Some of the top HR trends in 2025 include new laws are shaping how AI will be used in hiring decisions and pay equity and pay transparency, according to payroll and HR services firm ADP.

Here are some of the key HR trends next year, ADP reported today:

• The employee experience and well-being are ongoing business priorities.
  • “Remote work and the evolution of technology have made it possible for us to have about five to six different ways to communicate with each other at any given time. Sometimes, this is great, but it also means we are more connected than ever. This can greatly impact mental health and employee stress because work and life are now so integrated and intertwined. One of the best things leaders can do is help employees set boundaries that will give them more balance and ultimately result in better employee well-being.” — Jason Delserro, chief talent acquisition officer, ADP
• Skills have emerged as a strong indicator of employee success.
  • “It’s important for employers to lean into what skills and experiences their candidates and employees have. Whether these have come through other work experiences, military experiences, volunteer experiences or something else, those experiences matter. Employers may also want to evaluate the language of their job postings if they want to lean into a skills-based approach to hiring. Are they using the descriptor ‘degree preferred,’ and, if so, why? Is a degree truly needed for the role? If not, why is it ‘preferred?’” — Tiffany Davis, chief inclusion and diversity officer, ADP
• New laws are shaping how AI is developed and used in employment decisions.
  • “We expect to see more laws requiring employers to disclose the use of AI in employment decisions. We should continue to monitor new legislation, comply with new laws on the development of AI systems and use AI effectively and responsibly at work.” — Jason Albert, global chief privacy officer, ADP
• Pay equity and pay transparency remain business priorities.
  • “Understanding your pay data and benchmarking your pay can help you monitor pay equity issues and market competitiveness. Communicating effectively about those issues can improve your relationship with employees and build trust.” — Meryl Gutterman, senior counsel, ADP
• Generative AI continues to revolutionize HR, jobs and the workforce.
  • “Businesses with one to 49 employees may not yet fully realize the potential productivity boosts generative AI can offer. There’s significant untapped value in exploring what this technology can bring to the table for small enterprises. Businesses with 50 to 999 employees generally say they need to understand the technology better. They don’t always know what it is but believe it could help them and are interested in learning more. When I talk to businesses with 1,000 or more employees, I usually speak to their C-suite information officers and data scientists. These companies have the experts, tools and person power to utilize generative AI.” — Naomi Lariviere, chief product owner, VP of product management, shared services, ADP
• Firms are looking to expand skills to benefit from emerging technologies.
  • “Skills break down what’s necessary to perform a job. They help organizations define success so everyone knows how to create value. However, embedding skills in HR processes from hiring and training to evaluation and promotion requires HR teams and systems to rethink how they capture and communicate work processes.” — Amin Venjara, chief data officer, ADP