In our annual Leadership Perspective Survey, completed by over 500 CHROs from the world's leading organizations, CHROs revealed their top priorities, challenges, and planned investments for 2025. These insights, combined with discussions with hundreds of our CHRO community members, allow us to spotlight key trends for HR leaders and create content for our community gatherings that address their immediate needs.
In 2025, CHROs from our 18 global communities emphasized their focus on leadership development, organizational culture, strategic planning and change management. Additionally, they shared that they are investing in emerging technologies, such as advanced data analytics and AI solutions, to remain competitive and foster growth in an unpredictable business environment.
Here are key findings from the survey:
Operating Budgets Are Steady
Half of CHROs surveyed report that their operating budgets will remain unchanged from 2024. Meanwhile, 20% have seen an increase in their budget for 2025, and 30% have experienced a decrease.
Planned Spending to Remain the Same
Similar to their operating budgets, about half of the CHROs indicate that their planned spending on technology and services will stay the same this year. Twenty-eight percent plan to increase their technology and services spending in 2025, while only 19% expect a decrease.
CHROs Plan to Invest in Recruiting, Data and AI
Recruiting is the top spending area for CHROs in 2025, with 30% planning to invest in recruiting solutions. Following closely, 27% intend to invest in workforce data and talent analytics. Additionally, 25% of CHROs plan to invest in employee onboarding, 24% in AI solutions, and 23% in learning technologies.
Leader & Manager Development is CHROs’ Top Priority
In 2025, leader and manager development has reclaimed its position as the top priority for CHROs, as it was in 2023. Organizational culture ranks as the second most critical priority, followed by strategic workforce planning. Organizational design and change management round out the top five. Notably, this is the first time employee experience has fallen out of the top five functional priorities for CHROs.
Topics of Interest
CHROs also shared the topics they most want to explore with sponsors and peers at our upcoming community events. Here are the top five:
- Evolving the HR Operating Model
- Leading the Enterprise Through Change
- Tying HR Strategy to Business Outcomes
- CHRO Role Evolution
- Innovating for the Future
To learn more about sponsoring Gartner C-level Communities and events and how our proprietary data can help your message resonate with C-level decision makers, contact us.
Based on 500+ CHRO responses from Gartner C-level Communities’ proprietary Leadership Perspective Survey, March 2025.
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