Identity of HR 2025: A complex tangle of challenges

HR Dive’s Identity of HR survey this year revealed a profession in flux, requiring HR professionals to deal with a tangle of contradictory challenges. 

Despite a softening labor market, hiring remains a big challenge — yet training to upskill workers has been put on the back burner, and employers are dumping the flexibility that would attract competitive candidates. Workplaces are also losing steam on touting their pay transparency, pay equity and compensation policies; fewer HR pros said those efforts would grow in importance compared to last year, and more said their importance would decline.

While those in the field have indicated they’re prepared to weather this year’s uncertainty, workers are less assured. 

Catch up below on those and other findings from this year’s survey.