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CEOs’ top concerns for 2025 and what they mean for HR

Heading into 2025, strategic CHROs should align their HR priorities with the priorities of CEOs, an expert at Gartner says, since the chief executive’s objectives will ultimately influence each function’s operations. So, what will the top concerns of CEOs be in the New Year?

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According to Gartner’s CEO and Senior Business Executive survey, growth tops the list, cited by 56% of CEOs, followed by technology implementation (42%), the strengthening of the organization’s operating model or corporate profile (36%), and financial stability (25%).

Of particular note for HR leaders, says Peter Aykens, practice vice president at Gartner, is that the workforce fell to fifth place (21%) on the list of CEOs’ concerns about the coming year. This is a deviation from the last few years when it consistently ranked third, says Aykens, who led a session Tuesday on this topic at the Gartner ReimagineHR Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Ultimately, concerns over the workforce fell 22 percentage points from last year.

“It’s not that they’re unconcerned about the workforce. They’re just less concerned relative to other things,” Aykens says.

He also notes, however, that the shift could stem from CEOs having a “blind spot” when it comes to technology—as they focus more on AI driving the organization’s future and less on the workforce.

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“That would be a real risk if they think in those terms,” Aykens warns.

In a recent video interview with HR Executive, Aykens delved into these and other CEO concerns and how they can impact CHROs, as well as strategies that HR leaders can deploy to align with those concerns.

Dawn Kawamoto, Human Resource Executive
Dawn Kawamoto
Dawn Kawamoto is HR Editor of Human Resource Executive. She is an award-winning journalist who has covered technology business news for such publications as CNET and has covered the HR and careers industry for such organizations as Dice and Built In prior to joining HRE. She can be reached at [email protected] and below on social media.