, manipulation, unverified "truths" transmitted at the speed of a communicator, not a report. In an era of deepfakes and generative AI, HR must become the guardian of reliable knowledge, critical education and information resilience of the organization.

An era of post-truth and cognitive chaos

• Edelman Trust Barometer 2024 shows that employees trust their companies more than they trust the media or governments - a great opportunity and an equally great responsibility.
• WEF and OECD warn of the social effect of "infodemia" - a phenomenon in which an excess of information undermines the ability to act.
• ILO and McKinsey add: HR leaders can't just train - they must design systems for cognitive resilience.

critical education: a new task for HR

Faced with a deluge of content (often generated by AI), HR's task becomes:

• building a culture of source verification and analysis,
• teaching critical thinking,
• introducing tools that automate feedback and evaluation of content,
• moderating discussions before they become hearsay.

How to achieve this?

HR Tech as part of the cognitive system

It's not just a fight against misinformation - it's a holistic digital transformation of HR that involves a shift: from systems "for reports" → to systems "for people"

By integrating existing platforms and systems, HR can:

• automatically analyze learning needs,
• personalize development paths,
• implement "just-in-time" learning (when and where needed),
• respond instantly to uncertainties, e.g. regulatory, market, social.

Disinformation and critical education - not just a "training topic," but the foundation of culture

In the era of "post-truth," deepfakes and AI's overproduction of content, critical education is becoming not an add-on to training, but the foundation of organizational culture.

Why? Because knowledge today does not flow from libraries and universities - but from TikTok, Reels and YouTube. That's where Generation Z spends most of its cognitive time. According to a Pew Research Center report, TikTok is already the main source of knowledge for 36% of young adults in Europe. Unfortunately, algorithms don't filter facts - they filter emotions.

So instead of in-depth analysis, we have "20-second truths," simplistic narratives, clickbait advice and great ease of manipulation. For many young people , the line between opinion and evidence, between knowledge and impression - is almost blurred.

what must training give today?

Today's HR development programs cannot stop at imparting "content." They must:

• teach how to verify sources,
• show the mechanisms of cognitive manipulation (language of emotions, group conformity, cliques instead of reflection),
• educate resistance to simplifications, stereotypes and the pressure of social trends.

Only then will the employee - regardless of generation - know:

• what distinguishes "message" from "manipulation",
• when not to share, not to comment, not to incite,
• who to really trust - inside and outside the company.

Generation Z - needs leadership, not instruction

On the one hand, Generation Z is the most digital, educated and assertive generation in the history of the labor market. On the other - it is a generation:

• one that questions authority figures,
• is fighting for its subjectivity,
• and often does not distinguish between knowledge and content.

It's not their fault - it's the result of the environment they grew up in. Their information habits are different: they don't wait for official information, they don't believe messages from "above," and they can 't stand moralizing.

To reach Generation Z, we need a new dimension of leadership - based on:

• servanthood (servant leadership),
• accessibility,
• leading by example,
• and involving young people in real activities - diverse teams, reverse mentoring, participation instead of presentation.

Only then will the young employee understand that although YouTube teaches quickly and TikTok impressively - real value is created in relationship, reflection and proven knowledge.

HR's role: building a cognitively resilient and intergenerational environment

• Implement learning platforms with AI that not only teach, but also respond to questions and concerns (e.g. Opigno + GPT).
• Design critical education microcourses - not just "what AI will help you with," but "what not to do with AI."
• Create a culture of asking questions and thinking together - rather than providing ready-made answers.
• Support leaders in developing servant and inclusive leadership - especially toward Gen Z employees.

Generation Z doesn't need more content. It needs more wisdom and people who can impart that wisdom. And HR has all the tools to create a space where education, relationship and information resilience are enhanced - regardless of generation.

This is not an exaggeration - it's a diagnosis. HR in 2025 becomes the filtering system of the organization: it selects data, translates knowledge into practice and protects the company from cognitive chaos.

In the age of fake news, AI-hallucinations and social divisions, education and knowledge management is the new form of organizational security. Without it - no transformation, no ESG strategy, no AI - will work. Because you can't build the future on a foundation of made-up facts.

Finally

HR of the future starts now - with the right competencies, tools and partners

Each of the dimensions described - AI, ESG, competencies, information resilience - is not just a trend, but a specific area of HR activity. Each of them requires new skills, new standards and new approaches to managing people.

That's why we at Heuresis have prepared comprehensive support for organizations and HR professionals who want to move from a reactive to a strategic and resilient level:

Develop strategic and technological competencies with Heuresis:

• MBA Strategic HR - for leaders who want to combine people management with data, ESG and resiliency
• MBA EDU&AI - for HR and educators who want to use AI to build organizational capacity
• CHRMP®, CIHRM®, CIPT® cert ifications - confirming practical HR competencies at the international level
• Training courses for HRBPs, HR Managers and Learning & Development - up-to-date, implementation-based, real-world tools
• Manage data, knowledge and development with Heuresis tools: smartmanager.cloud - advanced tool for assessment and development of competencies, without bias, with AI integration
  linked to Opigno LMS - system for creating modern, adaptive e-learning courses
  
  

Today HR is more than human resources.
It is an architect of resilience, curator of competencies and guardian of values.
If you want your organization to be ready for the coming decade - start acting now.

Instead of waiting for Gen Z to give you a TikTok-based strategic analysis and for AI to "optimize" HR on its own without asking, you' d better prepare for the inevitable - with your head, tools and courage.

We at Heuresis are here to help you do just that - no bullshit, no buzzwords, with real solutions.

Sources and reports worth knowing:

• PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer 2025: PDF
• McKinsey: Superagency in the Workplace (2024): mckinsey.com
• World Economic Forum - Future of Jobs Report 2023: weforum.org
• ILO: Skills for a greener future (global report): ilo.org
• OECD: Disinformation and AI: oecd.org
• Edelman Trust Barometer 2024: edelman.com
• HR Dive - Global workforce restrictions: hrdive.com
• Pew Research Center - Gen Z and TikTok as a source of news: pewresearch.org
• LinkedIn Skills First Talent Trends: linkedin.com
• CEDEFOP - Skills Forecast 2030: cedefop.europa.eu

Authors:

Barbara Matyaszek - Szarek - creator of Heuresis MBA and certification programs, expert in strategic HR development and transformational education. On a daily basis, she leads implementations of the competencies of the future, helps organizations think more broadly and act precisely.

ChatGPT-4 (OpenAI) - tool-supporting, linguistic and research editorial partner. He brings source analysis, data organizing and a pinch of style.