Keeping Pace, Staying Nimble: Leadership Predictions for 2024

The start of the new year is an opportune moment for business leaders to take stock of the successes (and failures) behind us and anticipate the challenges yet to come. Whatever your field, this year promises to be pivotal. Tech is advancing at a rapid pace. The needs of workplaces are evolving and shifting. Embracing change is a new necessity.

Strength comes from seeing the road ahead. As we look forward, I’ve outlined four bedrock redefining predictions for workforce leaders in 2024.

Prediction #1: Leaders will flex their transformative muscles in a make-or-break moment for driving organizational change.

In the context of a rapidly changing world, leaders are being tested as never before. There is a pressing need to shepherd multiple, overlapping, and typically messy transformations – and often simultaneously. To thrive, leaders must embody agility and work alongside their teams to guide them toward embracing new skills, strategies, and frameworks. 

Collaborative, nimble decision-making and organizational shifts require new leadership capabilities. High performing leadership teams differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack by adopting several simple but effective ways of working: 

• Take time to make sense of the world. Be the calm in the eye of the storm, with clear reasoning for business objectives and strategy shifts.  

• Set radical ambitions. Don’t just keep pace — aim for goals that lay ahead of the curve.   

• Achieve promised outcomes. Deliver on both internal evolution and external products.

• Act as a catalyst. Connect teams, skills, and technologies to drive accomplishments as an organization.  

• Power the engines. Lead a culture shift that restores and creates personal and organizational energy, with leaders acting as employee zero.  

Prediction #2: Adding onto PwC’s 2024 AI Business Predictions, AI will be integrated into the entire talent lifecycle and change as both a tool for recruitment and a required skill for those being hired.

As it becomes increasingly widespread, AI—particularly GenAI, but also other forms of deep learning—will impact every aspect of the talent lifecycle, including workforce planning, recruiting, talent development, and legal compliance. Many leaders will look for a balance between hiring external AI-competent talent and building internal AI competency through upskilling. 

GenAI is positioned to power workforce transformation at scale, democratize access to digital capabilities and skills, and free up time for the workforce to focus on more strategic work. Human-led, tech-powered talent teams will likely begin exploring ways to augment their capacity through AI-driven tools in the following areas:

• Sourcing and Recruitment. Automate candidate screening, parse résumés, and analyze skills to identify top candidates.  

• Skill Development and Training. Personalize programs using intelligent algorithms to identify skill gaps, recommend relevant learning resources, and provide adaptive learning experiences.  

• Performance Management. Analyze large volumes of data to provide real-time feedback and insights, as well as identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement. 

• Employee Engagement and Retention. Perform sentiment analysis to identify potential issues and predict attrition. 

• HR Service Delivery. Act as the first point of contact, consolidate knowledge management, and provide personal recommendations based on company programs and policies. 

Prediction #3: CHROs will grab the leadership spotlight by driving operational successes that free up cash for re-investment in the business—emerging as true heroes in the boardroom. 

CHROs will finally lay claim to their stake in boardroom by driving HR efficiency, enhancing the workforce experience, and increasing company cash flow through benefits optimization, employer tax efficiencies, and use of GenAI.  

Working with operation and business leaders, CHROs will better manage the workforce “balance sheet”. By identifying areas where operational expenditures can be reduced, CHROs will both return profit to the bottom line and re-invest in the workforce experience. This year, leaders will move from idea to action and solidify their win on the talent battlefield by using the following forward-thinking strategies:

• Understanding employee preferences regarding rewards allows leaders to redirect investment away from high-cost, low-valued rewards towards the perks and benefits that employees actually desire. 

• Focusing on overall employee experience makes work more meaningful, cultures more inclusive, and workplaces more tailored. Emphasizing holistic support around rewards and well-being creates cohesive and stable teams.  

Prediction #4: Employers will ease up on the obsession with “return-to-office" policies — and they’ll retain better workers because of it.  

High-functioning workplace strategies will no longer use flexible or hybrid work as a perk. Instead, leading organizations will determine onsite, hybrid, and remote roles based on operational, strategic, and talent objectives, along with the stated preferences of their teams. Different ways of working will be considered part of total rewards and benefits.

While organizations will continue to evaluate the efficacy of their workplace policies and adjust based on employee feedback and evolving business needs, hybrid will become a permanent way of working as:

• Jobs that can be done remotely or hybrid will benefit from higher competition between more qualified candidates, attracting deeper talent.

• Arbitrary mandates for workers to be in-office on certain days will diminish, replaced by fit-for-purpose strategies linked to desired business outcomes. 

• Culture will drive these decisions. As outcomes, strategy, and results improve in hybrid environment, the value of flexible work will be recognized and solidified.

Leadership is changing at a pace driven by transformation, tech and talent. As the world gets faster and more fragmented, the call for leaders who can act and think quickly and soundly grows louder.

Are you ready to see how you can transform your workforce in 2024? Learn more about getting your workforce to full force.

About the Author

Anthony Abbatiello is a Partner at PwC and leads the human capital consulting business, Workforce Transformation, for the firm. He brings over 25 years of P&L management, leadership consulting, and human capital experience to advise senior clients in all industries, working as a trusted advisor to senior executive performance, transformational leadership, and succession management.