Preparing workforces for the complexities of 2025
Technologies and evolving business needs today are reshaping the global workforce, demanding a new set of skills that blend the technical with the human. As AI continues its inexorable march, businesses must adapt to stay competitive. For HR leaders this means ensuring their talent management practices keep pace with external changes and business transformation is supported by a skilled workforce.
With 2025 bringing another wave of challenges and opportunities for the future of work. Reports show that organisations will face unprecedented uncertainty with global talent shortages, controlling rising costs and measuring risky technology’s productivity returns. To ensure companies remain competitive, employee productivity, innovation, and ability to quickly adapt need to be top business priority.
Innovation at the heart of the change
Building future-ready workforces today require companies to focus on enabling their employees to be innovative and think beyond existing ways of doing things. While technologies like Gen AI redefine existing ways of working, it will depend on how innovative employees are to truly leverage the potential of such technologies.
“A culture of innovation is key to embracing AI and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving world,” notes Paul Jacob, Senior Director, Talent and Transformation, at Happiest Minds Technologies. To do this he adds how he looks at, “fostering this culture by encouraging curiosity, experimentation, and collaboration across all levels of the organisation.” “Empowering employees, managers, and leaders to explore new ideas and experiment with AI technologies through a range of initiatives designed to unlock creative potential and drive innovation,” he adds.
Platforms like ServiceNow that integrate AI and allow better workflow management and automation will play an important role in reducing time spent doing cumbersome and routine tasks. Preparing for 2025 will require companies to find better ways of channelling their people towards better innovation and problem-solving.
“It’s important for cross-functional teams to come together to tackle real-world challenges using AI tools,” Paul notes, which is a vital part of the strategy that allows “participants to test new concepts, experiment with solutions, and learn from each other in a dynamic and engaging environment. “ These are then supported with proof-of-concept projects, providing opportunities for members to develop and refine AI applications with tangible business value.
Skilling as a cornerstone
Skilling Initiatives for 2025 need to be multifold. Reports today show personalisation is key. This needs to be supported by a focus on soft skills that ensure productivity. “Soft skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence are integrated into our learning framework to complement AI adoption, enabling our members to excel in roles that require nuanced decision-making,” adds Paul.
The recent ServiceNow report on AI notes how the next few years will see the expansion of tech headcounts. The report highlights how skilling tech employees across the spectrum of AI related and soft skills will be key to leverage the productivity gains promised by emerging technologies like AI across India and other developing companies.
It’s necessary to approach skilling holistically. Personalised initiatives need to be supported further by using role-specific training and mentorship programs that enable knowledge transfer and deepen the skills taxonomy across the organisation. Focusing on learner experience, ensuring cross-functional continuous learning and helping employees with the right career trajectories that respond to a company’s skilling priorities enables the workforce to be ready for an unpredictable future.
For Paul, it’s equally important to keep a tab on how the external ecosystem is evolving. “Our partnerships with research bodies ensure we remain aligned with the latest AI trends, keeping our members ahead of the curve,” adds Paul. To ensure skilling programs create the right impact for both the employees and the company, it needs to align with external shifts more closely. In case of AI and other technological shifts, skilling needs to reflect organisational priorities much closely in 2025.
Getting AI implementation right for the future
To ensure AI helps raise performance, Paul suggests "We view AI not just as a tool for efficiency but as an enabler of innovation, customer delight, and business excellence, which aligns with our core values and long-term goals," says Paul.
By integrating AI with its strategic framework, Happiest Minds ensures that technology enhances workforce performance and drives the organisation toward its larger business objectives. This approach enables the company to harness AI effectively, focus on building AI skills across the company and prepares a future-ready, agile workforce. “The integration of AI into workforce performance is carefully aligned with our strategic objectives to ensure that it drives both individual growth and organisational success,” notes Paul.
The effective use of AI across key talent management functions hold great promise for building a productive, engaged workforce. According to Jacob, areas like performance management systems leverage AI in Happiest Minds Technologies to provide real-time insights, identify skill gaps, and personalise learning paths, helping our members grow in roles aligned with organisational goals.
The impact of AI is further enhanced by creating a robust AI governance framework, ensuring cross-functional collaboration and creating regular communication with senior leaders to ensure AI implementation is successful in enhancing workforce capabilities for the future.