2024 HR Trends - The Year of AI
How is the future of work evolving and are you ready for what’s next? Access a presentation of the top trends impacting HR from SAP’s HR research scientists. Learn about what’s trending in the world of AI-enabled HR and find out how organizations are preparing and adapting to thrive in the rapidly changing world of work. Download the DocumentPublic
2024 HR Trends:
The Year of AI
Growth & Insights Team
SAP SuccessFactors
2024 HR Trends:
The Year of AI
Growth & Insights Team
SAP SuccessFactors
3Public
Employee experience continues to permeate HR trends and strategy
1
AI upends the
world of work as
we know it
2
Skills become the
center of HR
practices
5
Mental health
reaches a
breaking point
3
Hybrid work
returns to the
office
6
Trust in leadership
plummets to
new lows
4
DEI&B stalls in
momentum
7
HR transforms their
own skills and
agility
8
Pay gets put in the
spotlight
9
Sustainability
becomes a
strategy
HR Meta-Trends for 2024
Employee experience continues to permeate HR trends and strategy
1
AI upends the
world of work as
we know it
2
Skills become the
center of HR
practices
5
Mental health
reaches a
breaking point
3
Hybrid work
returns to the
office
6
Trust in leadership
plummets to
new lows
4
DEI&B stalls in
momentum
7
HR transforms their
own skills and
agility
8
Pay gets put in the
spotlight
9
Sustainability
becomes a
strategy
HR Meta-Trends for 2024
4Public
What caught our attention
AI dominated the 2024 trends discourse, with AI increasingly being seen as a way to augment human
work. HR use cases abound, particularly within talent acquisition, but concerns continue about data
privacy, ethics, and regulatory compliance.
What we’re thinking about
• HR leaders can support organization-wide AI strategies by governing the change management
required of the transformation and tracking important KPIs associated with the strategy’s success.
• Possible use cases of AI in HR are numerous, but not equally valuable. More experimentation and field
research is needed to quantify the return on investment of different AI use cases.
• Like all data-driven tools, it’s “garbage in, garbage out” with generative AI. Companies will need tools
that leverage their unique organizational data to ensure system outputs are relevant to their specific
context.
#1: AI upends the world of work as we know it
Questions to prepare for the future
• How will you prepare people managers to manage the performance of employees who use
AI?
• What are your organization’s principles to guide decisions related to AI? What outcomes are
the highest priority for your organization to achieve with AI and how will you track its success
in those outcomes?
What caught our attention
AI dominated the 2024 trends discourse, with AI increasingly being seen as a way to augment human
work. HR use cases abound, particularly within talent acquisition, but concerns continue about data
privacy, ethics, and regulatory compliance.
What we’re thinking about
• HR leaders can support organization-wide AI strategies by governing the change management
required of the transformation and tracking important KPIs associated with the strategy’s success.
• Possible use cases of AI in HR are numerous, but not equally valuable. More experimentation and field
research is needed to quantify the return on investment of different AI use cases.
• Like all data-driven tools, it’s “garbage in, garbage out” with generative AI. Companies will need tools
that leverage their unique organizational data to ensure system outputs are relevant to their specific
context.
#1: AI upends the world of work as we know it
Questions to prepare for the future
• How will you prepare people managers to manage the performance of employees who use
AI?
• What are your organization’s principles to guide decisions related to AI? What outcomes are
the highest priority for your organization to achieve with AI and how will you track its success
in those outcomes?
5Public
• SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central: Use a central repository of accurate, up-to-date
people data to deliver AI-powered employee experiences in HR and across other areas of
the business.
• SAP SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace: Help employees explore growth and
development opportunities by using talent intelligence to surface relevant
recommendations for short-term assignments, mentors, new roles, and others.
• SAP SuccessFactors Learning: Accelerate upskilling and reskilling initiatives
by using talent intelligence to deliver learning recommendations based on what an
individual has to, needs to, and wants to learn.
• SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting: Ensure an inclusive and skills-based approach to hiring by
using generative AI to enhance job descriptions and interview questions.
• SAP SuccessFactors solutions with Joule copilot: Help employees and managers work
faster and smarter by using an AI copilot to make it easier to find information and complete
common HR tasks, such as updating personal data, giving feedback, and initiating a
promotion.
SAP SuccessFactors solutions to help
#1: AI upends the world of work as we know it
• SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central: Use a central repository of accurate, up-to-date
people data to deliver AI-powered employee experiences in HR and across other areas of
the business.
• SAP SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace: Help employees explore growth and
development opportunities by using talent intelligence to surface relevant
recommendations for short-term assignments, mentors, new roles, and others.
• SAP SuccessFactors Learning: Accelerate upskilling and reskilling initiatives
by using talent intelligence to deliver learning recommendations based on what an
individual has to, needs to, and wants to learn.
• SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting: Ensure an inclusive and skills-based approach to hiring by
using generative AI to enhance job descriptions and interview questions.
• SAP SuccessFactors solutions with Joule copilot: Help employees and managers work
faster and smarter by using an AI copilot to make it easier to find information and complete
common HR tasks, such as updating personal data, giving feedback, and initiating a
promotion.
SAP SuccessFactors solutions to help
#1: AI upends the world of work as we know it
6Public
What caught our attention
The impact of AI on workforce planning will be significant, forcing organizations to reconsider what AI
skills are needed, who possesses those skills, and how to fill skill gaps – whether build, borrow, buy, or
bot.
What we’re thinking about
• Organizations can now target workforce planning efforts at specific AI skills (vs. treating skills as a
catch-all), which could make these efforts more successful.
• Skilling initiatives must drive a stronger sense of motivation among employees while also showing
tangible prioritization from the organization – like incentivizing employees monetarily.
• High-potential programs and practices need a skills-based overhaul. Organizations should answer the
question “potential for what?” by focusing on employees’ potential to acquire certain skills.
#2: Skills become the center of HR practices
Questions to prepare for the future
• Which roles in your organization will need the skills to develop, implement, and maintain AI,
and which roles will need to use AI as a tool to complete their work?
• What is the minimum AI proficiency level expected across your workforce, and does a curated
AI learning journey exist for employees to achieve this?
• In what ways could your organization show they are invested in the success of reskilling and
upskilling initiatives? Would you consider financially incentivizing skill acquisition?
What caught our attention
The impact of AI on workforce planning will be significant, forcing organizations to reconsider what AI
skills are needed, who possesses those skills, and how to fill skill gaps – whether build, borrow, buy, or
bot.
What we’re thinking about
• Organizations can now target workforce planning efforts at specific AI skills (vs. treating skills as a
catch-all), which could make these efforts more successful.
• Skilling initiatives must drive a stronger sense of motivation among employees while also showing
tangible prioritization from the organization – like incentivizing employees monetarily.
• High-potential programs and practices need a skills-based overhaul. Organizations should answer the
question “potential for what?” by focusing on employees’ potential to acquire certain skills.
#2: Skills become the center of HR practices
Questions to prepare for the future
• Which roles in your organization will need the skills to develop, implement, and maintain AI,
and which roles will need to use AI as a tool to complete their work?
• What is the minimum AI proficiency level expected across your workforce, and does a curated
AI learning journey exist for employees to achieve this?
• In what ways could your organization show they are invested in the success of reskilling and
upskilling initiatives? Would you consider financially incentivizing skill acquisition?