As people leaders, we face two key challenges as AI changes how we work and live. First, some companies want to cut costs and limit headcount as AI boosts productivity, so they have slowed hiring. At the same time, the world faces a talent shortage over the next five years.
These two forces might feel counterintuitive. We need to navigate the immediate, evolving landscape of AI transformation while also identifying the skills and talent investments that will power future growth. That’s why ServiceNow and research partner Pearson teamed up to create the 2025 Workforce Skills Forecast. The research dives into how agentic AI will transform organizations and what companies need to do today to help people thrive.
What we learned is that the future is still hiring. There will always be ebbs and flows in the labor market—where companies pull back or accelerate hiring to respond to the macroeconomic environment. That’s why disciplined, responsible growth matters. AI is creating entirely new roles, and if we don’t protect and modernize the talent pipeline today, we’ll face even more dramatic shortages tomorrow. The opportunity for companies is clear: Evolve the workforce by empowering people with the skills, courage, and imagination to rethink how work gets done.
The research lays out two possible futures: a "great displacement," in which skills become obsolete faster than people can learn new ones, or a “human renaissance,” in which skills growth accelerates and human creativity takes center stage. Undoubtedly, this is the moment to put people at the center and bring them along on the journey. We need to help them build the skills to thrive in the future.
While some roles will go away, the research shows that many more will evolve or be created. That’s a massive opportunity for business leaders. The rise of agentic AI—AI systems that can act autonomously to achieve goals without constant human guidance—actually unleashes human potential.
Take the example of implementation consultants—one of the roles set to be the most impacted by agentic AI. By 2030, AI agents could save each consultant about 15 hours per week, giving them time for creative thinking, building relationships, and solving complex problems—work only humans can do.
It’s our job as leaders to inspire our people. Rather than fearing the impact of AI, we can empower our employees to do the uniquely human work that matters so much to our organizations.
This fundamental shift means our strategies shouldn’t just plug talent gaps or focus solely on hiring. We must redesign roles and upskill our workforces. Organizations that invest in reskilling employees today will be ready to navigate tomorrow's workforce challenges.
To meet this moment, we need people strategies rooted in purpose, skills, and shared accountability. Our research outlines three clear priorities:
- Reskill and upskill people into evolving roles through personalized, tailored learning pathways.
- Deploy AI agents where they unlock the most value to increase capacity, not cut corners.
- Embed AI governance across the organization because managing AI is now everyone’s job. As employees increasingly work with AI agents, they need the skills to apply AI governance principles to their daily tasks, which will mitigate financial, reputational, and cyber risks.
As leaders, we need to focus on the intersection of AI and talent strategy.
The role of human resources leaders has become even more vital. It’s incumbent on us not just to adapt to transformation, but to lead it. The decisions we make—about roles, learning, governance, and workforce planning—will define the success of our organizations.
We shouldn’t fall for the false choice between controlling costs today and investing in the future. We can do both when we transform the workforce and harness AI to catalyze a new human renaissance. This means shifting the AI conversation toward skills creation, continuous learning, and the collaboration between humans and AI.
I’ve seen the power of bringing people along on this journey. By acting decisively—deploying AI thoughtfully, investing in our people, and prioritizing governance—we can build a resilient workforce that serves as a true catalyst for change.
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