This business year will be special in many ways for HR professionals and organizations. The influence of AI technology is growing, so HR professionals and candidates are finding new ways to apply it. Leadership competencies required for managers are changing, and so are the methods of assessment. The deadline for implementing the goals of the European Union Directives into national legislation is approaching, and small and medium-sized companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of HR practices. Aleksandar Zemunić, CEO of the SELECTIO Group, reveals key trends that will shape 2025 and shares his insights on the increasingly strong synergy between HR and business.
What will be the impact of AI technology in 2025, and how can HR professionals and recruiters take advantage of its benefits?
The impact of AI tools on human resource management and the labour market will continue to grow in 2025, with the most significant changes expected in the automation of tasks related to recruitment and selection. In addition to digitalizing the selection process, AI significantly simplifies routine HR processes, allowing HR teams to focus on aspects of work that AI cannot successfully perform. Additionally, AI tools assist in identifying and evaluating candidates, planning and conducting initial interviews, and assessing tests.
On the other hand, candidates are increasingly using AI tools to help them apply for job postings and tailor their resumes for each application. As a result, the number of seemingly high-quality applications is increasing, requiring more time to review and analyse all applications. In some projects, we introduce candidate testing as the first step in the selection process. This approach improves efficiency in evaluation and enables faster identification of candidates who truly possess the necessary competencies. If the number of applications generated with tools like ChatGPT continues to rise, we may more frequently apply this "reverse" order of testing.
Regardless of which AI tools are used in practice, HR consultants specializing in talent acquisition and recruitment must use AI ethically. At the same time, empathy, intuition, and the ability to recognize subtle personal characteristics remain qualities that technology cannot yet identify and assess.
Read how AI will be used in the recruitment process in 2025!
There is a growing trend of investment in manager development. What skills will be most in demand in 2025, and how to assess whether managers possess them?
According to the latest Future of Jobs Report 2025, the global labour market by 2030 will be shaped and transformed by technological advancements, geo-economic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic changes, and the green transition.
Advancements in technology—particularly in artificial intelligence, data processing, robotics, automation, and the production, storage and distribution of energy—will have the greatest impact on jobs. It is predicted that AI, big data, cybersecurity, and technological literacy will become the fastest-growing skill sets. Additionally, rising living costs, economic slowdown, and slower job growth are expected to drive demand for skills such as creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, and agility.
Thus, specialized knowledge is becoming secondary, while agility, resilience, and adaptability to change are emerging as the most desirable traits for future managers. New perspectives in team management are being introduced, with particular emphasis on transformational managers—those who drive innovation, inspire and motivate, emphasize long-term vision, and actively involve employees in decision-making processes.
Therefore, leadership competency assessments will likely become an essential part of the selection process for managerial positions, alongside an increase in behavioural testing. Traditional online psychological testing, including personality questionnaires and cognitive ability tests, will be combined with increasingly popular assessments such as role-playing and case studies. These assessments simulate real-life scenarios that managers face and serve as excellent tools for identifying key competencies firsthand. Although it may seem unconventional, many managers highlight these activities as a highly valuable experience.
Some leadership competencies can also be developed later through programs like the SELECTIO Leadership Academy. However, it is important to recognize the current level of development and natural potential when evaluating candidates. Therefore, competency assessments should include tools focused on self-assessment as well as external evaluation. The most widely used tool in 2025 is expected to be the Discovering Natural Latent Abilities (DNLA ), a set of behavioural questionnaires, which provides a comparison with other candidates in the market, serving as a benchmark. A potential increase in demand is also expected for the Belbin Team Roles® model, which identifies leadership strengths and preferred working styles within a team. While this questionnaire is well-known globally, its adoption in our market has only intensified over the past year.
What will be the key to attracting and retaining talent in 2025?
The latest workforce survey by Korn Ferry found that 67% of employees would stay with a company if given opportunities for advancement and development—even if they "hate" their job. Conversely, the lack of career progression is the second biggest reason people leave their jobs. This is why Employer Partner certification holders pay close attention to employer branding. Employers who have not yet done so will need to clearly communicate their mission, vision, and values to attract talent aligned with their company culture.
Today's employees expect organizations to support their overall well-being through additional resources focused on mental health empowerment, as well as flexible work arrangements. Employees will continue to demand hybrid and remote work options, along with other flexible arrangements for maintaining work-life balance, which can only be effectively provided through personalized wellbeing benefits. This approach allows employees to create their own benefits packages, increasing their sense of control over their wellbeing.
Corporate culture will remain the glue that holds organizations together. Companies will need to move beyond superficial diversity initiatives and instead focus on creating psychologically safe environments where individuals can thrive. Building a transparent pay system, introducing job grading, and making development programs accessible will be key. Additionally, investing in leadership development at all levels will be crucial to identifying talent and fostering a desired organizational culture within teams.
Last year, through a climate and engagement survey, we received over 50,000 pieces of employee feedback across Croatia, and the results showed that career development, learning, and upskilling were among the lowest-rated aspects of satisfaction. Why will traditional learning and development opportunities no longer be enough, and what employee development strategies should be implemented in 2025?
Research predicts that traditional learning and development methods will no longer be sufficient for employee development because jobs, as well as employee expectations and needs, are changing rapidly. New learning opportunities, upskilling programs, and the creation of personalized career paths will become the biggest drivers of employee engagement and talent retention.
As changes accelerate, the rapid development of new skills becomes essential. This is why employees will need shorter-format learning opportunities. Innovative learning approaches such as virtual reality, microlearning, and gamification—which are already present in multiple organizations in Croatia—will become standard formats. Virtual reality will need to provide risk-free simulations, gamification will need to enhance engagement and knowledge retention, and microlearning will need to enable focused, accessible skill-building.
Traditional ways of transferring knowledge and experience will become increasingly unacceptable to the new generation of the workforce, which expects engaging and comprehensive learning experiences. The same applies to the accessibility of information and knowledge, where learning must be enabled on any device rather than only through scheduled classroom training. Training and education will be increasingly tailored to the specific needs of organizations and teams.
We can expect more AI tools to help customize development program content to everyone’s roles, goals, and learning styles within an organization. As AI and automation take over routine tasks, the unique skills we have emphasized for years—creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence—remain the most important. However, we anticipate that their development will require new approaches.
How will small and medium-sized enterprises keep up with high HR standards?
Although large organizations have more resources to invest in robust HR systems and HR teams, small and medium-sized enterprises can and should also establish effective HR practices.
Digital HR tools are now available to everyone and do not require large capital investments. At the same time, outsourcing is becoming an increasingly common solution for companies that lack internal HR experts. Still, it is somewhat surprising that small and medium-sized organizations easily use external services for accounting, but HR outsourcing often does not cross their minds.
What we increasingly see through the Employer Partner project is that organizations are willing to seek the help of our experts in analyzing HR systems (if they exist) and consulting on the strategic development of HR processes (if they do not exist). These organizations understand what they want to achieve but do not know how to achieve it or which HR processes are crucial for their stage of development.
In Croatia, there are already organizations that hire their first dedicated HR professional when they reach 40 employees, and this does not refer to legal compliance, personnel administration, or payroll processing. From our experience working with organizations of various sizes, helping them establish HR departments and priority HR processes, we notice that the first HR employees are often hired when the number of employees is below 40. When this decision is delayed (for example, until the number of employees reaches 100), the first HR employee is often faced with correcting HR processes that have become established but are neither efficient nor aligned. Timely formation of an HR department following best practices frees up time for managers and company leadership, who were previously handling HR matters themselves.
Although they lack the organizational resources of large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises can, through the Employer Partner methodology, create targeted, creative, and employee-centred HR practices that promote a positive workplace culture aligned with their values and goals. Consistent communication and visible support from leadership regarding HR initiatives remain key to success.
What changes can we expect in building transparent pay systems with the introduction of EU Directives?
The upcoming EU Directive on pay transparency will likely bring significant changes. One implication will be expanded requirements for pay reporting, meaning organizations will need to provide more precise data on compensation, broken down by gender, within their annual pay gap reports. This is already encouraging leaders to create fairer and more transparent pay systems. Holders of the Equal Pay Champion certificate are analyzing and addressing gender pay gaps, which, according to official 2020 data, stand at 13% at the EU level and 16% in the Republic of Croatia.
Beyond reporting, publishing specific salary amounts (or ranges) will be a novelty—and possibly a shock—for some organizations. Job advertisements will have to include details about the initial salary level or salary range. Gross salary amounts and hourly wages for all job positions will have to be publicly available and written in a way that allows for effective and comparative assessment of the work value based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. Additionally, during job interviews, employers will have to clearly communicate the criteria for determining salary levels and disclose salary ranges for that position. To comply with new obligations and mitigate legal risks, employers will need to develop a more rigorous, impartial job architecture and salary ranges based on objective criteria such as skills and responsibilities. This process requires time and expertise, so it is crucial to start preparations as soon as possible, as the implementation deadline is June 2026.
If, after reviewing job classification and job architecture with clearly defined ranks and associated salary ranges, an analysis reveals discrepancies, it will be necessary to consider time, i.e., periodic investment cycles, to bring the so-called gender pay gap below 5%, as prescribed by the Directive. All employers with more than 50 employees will be required to provide their employees with detailed information about the criteria for determining salaries, pay grades, and salary increase criteria. Countries also have the option to extend this obligation to all employers, including those with fewer than 50 employees.
To ensure compliance with the principle of equal pay, it is important to note that confidentiality clauses regarding salary will become obsolete, as salary disclosure can no longer be prohibited. These changes will require organizations to reassess their compensation, pay, and reward systems, enhance HR analytics capabilities, educate management, and potentially redesign compensation programs. The hope is that the Directive will genuinely create more equal, fair, and attractive workplaces across the EU while simultaneously helping organizations achieve better results.
What will the Directives for equal and transparent pay bring?
