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2024 has been a year of both challenges and triumphs in the HR landscape. As we approach the end of the year, it's a perfect time to reflect on our experiences and set intentions for the year ahead.
As 2024 draws to a close, let's take a moment to reflect on the year that was. The HR landscape has seen significant shifts, shaped by evolving technologies, economic trends, and changing workforce expectations. From the rise of AI and automation to the increasing importance of employee wellbeing, this year has been a period of adaptation and innovation.
Here is a little roundup of some of the trends that we saw this year in Singapore, Malaysia, and across the wider APAC region:
Hybrid and remote work
With the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests in effect on 1 December 2024, many organisations are starting to embrace a hybrid and remote work model to accommodate diverse employee needs and improve work-life balance
AI & automation
AI-powered tools are revolutionising HR, from streamlining recruitment and onboarding to enhancing performance management. As work dynamics shift, so do employee expectations and the tools they rely on. 2024 has witnessed significant advancements in how technology is integrated into talent management strategies. These innovations have directly contributed to boosting employee engagement and overall organisational success.
Furthermore, organisations in 2024 are utilising gen AI to enhance their human-centric practices in many areas of its’ people practices.
Employee wellbeing and mental health
Singapore has seen a growing awareness of mental health as of late. Despite lingering stigma, more individuals are seeking professional help, encouraged by government initiatives and a wider range of mental health services. These efforts aim to improve access to care and alleviate the burden of mental illness within the community. Government initiatives such as the Wellbeing Champions Network in Singapore and the National Strategic Plan for Mental Health 2020 – 2025 in Malaysia.
Other initiatives that are more widely recognised across the APAC region also include employee assistance programmes, which provide employees confidential counselling and support services.
Talent acquisition and retention
As new technologies and advanced digital tools emerge rapidly, businesses now have the resources to transform their HR teams. The demand for skilled talent, particularly in tech and digital roles, remains high, leading to intense competition for top talent.
In addition, organisations, this year, are focusing on creating positive employee experiences and highlighting their unique culture and values.
Sustainability
In 2024, sustainability has emerged as a key focus for organisations across the APAC region. HR departments have played a crucial role in driving these initiatives, aligning their strategies with broader corporate sustainability goals
As we embark on 2025, the HR landscape continues to evolve. In this mini-feature, Sarah Gideon speaks with a few industry experts to uncover the one HR trend that their organisations are eager to building on in the coming year.
Tommy Loy, Head of People and Capability, KAS Group Asia
With the ongoing demand for specialised digital skills, global leadership as well as increasing attrition and mismatched expectations, talent scarcity is only getting more challenging day by day. That’s why HR leaders are driving the transformation of becoming a skills-based organisation that recognises the importance of human potential, learning agility and not just past experience.
The most important HR skills in 2025 are likely to reflect the demands of such rapidly changing business environment, with an emphasis on agility, continuous learning, data-driven decision-making, technology, diversity and relationship management. Only by focusing on these competencies, can organisations then build a resilient and future-ready workforce.
Cher Whee Sim, Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition and Talent Mobility, Micron Technology
Skilling strategy towards a skills-based organisation: In 2025, we aim to build on the trend of maximising impact through our organisation. This strategy emphasises continuous learning and adaptability, ensuring our workforce is equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in a dynamic business environment.
By integrating skilling capabilities into our end-to-end talent process—from recruitment and onboarding to development and succession planning—we can create a more agile, resilient, and innovative organisation. This holistic approach will enable us to attract, develop, and retain top talent, driving sustained success and growth.
Ilja Rijnen, Senior Director, Global Learning & Leadership, Suntory Global Spirits
In 2025, I’m particularly excited about advancing the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into HR processes. AI has the potential to revolutionise recruitment, employee engagement, and talent development by automating routine tasks and providing data-driven insights.
This allows HR professionals to focus more on strategic initiatives and fostering a human-centric workplace culture. Embracing AI responsibly will be key to enhancing efficiency and employee satisfaction in the evolving HR landscape.
Jennifer Yuan, HRBP VP, APAC, UPS
It (2025) will be about applying gen AI into the HR work. Right now, we are looking at it not only for HR, but also how it can be applied in our daily processes for our employees, so HR and other functions are receiving the training on the job. But for HR teams, we will emphasise on application.
We will use tools such as learning and the data coaching for our HR team to help them upskill themselves on the gen AI part, and see how they can help us to relook at our HR processes so we can leverage the right data in order to make critical decisions based that are better informed than before.
So this is a big investment from the organisation.
Stanley Tok, GM HR/ Agile Transformation, M1
HR is getting increasingly digital, and what is surprising is that the rate of change and a lot of things that we did not expect have started to materialise without us even knowing it. So, I see us going much more into automation for the very reason of being more productive and more efficient, and of course, reducing the cost to the business as well.
With more tools in the market, it is important to be curious about what's happening, always be outward-looking, be looking for opportunities, and not be closed off to changes or disruptions.
Interviewees' photos: Provided
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