AI, Coaching and Skills-Based Hiring Emerge as Top Workforce Trends at SHRM India 2025

The global HR leaders and experts discussed how emerging technologies and new leadership expectations are reshaping HR roles across industries.

SHRM India Annual Conference & Expo 2025 has highlighted a shift in India’s HR job market, with organisations increasingly seeking professionals skilled in AI-led talent management, leadership coaching, workforce analytics and skills-based hiring practices.

The global HR leaders and experts discussed how emerging technologies and new leadership expectations are reshaping HR roles across industries.

Launch of the “Driving Enterprise Productivity with Agentic AI” report during the conference, signaled rising demand for HR teams familiar with AI-enabled workflows, digital performance tools and data-driven decision-making. Leaders also released “Inside India’s HR Pay Pulse” and the LinkedIn–SHRM Talent Strategy Playbook, outlining new competencies required in compensation design, employer branding and engagement-focused hiring.

Sessions by Microsoft, Zensible, SalarySe and O.C. Tanner underscored the emergence of AI-first HR roles, digital recognition frameworks and skills for managing hybrid, distributed teams. Masterclasses on culture, leadership derailers and skills transformation drew strong participation from early-career HR and L&D professionals.

SHRM India unveiled “The State of Executive Coaching in India,” highlighting growing organisational investment in leadership coaching, succession planning and culture-building programmes. Speakers noted that coaching-led development pathways are becoming central to strengthening mid- and senior-level talent pipelines.