The Evolution of L&D: qpeople’s top HR trends for 2025 (Part 2)

At qpeople we believe that companies that embrace change and prioritise investing in their workforces are the ones that have the best chance of facing the future with confidence.

In Part One of our 2025 trends analysis, we explored the challenges of recruiting, retaining and nurturing talent in a market constrained by skills shortages and examined the impact of technology on HR practices and the future of learning.

But we also know that employees are craving connection. They want to work in ambitious, collaborative cultures that value their contribution and offer a clearly defined path towards personal and professional advancement. However, as workplace practices continue to flex and evolve, how can organisations establish the infrastructures that inculcate loyalty and most effectively support and promote thriving businesses?

Staying agile

In 2025, companies may well find themselves defined by their willingness to respond positively to change. The Korn Ferry Workforce 2024 report shows that salary expectations are superseded by flexible working hours when employees are weighing up job opportunities. We predict that offering 360-degree flexibility will become an increasingly important factor in companies’ talent acquisition strategies during 2025.

It’s not just about onboarding new talent, though; it’s good for business, too. Giving people the option of working in ways that best suit them unlocks their potential, enabling them to contribute more fully to organisational goals. Companies that stick doggedly to outmoded working styles will not only struggle to attract and retain staff but will risk damaging their bottom line.

And, even though Covid restrictions appear to be firmly in the rear-view mirror, their legacy lives on. Remote work has become the new normal for most office workers. In the Korn Ferry survey, over three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents reported a wholescale shift to hybrid, with more than a third (34 percent) claiming that flexible schedules and personalised employee benefits heavily influencing negotiations.

With flexibility a top priority, it’s going to have a significant impact on ‘stickiness’ – whether employers like it or not.

Leadership challenges

In the face of ongoing economic and geo-political challenges, it makes sense that leadership development continues to be one of HR’s central points of focus for another year, at least.

According to Gartner’s Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 report, almost three-quarters (74 percent) of HR leaders admit that managers are not properly equipped to lead change, with less than a quarter (23 percent) feeling confident they have a pipeline of leaders capable of meeting their organisations’ future needs.

One of the key problems is leaders’ competing priorities and the seemingly ever-expanding scope of responsibilities: trying to build their team’s resilience while championing change initiatives, for example.

In any case, it seems as if traditional leadership development programmes are falling short of ideal – the Gartner survey showed that only a shade over a third (36 percent) of respondents felt their organisations were gainfully preparing leaders for the future.

Effective leadership programmes should operate on two levels: identifying individual and organisational skill gaps; and coaching leaders on best practices. People also need the time to build lasting connections by applying learned strategies to day-to-day situations, which, in turn, promotes the peer connections that help support ongoing development.

Team dynamics

Usefully, this focus on connection-building also feeds into company culture, turning it into an organisation-wide shared endeavour, rather than a top-down management responsibility. As company culture and communication play critical roles in helping people to align their work with an organisation’s purpose, it’s important to give this the attention it needs.

Broadening the scope of culture stewardship will also fuel a healthier approach to team dynamics – something that is likely to be increasingly important to organisational success. It’s no secret that the ways in which team members collaborate, communicate and influence each other has the power to impact performance for better or for worse. In fact, team dynamics will, to a large extent, define a team’s effectiveness and productivity.

In coherent teams, individuals understand their roles and responsibilities, communicate effectively and swiftly address potential points of conflict before they become problematic. But they’ll also recognise, nurture and reward individual contributions because they benefit all.

Naturally, understanding and managing these dynamics doesn’t happen by accident. Forward-thinking organisations not only see and value the link between team/individual engagement and performance but put a significant number of resources into cultivating it.

Closing the gap

The requirement for continuous learning and development programmes at every level doesn’t appear to correlate with current workplace practices, though. Indeed, the Korn Ferry report showed that employees in the UK have a dim view of their companies’ commitment to investment in L&D – this on top of scores that indicated generally low levels of trust and confidence in senior leadership.

Dropping the ball on L&D will negatively impact all the hard work that goes into recruiting the right talent. Simply put, those companies that are committed to building transparent and inclusive workplace cultures, and that are prepared to invest in learning and development (L&D) are those that will attract the best talent in 2025 and beyond.

If you’d like to learn more about how qpeople can help your organisation prepare for 2025’s challenges, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.