As we move into 2025, Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) are navigating demands for organizational growth, the imperative to cultivate a future-ready workforce, and an ever-evolving business environment. But, what are their top priorities at both the enterprise and functional levels?
Gartner C-level Communities recently surveyed 500 CHRO community members to identify their key priorities, challenges, and investment areas for the upcoming year. Here is what they reported in our annual CHRO Leadership Perspective Survey.
CHROs’ Top Priority for 2025: Leader and Manager Development
In 2025, CHROs have once again identified leader and manager development as their foremost priority, as it was also their top priority in 2023. Organizational culture has ascended to the second spot, with strategic workforce planning closely following as the third most critical priority. This year, organizational design and change management were listed as separate priorities, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively.
CHROs’ Top Enterprise Priority: Driving Growth
CHROs' enterprise priorities for 2025 largely align with those from the previous year, with a few notable shifts. Driving growth has emerged as the number one enterprise priority, followed by increasing operational efficiencies and productivity. Increasing revenue and reducing costs have risen in importance, taking the third and fourth spots, while employee satisfaction has slightly decreased from third to fifth place.
Budgets Have Primarily Remained Flat
In 2025, 53% of CHROs report that their budgets for technology and services have remained flat compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, 28% have experienced budget increases, and 19% have reported a decrease from 2024.
CHROs are Investing in New Hires and Advanced Technologies
This year, 30% of CHROs are planning to invest in recruiting efforts and 25% in employee onboarding. Investments in advanced and emerging technologies are also significant, with 27% of CHROs allocating funds to workforce data and talent analytics, 24% to AI solutions, and 23% to learning technologies.
Each year, we conduct our proprietary CHRO Leadership Perspective Survey with members of our global C-Level communities to capture their top priorities, challenges, and investments for the coming year. These insights allow us to identify trends and tailor community programs and discussion topics to the real-time needs of CHROs.
If you are an HR leader looking to connect with peers on these mission critical priorities, apply now to join a local CHRO community. If you are already a member, sign in to our app to register for an upcoming community event.
Based on 500 CHRO responses to Gartner C-level Communities’ proprietary Leadership Perspective Survey, March 2025.
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