HR Competencies for 2025 – A Future Standard | AIHR Digital

As HR practitioners evolve their skills, this article outlines four critical capabilities that any HR professional needs to perform well in their role. It begins with the premise that “most successful HR professionals have a T-shaped profile–where there is a generalist’s understanding of the core HR competencies as well as specialist’s knowledge. Said differently, there are broad skills (the horizontal part of the T) and deep expertise (the vertical part of the T). The four aspects of the horizontal part include: 1) Data-driven – the ability to read, apply, create, and communicate data into valuable information to influence decision-making processes. 2) Business acumen –  translate the organization’s purpose, mission, goals, and business context into strategy, positioning HR policies and activities to serve the organization’s best interests, 3) Digital integration – leverage technology to increase efficiency and drive HR and business value. 4) People advocate – the ability to build a strong internal culture, communicate skillfully, get the best out of people, and act as a trusted employee champion. For the data-driven-component, additional behavioral examples are provided. These skills are needed now (vs 2025), and the article provides a useful framework that can aid HR skill development.