Unlock HR success in uncertain times with three key strategies  

In a world where business landscapes are shifting faster than most companies can adapt, HR leaders are standing at a crossroads. They’re being asked to do more than ever—drive culture, build resilient teams, lead digital change—all while managing tighter budgets, limited capacity, and rising employee expectations. At the same time, the pressure to move fast and stay competitive is relentless. The choice is clear: keep reacting to change or lead the way through it. In our recent webinar, People and Culture Strategies for Uncertain Times, our thought leaders explored what matters most right now—strategies that help organisations stay resilient, adaptable, and human in any environment.

In the session, three clear priorities emerged for HR leaders looking to lead with confidence in uncertain times: employee experience, skills, and HR technology. Here’s how each of these priorities can shape a more resilient and agile organisation.

For the first time in history, five generations are sharing the workplace. Each comes with different values, digital fluency, and expectations of what work should look like. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, no generations view careers, communication, or flexibility in quite the same way. That diversity brings strength—but also complexity. And in an environment shaped by constant change, a one-size-fits-all approach to the employee experience simply doesn’t cut it.

It’s no surprise that employee experience (EX) is now a top HR priority for 2025, according to our Global Talent Trends research. With 83% of executives now prioritising the retention of current talent over attracting new hires, building an inclusive, engaging, and human-centred experience is no longer optional—it’s essential. This means not only rethinking the employee value proposition to appeal across generations, but also creating an environment where every employee feels seen, supported, and valued.

At the centre of all this? Trust.

Our data shows employees who trust their organisation are twice as likely to say they’re thriving. Trust is the foundation of resilience, and in uncertain times, it becomes the glue that holds people together. Yet trust has eroded since the pandemic. More employees now feel replaceable, unsure whether their contributions matter or whether leadership is truly listening.

Rebuilding trust starts with transparency and fairness, especially around recognition and pay. However, it doesn’t end there. Organisations that lead in EX are listening continuously—not just collecting data through surveys, but turning feedback into meaningful actions. They’re embedding listening into their operating rhythm, and using insights to shape HR programs, manager behaviours, and strategic decisions. This isn’t about ticking boxes—it’s about using feedback to drive change that employees can see and feel.

However, listening in and of itself isn’t enough. One of the biggest barriers HR leaders face is the gap between insight and action. It’s not just about hearing what employees say—it’s about doing something with it. In our webinar poll, the number one challenge in implementing a listening strategy was “turning insights into action,” cited by 33% of attendees. This topped even lack of time and leadership support, which shows just how difficult it is to close the loop on feedback.

The most effective organisations are those that can move quickly from signal to solution—interpreting what different workforce segments need and translating that into tangible improvements. That could mean simplifying frustrating processes, tailoring benefits to reflect evolving expectations, or reimagining how career paths work in a more fluid and skills-based environment.

Organisations that excel at this don’t just gather feedback—they integrate it into decision-making, use it to coach managers, and communicate back to employees what’s changing and why. That feedback loop builds trust and demonstrates that employee voices aren’t just heard—they drive action. And in a multigenerational, always-evolving workforce, that responsiveness is a competitive edge.

Ultimately, EX isn’t just about perks or programs. It’s about shaping a culture where people feel they belong, where their voices matter, and where leadership demonstrates empathy and consistency. In a time where pressure is high and uncertainty is the norm, the organisations that invest in trust, connection, and listening will have a powerful advantage—not just in retaining talent, but in enabling their people to thrive.

Helping people stay employable is essential to building trust. With rapid advances in AI, automation, and new ways of working, ongoing skills development has become critical. It supports individual growth, strengthens engagement, and ensures the business can adapt quickly with the right capabilities in place.

This shift is urgent. AI alone is expected to disrupt 44% of workers’ core skills within five years, and with Australia’s unemployment rate still holding low at 4.1%, the labour market remains tight. In other words, there aren’t enough people—and there won’t be. So the smart move? Develop the people you already have.

As hiring slows and the talent market tightens, organisations are shifting inward—investing more in the workforce they already have. Training spend saw a 15% year-on-year increase in 2024, with many companies planning to maintain or even grow this investment in 2025, despite economic headwinds. Internal mobility has also picked up pace, with businesses leaning into lateral movement, gig-style work, and project-based assignments to match people to opportunities faster and more flexibly.

There’s also a clear shift toward managing talent based on skills, not just job titles. According to Mercer’s Skills Snapshot survey, 47% of companies are now mapping skills to jobs—breaking traditional roles down into underlying capabilities and using that data to rethink career paths, pay structures, and deployment models. While still emerging, this approach is gaining traction as organisations realise the advantage of seeing people not just for what their role is today, but for what they’re capable of tomorrow.

Even with this progress, challenges remain. In our webinar poll, 63% of participants cited HR capacity and capability as the biggest barrier to adopting skills-based talent practices—a figure significantly higher than both the Australian average (49%) and the global average (39%). This gap underscores a tension many HR leaders are feeling: the need to evolve at speed, while also grappling with limited resources and bandwidth.

That’s where HR technology becomes essential—not just as a tool for managing data, it is also a means to unlock capacity. By automating manual processes, surfacing real-time skills insights, and enabling smarter talent deployment, the right tech can free up HR teams to focus on strategic, high-impact work. And in an environment defined by disruption, that kind of adaptability is what separates companies that simply survive from those that thrive.

If the biggest barrier to skills-based transformation is HR bandwidth, then technology is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s essential. HR teams are being asked to do more with less: deliver better employee experiences, drive internal mobility, and support continuous upskilling—all while maintaining business continuity. The right technology doesn’t just support these goals; it creates the capacity to achieve them.

AI, automation, and analytics are reshaping how work gets done—and HR is at the heart of that shift. The real opportunity isn’t in replacing humans; it lies in augmenting HR teams with tools that handle routine work, generate insights, and support faster decision-making. Think fewer spreadsheets, fewer repetitive tasks, and more time for strategy, coaching, and design. As one framework from the webinar put it: automate the “hands” work, enhance the “heads” work, and elevate the “hearts” work—the relational, empathetic leadership only people can deliver.

Yet despite widespread investment, many organisations still struggle to turn tech into impact. The majority, 97%, have implemented or upgraded HR technology, and over half plan to do more in 2025. But adoption doesn’t equal transformation. Often, new platforms are installed without being integrated into day-to-day workflows or aligned to broader business priorities. To realise real ROI, HR needs to lead the conversation—not just support IT rollouts, and shape the strategy around how work will be done in the future.

This is especially true when it comes to AI. In our webinar poll, 53% of participants said their organisations are just beginning to explore AI through pilots, while another 24% haven’t yet started. Only a small group—just 9%—have fully embedded AI across the enterprise. That slow uptake reflects caution, and highlights an opportunity for HR to lead: by educating teams, testing smart use cases, and guiding ethical, human-centred adoption.

Ultimately, HR tech should be more than a system of record—it should be a system of action. It’s what enables the shift from being stewards of employment to stewards of work—and eventually, stewards of humanity. That means using data to connect people to meaningful work, designing for inclusion and flexibility, and ensuring that human potential—not just process efficiency—sits at the core of transformation.

In a time when HR is expected to move faster, deliver more, and still stay human, technology is the lever that makes it possible.

If the past few years have taught HR anything, it’s that uncertainty is now the norm. That doesn’t mean we operate from a place of fear. As this webinar made clear, HR has the opportunity—and the responsibility—to lead from the front.

By focusing on employee experience, skills-based strategies, and tech-enabled transformation, HR leaders can help their organisations stay relevant, resilient, and human—even in the face of rapid change.

Because whether it's a talent crunch, a tech revolution, or a once-in-a-century event that now happens every five years, one thing remains true: HR is the engine that turns disruption into progress.