In 2025, HR departments are once again on the front lines. Between employee engagement in the workplace, managing skills under pressure, mandates to innovate, and structural transformations to drive, HR must assume an increasingly strategic role… without losing the human connection.
- What Human, managerial and technological challenges Is it absolutely necessary to address 2025 to succeed?
- How Taking back control of HR priorities in the face of the multiplication of contradictory injunctions?
- How to make HR function a strategic performance engine durable and transformable?
… so many questions that our great witnesses answered during the webinar «5 priority HR challenges for success in 2025» Organized talenco on April 8, 2025. Franck Bodikian, General Manager Human Resources of ManpowerGroup France, Frédérique Chemaly, Director of Human Resources (ex-Galeries Lafayette) and Jean-Baptiste Gouin, CEO of talenco ont answered the questions of Cyrille Chaudoit, Co-founder of talenco.
In 2025, it is time to reposition HR as a strategic force! Among the many challenges facing HR professionals, five priority issues emerge to guide HR action in 2025.
Access the video replay of our webinar for free and enjoy 60 minutes of testimonies on HR challenges with 2 HR directors from large groups.
Repositioning HR as a strategic force
Faced with the inflation of emergencies, social expectations, regulatory obligations, and technological transitions, HR managers must Clarify their missions and (re)take power on their agenda.
According to Jean-Baptiste Gouin, «There is a fundamental expectation today to reposition HR as a central function in the strategic management of the company. ».
This requires a new, more assertive posture that combines the ability to arbitrate and to orient the transformations around human issues.
According to Frédérique Chemaly, «We expect HR to be operational, strategic, innovative, and supportive of managers and the social climate. To avoid being exhausted, we must choose our battles wisely. ».
« HR is being asked to have an architect’s vision. It is necessary to be able to think about the organizations of tomorrow, while also addressing the daily urgencies. ».
In addition to being true «business partners», the HR professionals of 2025 must be energy catalysts and «re-activators» of trust.
The 5 HR issues to prioritize to succeed in 2025
Amidst the many challenges, five priorities emerge to guide HR action in 2025.
1. Re-engage the teams
The disengagement of employees n’is no longer an intuition: it is a measured reality. Loss of direction, loss of confidence, lack of recognition, emotional overload… the causes are multiple and influence the Mental health of employees.
According to Franck Bodikian, on feels a form of silent fatigue. The employees are not against the company, but they no longer always see why they do what they do. ».
The levers? Revaluing the role of the local management, Strengthen the clarity of the collective project, promote spaces for dialogue and a sense of usefulness.
According to Frédérique Chemali, « The key to commitment is first and foremost recognition and good management sense. It’s not the budgets that are lacking; it’s the consistency. ».
2. Accelerate the predictive management of skills… without losing the human connection
The evolution of professions is accelerating, driven in particular by generative AI and the digitalization of activities. To cope with this, companies must activate a real Strategic workforce planning.
According to Cyrille Chaudoit, « We no longer just talk to adapt existing skills, but to also create new ones. It is necessary to map, explore, script, and equip. ».
This requires better HR/professional collaboration, a more effective use of HR data, and reinvented training approaches.
Jean-Baptiste Gouin highlights the need for strategic HR management in the transformations induced by AI. In his opinion, « Artificial intelligence will change the game. We must anticipate the skills to be transformed, But also to detect the invisible talents »
« AI must be put to the service of strategy, not the other way around. We need to choose where we want AI to have an impact on the professions! »
3. Strengthen managers in leading change
Managers are on the front line, but they are also the most vulnerable. Caught between the expectations of management, the needs of the teams, and the lack of time, they struggle to fulfill their role as a relay in managing change.
According to Franck Bodikian, « Managers are the key players in change: they must give meaning and have an essential role in supporting teams.
« They are asked to be proactive, to listen, to decide, to innovate, to prevent risks, to report… They need to be given more leeway. ».
« The management community keeps the machine running. Good managers create value for the company. There is no transformation without managers! »
According to Jean-Baptiste Gouin, « The manager of tomorrow is not a superhero. He is a team leader, a facilitator of change, a conduit of culture, a coach of transformation. ».
3 levers to activate without waiting: ♦ Rethink the training of managers, ♦ Reduce costs, ♦ Clarify priorities!
4. Making HR function a strategic lever
The HR department is not just a support function: it must be the driving force behind transformation, a force of anticipation, and a guarantor of human alignment with the strategy. Franck Bodikian also points out that there is not a single strategic management committee without the presence of the HR department.
« For too long, HR has been confined to execution. It must become a function of influence, alignment, and projection. » for Jean-Baptiste Gouin.
Frédérique Chemaly reinforces this idea by stating that’ « HR teams must be put back at the heart of the strategic dialogue, where the future of the company is decided ».
This requires HR to: develop a culture of leadership, of helping each other, and of speaking out forcefully to the management committee.
5. Combining well-being and performance at work
Long seen as antagonists, these two objectives must now be considered together. Social climate, quality of life at work (QVCT), and a sense of purpose in work are conditions for sustainable performance.
For Franck Bodikian:
« Reconciling well-being and performance is the mission of HR. (…) Happy employees make happy customers ».
This requires revisiting HR policies from the perspective of the employee experience, respect for the human rhythm, and recognition in day-to-day work.
For Frédérique Chemaly, « This is not one of them or The other. It is the companies that will succeed to reconcile sense, framework, and exigency who will make the most of the opportunity ».
In concrete terms, this also involves committing to the issues at stake. diversity and inclusion, As vectors of human wealth, innovation and collective performance.
« Diversity is a wealth that creates value, but only if it is welcomed and made to flourish. » According to Franck Bodikian.
For Cyrille Chaudoit, « In an uncertain world, we need to be diverse. The more uncertainty there is, the more we need diversity to be able to react. To cope with adversity, we need diversity! »
Conclusion: an HR function between strategic exigency and human responsibility
In summary, HR is entering a new era of maturity: more strategic, more human, and more exposed as well. 5 strong convictions to remember in conclusion :
- The HR department must position itself as a force of strategic proposal.
- The employee commitment is based on sense, consistency… and good management.
- Managing skills is a vital issue in the face of technological disruptions.
- The manager is The key to the vault of transformation: it must be equipped and valorized.
- Technology (AI) is a lever… not an objective.
Reaching success in 2025 will not consist of responding to all requests… but of making the right choices!
60 minutes of concrete testimonies on the HR challenges of 2025
- Competencies, commitment, management, strategy…
- An inspiring overview of the key issues of the year
- The eyes of two HR leaders from large groups
