14 headline findings in 2025

_{^{1. Employee experience and wellness is the top priority for 2025}}

When asked which area of HR is top of the agenda in 2025, 21% of HR professionals answered employee experience and wellness.

Given the growing media attention and cultural relevance of this topic, it’s no surprise it’s becoming an increasing priority.

When asked if employee experience was important to senior leaders, we found that while only 11% of HR professionals believe it's the single most important priority for leadership, 71% say it remains one of their top focuses.

HR leadership teams are clearly committed to employee experience – a critical driver of engagement, retention, and overall organisational performance.

Interestingly, compensation, benefits and reward, L&D, and performance management are all seeing extra attention in 2025, whereas HR operations and technology and talent acquisition are taking more of a back seat.

^{What HR predicted would be top of their agenda in 2024, vs what}
^{actually was}

^{Top of HR agenda in 2024 vs 2025}

Expectations vs reality in 2024

Since we launched our HR survey, we’ve been asking HR professionals what their priorities were for the previous year, versus the year ahead. Comparing these insights gives us a fascinating glimpse into the gap between prediction and reality.

Whilst predicted to be a second-place priority in 2024 at 18%, employee experience and wellness skyrocketed to relevancy last year with nearly 30% of people citing this as their number one priority in 2024.
Strategy and leadership beat employee experience as the highest on the agenda in 2024. Therefore, it’s surprising to see that although 21% predicted this would be their top priority, only 15% reportedly followed through. However, in 2025 it remains on the agenda with 16% keeping it as a top priority, making it second place after employee experience and wellness.
For those who set their hearts on ED&I being at the top of their agenda (5%), it became a realist for only 2%.
And although 16% predicted learning and development being their biggest focus, only 10% of these followed through.

_{^{2. HR initiatives receive less leadership backing than in 2024}}

When asked how much support their initiatives receive from senior leadership, 55% of HR professionals said they get “a lot” or a “great deal” of backing.

While this majority is encouraging, it reflects a 11% decrease from last year (61%), suggesting a decrease in perceived leadership support. At the same time, the proportion of respondents who said they receive only “a little” support has nearly doubled – from 8% to 14%.

This shift matters. Senior leadership backing is crucial for the success of HR initiatives – whether implementing new policies, rolling out development programmes, or driving culture change.

Without strong endorsement from the top, even some of the best initiatives can struggle to deliver meaningful impact. Consistent and visible support from senior leaders is the key ingredient for turning ideas into action!

^{How much backing HR initiatives get from senior leaders}

_^3._{^{AI usage in HR is seeing}}_{^{rapid growth}}

Although the majority of HR teams still shy away from using generative AI, in just a year we can see AI’s usage increase by 26%, with 17% of HR departments incorporating it into their working practices.

Examples include AI generated job descriptions, screening CVs, employee engagement via chatbots, interview scheduling, and managing data and reporting.

Out of those who don't currently use AI, 3 in 10 HR professionals aim to use it within the next 12 months. That's a 37% increase since when we asked the same question last year.

Used correctly, generative AI has the potential to free up more time for HR professionals to spend on high-quality work.

From streamlining data entry, enquiries, and research, there is a tremendous amount of potential time and cost saving benefits from implementing AI and automation.

^{HR departments that currently use AI}

^{% of HR professionals planning to use AI in the next 12 months}

_{^{4. Over a third of businesses still aren’t measuring employee engagement}}

Surprisingly, over a third of businesses still don’t use employee surveys, like eNPS, to measure employee engagement, despite 71% of people identifying employee experience as a top priority for senior leadership, as we’ve discovered in our first headline finding.

This gap between intention and action raises questions about how effectively organisations are tracking what matters most.

For those that are using surveys, 2025 brings encouraging news: 40% of HR professionals report improved engagement scores, with an additional 8% seeing significant gains compared to last year. However, there’s still work to be done as 41% reported no change in their eNPS scores, and 10% experienced a decline – though thankfully, only a small number saw a “much worse” drop in their score.

Surveys are a beneficial tool that provide businesses with insights into the needs, wants and concerns of their employees.

Using these insights, HR professionals can create an employee engagement strategy that's tailored to the nuances of their workforce, rather than choosing a less effective generic approach.

^{% of HR professionals who measure employee engagement}

_{^{5. More than half of HR professionals are satisfied with their L&D budget}}

When asked if they’re satisfied with the allocated budget and resource for learning and development initiatives, 12% of HR professionals said they’re very satisfied and 41% said they’re satisfied.

However, it should be noted that this marks a 6% decrease in satisfaction since 2024, when 56% of HR professionals reported satisfaction with their budget.

There’s also been a 14% increase since last year in those feeling neutral about their learning and development budget, suggesting a potential early warning sign.

Will this lead to greater dissatisfaction in years to come?

^{Satisfaction with resource allocated for L&D in 2025}

_{^{6. Training people managers remains the top L&D priority this year!}}

Similarly to last year, a whopping 72% of HR professionals have chosen manager training as their top priority for learning and development this year.

Almost 50% of respondents are putting the spotlight on personalised learning paths, equipping their employees with a flexible learning approach.

Mentorship may be losing momentum, with a 15% decrease since 2024. Alongside data/analytical skills (23%) and digital skills (22%), it's among the least prioritised areas for the year ahead, with only 26% of HR professionals focusing on them.

^{L&D priorities over the next 12 months 2025/26}

_{^{7. Performance is increasingly unconnected with pay}}

Last year, when we asked how performance impacts pay decisions, it was interesting to see how varied the responses were. We’ve seen some changes in 2025: most significantly, a rise in businesses moving away from linking performance to pay altogether.

In fact, 37% of organisations now say they don’t tie performance to pay, marking a 17% increase from last year.

On the other side of the fence, 27% of respondents said that employees receive a bonus that’s linked to team/company performance – a 29% jump from last year.

Backing this, between 2024 and 2025 the number of respondents who said “salary increase is determined by performance ratings” decreased by 39% to just 19% of respondents.

This finding indicates that perhaps employers are rewarding high performance with bonuses as opposed to linking salaries and base pay to employee achievements.

The question is – does this approach offer a fairer, more flexible way to recognise performance, or does it risk diluting individual accountability?

^{How performance is linked to pay}

_{^{8. More HR professionals aren’t benchmarking salaries}}

Last year, we were surprised to see that a quarter of businesses don’t benchmark their salaries at all. This year, the figures have significantly increased by 15%, showing 31% of HR professionals aren’t benchmarking salaries.

For those who do, agencies are the method of choice with 28% of businesses using consulting/ recruitment agencies for their analysis.

Other businesses who do benchmark salaries tend to use employer salary surveys (22%) and data sharing networks (20%), with a smaller percentage of businesses leaning towards HR publications (17%) and salary software (15%). These methods have all seen a drop since the previous year.

Benchmarking salaries offers numerous benefits. It improves employee retention by informing decisions on salary and benefits, improving motivation and retention rates.

It also enhances recruitment – offering competitive salaries will attract prospective talent and boost an organisation's image.

^{Methods of benchmarking salaries}

_{^{9. Pay transparency is on the rise in job ads}}

When we asked whether companies advertise salaries on their job adverts, 32% of respondents said they always specify salary. This has risen considerably since last year, showing a positive trend towards more pay transparency.

23% of respondents said they usually post salaries on their job listings, meaning that over half of businesses are choosing to disclose salaries on job adverts.

Likewise, we’ve seen a decline in those opting for “sometimes” (23% decline since last year) and “rarely” (-17%) posting salaries.

Digging down into the reasons why businesses choose not to advertise salaries, the most common answers relate to company policy, confidentiality, not wanting to reveal pay to competitors, internal disparities including amongst teams, and wanting to offer salary based on a candidate’s experience.

^{What proportion of employers advertises salaries}

_{^{10. Internal recruitment continues to lead the way when acquiring new talent}}

When it comes to attracting and securing new talent, we found internal recruitment is the most popular method, with 68% of HR professionals favouring this option.

External recruitment agencies remain a strong contender, used by 59% of respondents, while LinkedIn closely follows at 56%, reflecting the platform’s ongoing role as a go-to space for professional networking and candidate sourcing.

That said, HR teams aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket. On average, each HR professional relies on three different recruitment tools, showcasing a multifaceted approach to hiring.

^{Methods of acquiring new talent}

_{^{11. Employee onboarding keeps getting better}}

The onboarding experience for new employees is seeing a positive trend, with 63% of HR professionals reporting that their new hires have a smooth and welcoming start.

Encouragingly, this marks a continued improvement, reinforcing the growing focus on employee experience from day one.

While nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents remain neutral, only 2% feel their onboarding process is falling short – indicating that negative experiences are becoming increasingly rare.

Getting onboarding right isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a crucial step in shaping an employee’s future with the company.

A successful onboarding process helps new hires understand policies, feel prepared for their roles, and, most importantly, feel like they belong. It’s about more than paperwork and introductions; it’s about building confidence and connection from the very beginning.

If you want to learn more about onboarding and re-onboarding, we’ve got a blog article we think you’ll love here.

^{Employees' onboarding experience}

_{^{12. HR pros are finding performance management processes more effective}}

HR professionals are reporting improved confidence in their performance management processes this year, with more businesses recognising their value.

Last year, we were surprised to find that nearly 1 in 5 businesses had no formal performance management system in place.

This year, that number has decreased slightly to about 1 in 6 – a positive shift, as effective performance management is critical for driving business success and employee growth.

And of those who have systems in place, whilst there’s been a dip in the number of professionals rating their systems as “extremely effective” (from 6% in 2024 to 3% in 2025), fewer respondents now describe their processes as “not so effective” or “not at all effective.”

The encouraging news? A greater proportion of respondents (92%, up from 87% last year) now rate their performance management systems as “somewhat effective” or better.

A solid performance framework does more than track progress – it helps uncover training gaps, supports employee development and retention, identifies high-potential talent for promotion, strengthens workforce planning, and empowers individuals to take ownership of their roles.

^{Do HR professionals have a formal performance management process}

Did you know our performance management software can automate the entire process, giving you time to focus on strategic areas of HR?

FIND OUT MORE

_{^{13. Training and education lead ED&I priorities for 2025}}

Training and education continue to take centre stage in ED&I strategies, with 60% of HR professionals identifying it as their top priority for the year.

This sustained focus reflects the ongoing need to equip employees with the knowledge and tools to create inclusive workplace environments.

Policy review and improvement follow closely behind at 49%, highlighting the importance of regularly assessing internal frameworks to ensure they reflect evolving ED&I standards. Leadership communication and accountability (40%) and recruitment and retention (39%) also remain key areas of focus, pointing to a comprehensive approach that spans every level of the employee experience.

Interestingly, community engagement has seen the steepest decline of 23% – with just 19% of respondents prioritising it this year. Meanwhile, reporting and year-over-year improvements continue to rank lowest, selected by only 13%, down 19% compared to last year.

^{ED&I priorities for the year ahead}

These figures suggest that while progress is being made in implementing ED&I frameworks, the next step is ensuring those policies translate into measurable impact and meaningful cultural change.

_{^{14. More businesses have introduced ED&I policies in the last year}}

Building on this year’s ED&I priorities, it’s encouraging to see more businesses taking action. There has been an 8% increase in HR professionals having formal ED&I policies in place – rising from 76% in 2024 to 82% in 2025.

Among those with policies in place, 94% believe they are at least somewhat effective. However, there’s still room for improvement as only 34% rate their policies as “very effective,” and just 4% consider them “extremely effective.”

^{% of HR professionals with ED&I policies in place}

^{Effectiveness of ED&I policies}

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