Fewer people in the workforce. More employees wanting to work remotely. Deeper conversations about diversity, more urgent than ever. As we head into 2025, human resources (HR) leaders at companies of all sizes have much to take into account if they expect to attract and retain top talent — a feat that necessitates new HR goals aimed at helping their companies thrive amid an evolving list of employee priorities.
10 HR Goals for Small Businesses to Nail in 2025
To prove their value to the business, HR leaders must devise goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely — aka SMART goals. Each goal should be attached to metrics that demonstrate progress toward HR and business objectives. The HR goals defined here address today’s workplace realities and provide a framework within which to customize them.
HR Goals 2025: Building a Stronger Workforce
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Fill More Jobs by Hiring Within
Despite a significant improvement in the U.S. unemployment rate to 4.1% in September 2024 since an April 2020 high of 14.8%, companies have been scrambling to fill jobs. Nearly 4.8% of all job positions in the US were open in October 2024, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This reflects an improvement since post-pandemic highs of 7%, but the current rate still indicates a tight labor market as businesses continue to seek skilled employees.
What accounts for these hiring problems amid job availability? The primary reason is the sheer number of companies industrywide that reopened at the same time and began rehiring. But there’s more: Fewer people are coming back. Goldman Sachs researchers concluded that roughly 2.5 million people who left their jobs during the pandemic were ready to retire or decided to retire early.
In addition, people continue to quit their jobs in droves, with a record 3.3 million vacating their positions in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A few other reasons for unfilled jobs, per a Conference Board study: more people holding out for jobs they like and high federal unemployment rates — increasing since the reopening — that may have reduced the incentive to go back to work.
To fill new higher-level positions, companies are turning to employees they already have. By “hiring up,” recruiters can focus on the entry-level jobs that are typically easier to fill. 92% of the respondents to LinkedIn’s “2024 Workplace Learning Report” said this so-called “internal mobility” through development has become a greater priority, accounting for 33% of all hires. Not only does this help fill jobs in the moment, it also boosts retention: Employees who make an internal move by their second year have a 75% likelihood of staying with their company, compared to just 56% for those who don’t
To foster high mobility, HR leaders may want to consider some or all of these strategies:
- Develop performance appraisal systems that identify high-potential employees, especially early in their tenure. In smaller organizations, performance reviews are often seen as a time-consuming luxury; they should be thought of as necessities.
- Invest time and energy in your top talent. Just like sports coaches focus their energy on their star players, business managers, too, would be wise to mentor top talent. It’s important to keep these employees challenged, give them visibility in the organization and advocate for their promotions.
- Map out career paths so employees can see what their next role(s) may be and learn the skills they’ll need to earn those roles.
- Devise succession plans for different roles. This allows specific prospects to be groomed before the position needs to be filled.
- Reward leaders who are most effective at developing their employees’ skills. For example, there could be a bonus pool for managers who have the highest number of employees promoted to higher positions.
HR leaders can draft goals to drive any of these strategies, suitable to the size of their companies. If succession planning seems impractical, for example, a cross-training program can still be effective at preparing people to step into new roles.
Sample SMART goal: Complete performance appraisals of all new hires at the conclusion of their first 90 days; designate 10% of them as high potential.
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Build the Structure to Support Remote Work Arrangements
The pandemic-driven lockdown lasted long enough that many employees became used to working from home. What’s more, they realized they liked it — so much so that 50% of respondents to a national survey said they would be willing to take a pay cut to work remotely full time. Another recent survey found that 63% of prioritize new jobs that would allow them to do so. An additional 57% said they would consider quitting their current jobs if forced to go back to the office.
The takeaway is that employers that don’t embrace remote work arrangements may find it difficult to hire enough staff to remain competitive. But a successful remote work strategy demands thoughtful planning and execution for companies large and small. Consider:
- Is working remotely all or nothing? Is a hybrid approach that blends office time with remote work possible?
- Which positions are eligible for remote work? Why?
- How will we monitor and evaluate remote employees’ performance?
- How do we foster teamwork and preserve corporate culture when people are scattered?
- How do we keep a remote staff best informed of new policies, staff changes, system upgrades and other developments that have an impact on how they work?
- How can we tweak the interviewing process to identify people who are likely to succeed when working remotely?
- What are the data security considerations of remote work?
- What do we need to know about labor laws, taxes and insurance when hiring remote, out-of-state workers?
If the past few years have taught us anything, flexibility and agility are core strengths of resilient companies. HR departments, large and small, must be prepared to readjust their course in the face of the unexpected.
Sample SMART goal: Draft and implement a complete remote work policy and review the policy every 60 days to revise as needed.
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Find Common Ground Across the Generations
For the first time, members of five generations are part of the U.S. workforce. They range from still-active Traditionalists (those born circa 1927-1946) to Gen Z employees (born near the end of the 1990s) who are just entering the workforce. Each generation has been shaped by its time: Traditionalists typically worked for decades before ever seeing a computer, while Gen Z doesn’t remember a world without smartphones. And while Baby Boomers are accustomed to a strict decision-making hierarchy, younger workers are more comfortable with consensus and equality. No group is inherently right or wrong, but the span of viewpoints can create conflict or stress.
Certainly, organizations are aware of the generational divide: More than half of HR and business leaders surveyed for Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report said they consider generational differences when designing workplace programs, and 70% said leading multigenerational workforces was important or very important for their success. However, only 10% admitted they were actively addressing this trend.
HR has before it a golden opportunity to close that readiness gap. The Deloitte report suggests focusing as much on similarities as differences among the generations. It introduces the concept of Perennials, described as “an ever-blooming group of people of all ages, stripes and types who transcend stereotypes and make connections with each other and the world around them.” For example, all generations said they value flexibility. But what that looks like may differ: While younger employees raising families may prefer flexible scheduling that allows them to attend soccer games or attend parent-teacher conferences, older employees may value more vacation time that would allow them to pursue a passion for global travel.
HR can also help train managers or supervisors to look past generational stereotypes. Not all older employees resist technology and not all younger employees dislike hierarchy. Companies thrive when employees are seen as individuals. That’s true for organizations of any size.
Sample SMART goal: Complete a detailed survey of generational values and perspectives to determine what employees want. Then focus on the common ground.
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Embrace Diversity and Inclusion
Age is certainly one facet of diversity in the workplace. Race, religion, gender and people with disabilities are some others, bringing to light the value of employing heterogeneous teams whose unique perspectives contribute to business growth and innovation.
Those that do may be rewarded. A 2024 McKinsey report found that companies with the most gender-diverse executive teams were 39% more likely to post high profits than companies with the least gender-diverse executive teams, an increase from 25% in 2022. The report also found that the most culturally and ethnically diverse companies were 36% more likely to be more profitable than their less-diverse competitors.
And yet, simply having a diverse workforce doesn’t say anything about whether all employees have an equal voice within the organization or whether they are rewarded equally. Some checkpoints:
- Audit salaries to ensure that people are paid fairly, based on the content of their jobs. Disparities between genders, races or any other characteristic are red flags.
- Review the composition of management teams, key committees and other groups to make sure they are diverse.
- Survey employees to identify positive and negative experiences. Barriers to success are often subtle and unspoken.
- Ensure that external marketing is inclusive.
- Establish recruiting relationships with a variety of schools.
- Celebrate everything. Social celebrations in the workplace can be great for morale and team-building, provided no one is left out. For example, don’t approve a St. Patrick’s Day party and then ignore Cinco De Mayo (or the reverse).
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Reconsider Benefits to Foster Work/Life Balance
Most employers consider a solid benefits package a competitive necessity. And rightly so. But what is the right benefits package at this point in time? Employees’ experiences these past few years may have changed their priorities and, consequently, the benefits they’d like to receive.
“HR is an area that’s constantly evolving: laws, rules and policies change,” said Joshua Godfrey, NetSuite administrator at real-estate company PropLogix.
For example, many studies show the shift to virtual schooling in 2020 disproportionately affected working mothers and prompted many to leave the workforce. To get those employees back, employers may need to be more creative about providing child care assistance, flexible scheduling and other strategies.
Of course, other employees have their own priorities. This is why offering a range of benefits can pay off. One small employer, for example, offered employees paid days off that they could use for what mattered to them — for example, to volunteer at a local charity.
The point here is not so much to prepare a list of specialized benefit options as it is to undergo a renewed effort to create work/life balance. A Prudential study shows that 20% of people would take a 10% pay cut to achieve better work-life balance or work for themselves, while 27% of people have changed their careers to achieve better work-life balance and 59% have considered doing so.
Sample SMART goal: Conduct a survey to determine how well your benefits plan is meeting employees’ needs.
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Address Employees’ Mental Health
The past two years — and their resulting isolation and uncertainty — were undeniably stressful for many. According to an Oracle/Workplace Intelligence study, 78% of employees worldwide reported that the pandemic had negatively affected their mental health. But even prior to that, millions of workers said they had experienced some sort of mental illness or symptom of stress. Not surprisingly, mental health correlates to productivity, and 67% of workers reported that their productivity was negatively impacted by their mental health, according to Mental Health America.
If companies don’t have specific benefits in place to address mental health, now would be the time to introduce them or expand what they already provide. These improvements might come in the form of employee assistance programs, support groups or time off for mental health days. For example, this year Nike and LinkedIn, among others, closed their offices for a week to give employees a mental break. Meanwhile, Starbucks offers free counseling sessions, Target provides online mental health resources and Kickstand Communications allows for more flexible schedules. Another approach could be a broader wellness program that includes exercise programs, health screenings and nutrition education.
Such programs needn’t be expensive (a daily steps competition would be free, for example), so companies of any size can offer them.
Sample SMART goal: Add an employee assistance program to the benefits you offer.
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Automate HR Processes
New technologies have created new opportunities for HR. Automation is one of these technologies; it frees up HR leaders and their teams to focus on higher-value work. AI-powered chatbots, for example, can answer routine questions about company policies and benefits. Hiring-focused software can also save time by automating candidate communications and streamlining the evaluation process.
Other tech trends include:
- Wider use of learning management systems (LMS) to give employees access to curated training materials and work tools from any location at any time.
- Organizational network analysis (ONA), defined by Deloitte as “a structured way to visualize how communications, information and decisions flow through an organization.” This understanding can lead to better information flow and collaboration, and increase operational effectiveness.
- Leveraging survey software to get deeper insights into the employee population — and develop programs in response.
- Using text messages to connect more efficiently with job candidates.
Technology can also help HR prove its value. The rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) has made it easier for HR professionals to mine the trove of data at their disposal, then calculate and share with key stakeholders such metrics as revenue per employee, employee turnover, quality-of-hire improvement, diversity hires in customer-facing positions and other information that proves their quantitative impact on the organization.
“We pushed all the KPI metrics for HR into the executive dashboards so they know how many employees we have and our turnover rate,” said Miriam Armada-Blumer, NetSuite system engineer at New York-based agency Level 3 Audio Visual. “Everyone has personalized dashboards so they can self-manage.”
Sample SMART goal: Identify and then automate a time-consuming process.
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Help Employees Work More Efficiently
Technology can also improve the employee experience. In the spirit of “there’s an app for that,” employees are increasingly depending on work-related apps. Payroll services, for example, often have apps that employees can use to clock in or out, request time off or even make 401(k) plan investment choices. Insurance apps allow employees to locate specialists or check how much they’ve spent toward their deductible. Such apps give employees easy autonomy — they can request time off while waiting in line to buy lunch, for example. They also help HR by freeing up the time previously spent completing transactions on employees’ behalf.
All-in-one employee management apps help enhance engagement and productivity, provide transparency and offer real-time data. They can be used to automate daily processes, improve time-tracking, assign tasks, provide training resources, store forms, recognize employee achievements and foster two-way communication.
Sample SMART goal: Survey employees to identify cumbersome tasks or processes, then explore apps that can help.
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Keep the Workplace Safe
Unless your workforce is entirely remote, it’s critical to have clear policies in place about safety, whether that’s another pandemic, fires, medical emergencies, or natural disasters, so current and potential employees know what they can expect. That won’t be easy. Not only must employers keep up with changing federal, state and local advisories and regulations beyond OSHA, they must also navigate public opinion.
Beyond taking traditional steps like offering regular safety training, implementing safety technology, and providing mental health resources, it’s important to consider emergent scenarios critically and creatively — and whether policies should opt for correction, incentive, or tactical inaction. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, employers took a range of actions. Delta Airlines, for example, increased health insurance premiums by $200 a month for employees who are unvaccinated and now requires new hires to be vaccinated. Other carriers, including United and Hawaiian Airlines, mandated that all employees be vaccinated. In Florida, Disney reached a deal with its unions to require all Disney World employees to be vaccinated, while Ford requires employees who travel internationally to be vaccinated. Facebook postponed reopening its offices until 2022 and, by doing so, postponed a decision about employees and vaccinations. And so it goes.
If you haven’t done it yet, consider developing your own policies before you have to; California eventually required all employers to have a written COVID-19 prevention plan, along with a strategy for implementing and enforcing it. Points to think through include:
- Should all employees be subject to the same policy?
- How will the company treat employees who are affected by an event? For example, will employees be paid for time missed while they recover or rebuild?
- How will managers be trained to enforce the policy?
- How might a policy impact any collective bargaining agreements in place?
Sample SMART goal: Draft and implement a complete pandemic policy and review it every 60 days to revise as needed.
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Invest in HR Education
Does your company have job descriptions for any of these positions?
- Human bias officer.
- Gig economy manager.
- HR data detective.
- VR immersion counselor.
Odds are, it doesn’t, but these titles are no joke. They are all jobs, among others, that today’s HR executives envision will be needed in the near future, according to The Cognizant Center for Future of Work and Future Workplace.
The bigger point, though, is that HR’s future is likely to look very different from its present. HR leaders and teams can prepare by investing in continuing education and development. Graduate degrees are fine, but learning can also take the form of participation in HR associations and conferences. Books are another resource that can aid in understanding and predicting trends, and there are many podcasts, blogs and other information sources available for free.
The better versed HR members are in every facet of HR present and future, the more credible they become. And who better to model for the organization how to embrace change than HR itself?
Sample SMART goal: Attend a conference and implement at least one change based on what was learned.
Sample SMART goal: Convene weekly meetings of diverse groups of employees to listen to their concerns and ideas.
Set and Manage Goals with HCM Software
Whatever goals an HR team decides to pursue, human capital management (HCM) software can make the process easier throughout the employment life cycle. Among the benefits:
- Consolidation of data. Without a central data source, managers and employees are likely to keep that data in multiple places and in multiple formats. HCM software stores and organizes data in a single place, making access easier.
- Improvement of HR efficiencies. Answering employees’ questions, such as how much accrued vacation time they have available, or administering big projects, such as open enrollment for the company benefit plan, can consume a large portion of an HR professional’s time. HCM software allows employees to answer questions on their own and automates much of benefits enrollment.
- Improving recruiting. In a tight labor market, it’s more important than ever to make it easy (and pleasant) to apply for a job. With HCM software, it’s easier to connect recruiters with candidates. For example, much of the dialogue between the two can now happen via text. This can speed up recruiting efforts.
- Reporting and analytics features. These features make it easier to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and share progress across the organization. This leads to better informed decision-making.
“That vision to have one system and everything integrate with it is holding true,” said Julian Love, chief business officer at St. HOPE Community Schools. “We have that foundation and now we’re scaling.”
HR has always had the dual responsibility of managing a company’s workforce while supporting its larger business objectives. What continues to change are the outside forces reshaping the business landscape — and that holds true for companies of any size. Heading into the new year, HR’s to-do list includes filling open positions, finding common ground among five generations of employees, embracing diversity and using technologies such as automation to work more efficiently.
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HR Goals FAQs
What are some good HR goals?
The best and most powerful HR goals support the organization in reaching its business goals. But these goals must also consider employees’ needs and objectives. HR is charged with seeking the middle ground that suits both sides. For example, good goals may include filling more positions by hiring from within, embracing diversity and inclusion, and automating HR transactions.
What are the 7 major goals of human resources?
Annual HR goals reflect the business challenges of the moment and lay the foundation for the future. But they must also support HR’s core purposes, including:
- Making sure the company complies with all labor laws and regulations that apply to it.
- Hiring quality employees.
- Making sure employees are paid accurately and fairly.
- Administering a competitive benefits package.
- Ensuring employees get the training they need to do their jobs effectively.
- Improving relationships and collaboration in the workplace.
- Advising management on employee-related matters.
What is goal-setting in HR?
Goal-setting is the process of setting objectives, guidelines and other ways to help employees understand the business’s goals and how they have to approach the work. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (i.e., SMART).
What are key HR objectives?
HR objectives must always support organizational objectives, so they vary from one organization to another. Broadly speaking, effective HR organizations work toward five key objectives:
- Define an organizational structure that drives productivity.
- Ensure employees are hired for skills that contribute to meeting wider corporate objectives, and that they are given a framework that helps them succeed.
- Foster an environment that allows the best communication within and between the departments that make up any business.
- Understand how demographic, technological and other important changes affect business.
- Keep the business fully compliant with relevant labor laws and regulations.
