HR is dead, doomed and gone

I don't want to say I told you so. But... I told you so.

In december last year I had a viral post predicting that HR is Dead in 2025. Now 5-ish months later two well known industry experts are saying a similar thing (Kevin Wheeler - read this + Josh Bersin - read this)

So yeah. HR is Dead. Your job WILL change or be replaced by AI.

I don't mean to be dramatic. But you know what I mean. It's coming. It's not going to switch over all of a sudden tomorrow. BUT we ARE moving there slowly and you need to be moving with things. As an individual and as an organisation.

It's important to understand that HR are entering a VERY messy and uncomfortable period. Josh Bersin said it well in his article:

"We[HR] have to find a way to “be productive” while we try to “make the company productive.”

Did you read that? HR are required to re-design themselves and the organisation at the same time. It's a huge ask. It's probably the BIGGEST transformation that any function will need to go through in a business. And the question of HOW pops up again and again in all webinars and community forums. HOW can HR do this? We struggle to keep up as it is, but are also expected to change an entire organisations way of working through digital(ai) transformation (with little help) while "doing more with less".

There are three whooping big issues I see with this whole picture that are going to hurt:

1. HR (mostly) don't have the skills for what's required for the NEW future of HR
2. they don't get any investment to actually DO anything
3. we are building HR the wrong way

So let's dive into each of these.

The HR Skills Gap

We are currently in the early messy phase of HR transformation. Old HR will continue to lose jobs to AI. The roles you have now will not be the same in the future. But there IS a silver lining. There will be "new HR" jobs and that's where you need to focus your upskilling.

You can start by reading the Future of Jobs report 2025 by the World Economic Forum (see image below). It shares some insights into which skills will be more needed. But if you think about it, anything that helps you deliver change and build what is needed (AI enabled processes), then it's probably a safe bet.

Things like: systems thinking, data infrastructure, human/ai process design, agent orchestration (a new one that's gonna come fast), project management, change management, communications, knowledge management....couple that with the empathy and human orientation HR professionals usually have - it's a winner.

You can see in that list there is nothing traditionally HR about those skills. But they are all needed in HR. And yes, expertise in HR topics will still be needed to some extent, but it won't be the core skills needed anymore. So think about where you have gaps and prioritise it.

HR needs Investment

It's all fun and games to say HR need to "transform" but transformation costs money and time and needs certain skills (those things we just talked about). I have NEVER seen a well funded and supported HR function to date in my career. Maybe they exist, but I have not experienced it and I know many of you have not either.

It's a bit silly really. We have founders and CEOs saying they want the benefits of AI but are not willing to do what's necessary....which is to invest. So HR get stuck with more work and more expectations they can't meet.

If you are in this situation, the best place to start is with a strategy and then end with an options paper. You can read this post about how I approach "being more strategic in HR" or reach out if you want support. And you see, doing nothing is always an option. And a lot of the time, the unsaid choice is to "do nothing". But it's not consciously owned, and therefore the consequences are also not.

That's why I say to do an options paper. Make them DECIDE to do nothing. Start making the connections: IF we don't do X, Y will happen (it's actually a good technique to use with toddlers). Make sure the consequences are crystal clear. It makes choosing to DO SOMETHING, way easier. Formulate it in a way that a choice must be made and owned.

And REMEMBER: It is NOT HR's job to save the company from itself.

Again, if you are struggling with this, reach out. I don't bite, but I do charge.

We are building HR the wrong way

As I highlighted earlier. HR needs to re-design themselves. We have an outdated way of working. The OPERATING MODEL is broken. And it will break more when we start adding more tech and AI on top without thinking it through.

We need to build an engine that delivers enablement of organisational success. HR, as well as the organisation, need to be rebuilt with AI in mind. How HR deliver on enablement needs to change. Also let's not forget, for AI to work and be autonomous it needs data. It needs to be informed about how to work in your organisation. There's a lot to change. That's why I say HR is dead, because we need to rebuild it from the ground up. Not add to what we have.

There's a lot to say and do on this topic and I am knee deep in drawing up a future of work operating model framework for HR. I will be sharing it with the Humans in the Loop community first to get feedback and sense check it - please do join. It's a new online community for any HR professionals who are interested to share and learn on HR tech, AI and the whole messy transformation!

What's happening

1. We released some improved design on the Stakkd HR tech database - go check them out!
2. My Pando Horizons: HR Market Trends webinar is on Wednesday - sign up here
3. First of three Talent Crunch Berlin (TC) sessions with Andreea Lungulescu - sign up here
4. Co hosting TWO(!!) Brainfood Live sessions with Hung Lee: AI Regulations in TA & HR: 2025 Q2 Update and Transitioning to CV Free Hiring
5. I have a Beehiiv newsletter too, where I share other interesting stuff - sign up :)

Top 3 Trending products in the last 2 weeks on Stakkd

1. Humaans: learn more here
2. Mega HR: learn more here
3. Avery: learn more here

End Notes

I am starting to really notice that I miss being in the action. As a founder I talk about about HR, AI and tech. But I don't get to actually get to DO any of it anymore. I'm thinking about adding some fractional and consulting options for organisation that need support to transform their HR - wdyt?

I'd also love to meet in person if any of you are in Berlin then send me a message.

See you on the feed

Jess