Think about how much the world has changed in just one year. Technology has made huge leaps, and more companies than ever are delivering innovative AI solutions. OpenAI's new AI agent, Operator, recently launched in the USA, has already made a big impression. Johannes Sundlo has tested it.
Here’s a video where Johannes Sundlo talks more about it!
In addition, there was a significant drop in the US stock market on Monday when DeepSeek AI from China was revealed to be much cheaper than its American counterparts, like ChatGPT. If you’re curious about DeepSeek, you can watch the clip from SVT News.
For those of you working with HR, Generative AI offers incredible opportunities—but also the need to accelerate efforts to keep pace with the developments. What an incredibly exciting time we live in 👏🏻
This month's newsletter provides practical tips and insights to help you navigate and prioritize.
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Monthly Column - The Key to Success in 2025: Prioritization
A year ago, in January 2024, I thought the recession would be over by autumn. I also believed AI had reached its peak and that our focus would now solely be on implementing the benefits of Generative AI in HR. The key issues back then were technology, sustainability, skills shortages, and inclusive leadership—along with security, especially in light of NATO membership and the hacker attacks that marked the year.
The outlook from January 2024 turned out to simplify HR’s challenges compared to what we’ve actually faced. It is undoubtedly a complex time for both HR and business leaders.
(Here’s last year’s outlook.)
There’s an enormous amount to do for those of you responsible for employees, whether you’re a CEO, manager, HR specialist, or have another role focused on people. It’s no longer just about knowledge workers—everyone is affected by the changes and needs clear guidance on how we should act going forward.
To last year’s list, which I mentioned above, we can now add several critical challenges for 2025. These include managing the pay transparency directive’s demands for changes, the rapidly accelerating AI development that demands our attention, a deepening recession, and the growing skills gaps that are becoming more and more critical.
In 2025, HR must play a central role in the organization’s strategic work. It’s time to seriously leverage AI and data analytics to create real value—not just through efficiency, but also through innovation and long-term support for decision-making. At the same time, we need to get better at identifying and assessing global trends and adapting them to our local needs so we don’t fall behind in the development. It’s essential to question old ways of working and dare to think differently.
Furthermore, we’re now seeing AI agents make major strides forward. ChatGPT’s new Operator, recently launched, is just one example of how fast development is moving and how it could impact our working lives.
In November’s newsletter, I promised to share my tips for 2025 this time. In December, I published an article with my advice for HR on HRnytt, but after a bit of holiday break and time for reflection, I’ve updated it slightly and added a crucial point that I want to highlight first:
As I mentioned earlier, there are far too many areas critical to focus on in 2025 to avoid falling behind or losing ground to competitors. At the same time, resources are limited, which makes prioritization absolutely essential. How is your organization planning to set the right focus and continuously evaluate the plan in relation to reality? What’s most important for you to invest in with the resources you have?
Activity: Say no and say yes. Document and demand more resources if time is insufficient for what needs to be done.
When setting your goals for 2025, make sure to also tie them to a larger vision for 2030. It’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day and miss out on the long-term. A long-term direction creates clarity, momentum, and energy.
Activity: Gather the team to formulate three concrete goals aimed at 2030. Define the first step to reach them, and set time aside in the calendar for follow-up. Appoint an owner to drive the work forward. 10-20% of your time should be dedicated to long-term goals.
Use technology to solve concrete challenges: identify patterns in employee data, automate tasks, or improve decision-making. Start small—tools like ChatGPT & CoPilot are a good starting point. You also need to keep track of the data that your AI services are using.
Activity: Each individual in the team selects one process or area where AI can make a difference. Test and evaluate together in the team.
Digitalization and AI require new skills. Conduct a skills assessment of the team and see where you need to strengthen your abilities. Small educational initiatives can have a quick impact and create confidence in the change process.
Activity: Set your learning plan for 2025 with a focus on AI and digital understanding. Choose training programs that provide practical activities for you to use directly.
Cross-functional collaboration is key to innovation. HR, IT, and finance can together create smart solutions that benefit the entire organization.
Activity: Schedule a meeting with other departments to identify common goals and learn from each other.
To know where you’re going, you need to understand where you stand today. A review of your systems, processes, and skills will give you clear insights into what’s working well and what needs development—and what you should prioritize.
Activity: Seek help from an external expert who dares to challenge the current situation and provide new perspectives. An independent analysis offers valuable insights and creates a clear roadmap forward.
I hope the advice above helps you with your plans for the year. Feel free to book a time with me if you’d like advice and support in your work.
Let me know if you need any changes or more context!
In addition to the two news items you found in the introduction, 2025 has started strong with both new reports and interesting events.
BCG Reports that Sweden is Behind in AI
Once again, a report points out that we are lagging behind. Only 18% of knowledge workers in Sweden use Generative AI compared to 54% in Europe and 61% globally. Those of us using GenAI in Sweden are also less effective or getting less out of it. In Sweden, we report saving 2.6 hours per week, whereas the European average reports 5.3 hours 🫣
This time, the report mentions that the entire Nordic region is low in its usage, not just Sweden.
You can find the report here.
Fosway and Unleash's "HR Realities 2024" Study
Fosway Group has just released interesting insights for Europe. "Less than a third of HR professionals believe their HR systems are suited for the modern workforce, which affects key areas like feedback and recognition. At the same time, many HR leaders are investing in AI, a technology that has now left its infancy, to drive employee experience and productivity."
At the same time, "Upskilling HR teams" is ranked very low on the list, which surprises me since "availability of skills" generally tops the list of business challenges. Read the full report via this link.
Josh Bersin Shares Thoughts on Recruitment Strategies for 2025
Länk till artikeln!
Thanks to Simployer for this well-rounded article!
Wise Consulting's Outlook on HR 2025
Thanks to Wise Consulting AB and Fredrik Färm.
Link to the article here!
World Economic Forum & Future of Jobs Report
Each year the WEF publishes its view on jobs and the future. I’ve shared a summary via the link.
New Swedish HR-Tech Startup in Strategic Workforce Planning & People Analytics
Empley is a new Swedish AI startup in strategic workforce planning, aiming to help companies become more proactive in their HR work and reduce unnecessary personnel costs.
Founded by experienced entrepreneurs from companies like Ericsson and Volvo, the platform offers AI-driven skills planning that simplifies forecasting and analysis of future staffing needs. With an intuitive interface designed for HR professionals without data science expertise, complex data modeling and simulations become easy and accessible.
“We want to make it easy for HR to use data to create better workplaces,” says Sandra Loorents, co-founder of Empley.
Talendary Announces New Investors
AI company Talendary, which revolutionizes how recruiters screen, search, and deliver top talent in record time, is expanding with new investments.
Link to read more!
New Funding for Klang.ai
Helsingborg-based startup Klang.AI, which offers a SaaS solution for AI-driven transcription of interviews and meetings, has raised an additional 3 million SEK in funding from business angels.
Link to read more!
Blocket Sells Its Job Platform Jobbsafari to Finnish Company
"Finnish Duunitori Group acquires Jobbsafari: “Doubling our traffic.”
With Jobbland, Keeparo, and Jobbsafari, Duunitori now offers the best comprehensive solution on the market for both job seekers and employers.
Ledigajobb.se Receives Investment
In December, it was announced that Ledigajobb.se received an investment of 20 million SEK from Vitec to scale its operations. The site has been performing very well recently, attracting many new users—both job seekers and employers. Along with this, new employees were recruited from the recently shut down Blocket Jobb.
Uniplay Wants Corporate Training to Be as Fun as a Game
In December, HR startup Uniplay introduced a new option for internal corporate training materials: the world’s first Learning Management System (LMS) entirely built on games, where each task becomes an adventure and every learning moment is designed to capture and maintain employees' interest.
Uniplay’s AI-driven platform transforms corporate training materials into interactive and engaging game experiences employees can access directly from their mobile phones.
Edtech Company Kognity Focuses Exclusively Outside Sweden
According to CEO Hugo Wernhoff, Sweden’s decentralized school structure and “fluffy” curricula are not the best foundation for digital learning materials. Instead, they have focused on the US, China, and other large markets where their platform can make the most impact.
Link to read more!
Katarina Berg Leaves Spotify
She is a veteran and one of the key figures at Spotify. But now HR Director Katarina Berg has announced that she will be leaving the company after nearly a decade and a half. "Katarina's leadership has been crucial," commented CEO and founder Daniel Ek to Brekit.
Feel free to listen to the interview with Katarina in the HR Digitalization Podcast about Spotify’s modern and innovative HR practices.
A Bit of Perspective: Our Nordic Companies are Successful!
In January, an article from The Economist was published, looking at four reasons why Swedish companies are successful (despite our low level of digitalization).
1. Nordic entrepreneurs, just like their Viking ancestors, venture abroad. "Our small size is a blessing in that it makes an international perspective mandatory."
2. Nordic companies have long been enthusiastic about new technology. Just after WWII, the founder of Lego switched from wood to plastic after trying out a new plastic molding machine. That spirit remains today. The Nordic passion for technology is also evident in the region’s thriving startup scene.
3. Government policy, in general, is another factor behind the success of Nordic companies. Although high tax rates fund generous welfare systems across the Nordics, corporate taxes are about the same as in the US.
Today's Nordic entrepreneurs may be less afraid to take risks, knowing that if they fail, they have access to generous unemployment benefits and well-functioning public health and education systems.
4. Patient shareholders: According to consulting firm McKinsey, four-fifths of large Nordic companies have long-term ownership, compared to three-fifths in Europe and only one-fifth in the US.
Read more here!
🇸🇪 First networking event for "HR Tech Network 2025" – for those responsible for your digital HR environment – on February 3, 2025, in Stockholm. 🍀
🇸🇪 Course on February 5-6, 2025, in Stockholm: HR Tech & AI for HR Professionals together with Thomas Eklöf. 🍀
🇬🇧 🇸🇪 Wednesday Lunch in Stockholm on February 12 🥣. Sign up on my LinkedIn page. 🍀
🇬🇧 🇸🇪 HR Tech Europe in Amsterdam, March 4-5. More info on their page.
Want to attend for free? Contact me here on LinkedIn or via email at anna.carlsson@hrdigi.se.
January has now passed – a quiet month for me, but soon the event pace will pick up. As usual, I list events with an innovation and tech focus. Many marketing teams are currently preparing to launch their activities, so we’ll likely see more events on the list next month.
🇬🇧 February 20-21, 2025 – Stockholm – Techarenan Summit
A fantastic tech event! Not HR-focused but incredibly inspiring.
Link to the event here!
🇸🇪 March 25 – April 8, 2025 – Digital – HR loves 💜 Tech & AI
Link to the event here!
🇸🇪 April 2-3, 2025 – Stockholm – HR Tech & AI for HR Professionals
Link to the event here!
🇸🇪 September 17-18, 2025 – Stockholm – Learning Conference
Link to the event here!
🇬🇧 March 4-5 – Amsterdam – HR Tech Europe
Contact me if you want to attend for FREE (if you're not an HR director). anna.carlsson@hrdigi.se 💌
Link to the event here!
🇬🇧 April 23-24 – London – HR Tech & Learning Technologies UK
A highly recommended event, according to an industry colleague. Two events in one – two different links:
🔗 HR Technologies UK
🔗 Learning Technologies UK
🇬🇧 September 16-18 – Las Vegas – HR Tech Global
THE event of the year – always!
Link to the event here!
🇬🇧 October 21-22 – Paris – Unleash World
Link to the event here!
The goal of this newsletter is to cover news in the HR Tech market, digitalization, and innovation for leadership and HR. It also includes updates on episodes from the HR Digitalization Podcast.
My name is Anna Carlsson, and I’m a curious HR Tech analyst with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of business, people, and technology. I believe that technology is not a side activity within HR—digitalization is fundamental to creating a more people-centered workplace.
My passion is to lead the movement for the future of HR by co-creating it with clients and colleagues while educating and developing organizations and individuals.
I run HR Digi, which includes the HR Digitalization Podcast, where I also serve as the host. At HR Digi, we offer advisory services, consulting support, training, and inspiration to help build modern digital organizations.
I’m also honored to be named one of the Top 100 HR Tech Influencers for 2024 👏🏻
👉 Book a virtual coffee with me, and let’s discuss how I can support your work!
Jag behöll all information och stil men gjorde texten mer naturlig och flytande på engelska. Låt mig veta om du vill justera något! 😊
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