How to Tackle the Biggest Challenges for HR in 2025? Hybrid Approaches and Clear ROI

How to Measure and Justify HR Policies in Difficult Times

Let's call a spade a spade: 2025 won’t be easy for HR. According to AIHR, 60% of HR leaders expect budgets to stay flat or shrink, driven by financial constraints and increasing business demands.??

All this while the employee engagement crisis and cost of living pressures decimate the morale of employees everywhere.?

What does this mean for HR? Careful planning, choosing activities that deliver multiple benefits, and—above all—demonstrating a clear ROI to secure executive buy-in.?

Yes, you’re reading right. Return-On-Investment (ROI) is going to be a staple in the HR dictionary in the coming year.??

And CSR-based teambuilding, along with other purpose-driven HR programmes, are emerging as clear outliers in terms of ROI, especially by addressing the diverse needs of the new generation of employees.?

Combine that with clear environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact and heartwarming stories, and you get the perfect antidote to the HR crisis.?

In other words, by merging purpose with engagement efforts, companies can make the most of limited budgets while still meeting employee expectations for meaningful work.?

HR trends for 2025: Low Engagement, Eco Grief, and The Big Stay

Let’s unpack the current situation in HR. According to People Management, two major trends will shape HR in 2025 alongside tight budgets: the employee engagement crisis and cost-of-living pressures?

These are definitely linked, but other factors, like remote work, mental health issues, and eco-grief, are all at play.?

Studies consistently find that CSR activities positively affect both employee satisfaction and organisational performance?

And as the ‘Big Quit’—a massive post-pandemic wave of resignations and workforce reshuffle—is turning into the ‘Big Stay, employee disengagement and burnout are turning up to be tough challenges.?

Engagement numbers—the metric of emotional and psychological commitment employees feel towards their organisation—are especially worrisome. 2024 Gallup Employee Engagement statistics find that globally, a whopping 77% of employees are disengaged.?

Depending on the organisation, as many as 7 out of the 10 people on the Zoom call might already be mentally checked out or job-hunting. All while the best companies have only about 30% disengagement rate.?

Let that sink in.?

Key Facts: Using Current Solutions for Current Problems

A diverse set of problems require new types of solutions. Luckily, CSR-based teambuilding, like the programmes offered by SolarBuddy LIVE, are purposefully designed to deliver the greatest ROI for the current HR needs.?

Let’s unpack how:?

1. The link between CSR and positive employee metrics is clear:

Research consistently shows that CSR initiatives positively affect both employee satisfaction and organisational performance.?

A systematic review of this link by Nnamdi Joseph from State University of New York found that CSR practices significantly increase engagement and performance. They also foster job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and a deeper sense of purpose among employees.?

Similarly, a 2021 study in the Journal of Business Ethics found that external CSR initiatives are linked to higher employee commitment by boosting job satisfaction.?

This underscores that a targeted CSR approach isn’t just a feel-good measure—it actively supports retention and engagement, two metrics at the core of HR’s biggest challenges.?

2. Showing the value of engagement:

Engagement levels are at record lows and unlikely to rise soon. But why does that matter??

According to a Gallup meta-analysis of over 300 research studies in hundreds of organisations, companies with an engaged workforce:?

• Enhance profits by 21%.?

• Increase productivity by 17%.?

• Reduce absenteeism by 41%.?

• Experience 24%-50% less turnover, depending on whether they are atypically high or low turnover rate businesses.?

• Achieve a 20% increase in sales.?

• Show a 10% improvement in customer ratings.?

3. Addressing unique challenges in the post-pandemic workforce :?

A 2022 study of hybrid software teams found issues with group cohesion, coordination, and distrust, leading to lower job satisfaction. And even though many workers remained as or even more productive in a home office as in the cubicle, productivity paranoia further eroded trust within teams.?

Moreover, 1 in 4 remote workers reported declining social skills in this 2024 study, along with 20% reporting a decline in their mental health and the majority saying they don’t feel connected to their co-workers or community.?

Thus, the benefits of CSR-based teambuilding and corporate volunteering are more important than ever. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology found that corporate volunteering has a meaningful impact on employees, improving their well-being, commitment, and job satisfaction.?

And how do the employees feel? A 2024 Deloitte study found:?

• 87% consider workplace volunteer opportunities a factor in their decision to stay with their current employer or pursue a new one.?

• 91% said volunteer opportunities can have a positive impact on their overall work experience and connection to their employer.?

Try SolarBuddy LIVE’s new virtual purpose-driven teambuilding!?

Help illuminate the futures of millions of children living in energy poverty and build resilient teams, even in home offices.??

Click here for more info!?

4. Helping younger workers is a must:

According to Gallup, Millennial and Gen Z workers in particular, increasingly report feeling disengaged and trapped in their jobs.?

That’s particularly important as by 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce, with Gen Z now beginning their careers. Finding what motivates younger employees should then be high on the company’s radar.?

Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that nearly 90% of Millennials and Gen Z say purpose is key to workplace satisfaction and well-being, with about half having turned down assignments or employers due to personal ethics or beliefs.?

And according to Cone Communications study:?

• 75% of millennial workers would take a pay cut to work for a responsible company (compared to a 55% average)?

• 83% of millennial workers would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues (compared to a 70% average),??

• 88% of millennial workers say their job is more fulfilling when they are provided opportunities to make a positive impact on CSR (compared to a 58% average).?

The trouble calculating the ROI of CSR

These numbers and resources should help link CSR-based teambuilding to clear ROI from an HR perspective. And this is only a start; many other benefits come from focusing on purpose in every aspect of a company’s operations along with the fast-approaching ESG reporting requirements.?

The preferred approach would then be measuring a few key performance indicators (KPIs) to have concrete data about the performance of your selected program.??

SolarBuddy LIVE programmes also come with clear impact statistics and a so-called Social return on investment (SROI) that indicates the external, extra-financial value. In plain terms, it’s a way to measure the social impact of an activity in financial terms.?

Still, these figures need to be taken with a grain of salt. While they support data-driven decisions, HR also involves intangibles like emotional well-being. The soft and touchy-feely.? After all, engagement, satisfaction, fulfillment and well-being are deeply personal feelings with unpredictable nuances.?

As Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos.com (and pioneer of alternative management), puts it, “Just because you can't measure the ROI of something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. What’s the ROI of hugging your mom?”?

SolarBuddy LIVE programmes are supported by real, measurable impact, but people's feelings when they help a child study and play after dark are immeasurable. The fulfilment from connecting directly with those kids, or the knowledge that the light you helped assemble is saving lives, is impossible to convey.?

But whether it’s for the numbers or for the feelings, SolarBuddy LIVE’s purposeful teambuilding programmes are here for you.?

Visit SolarBuddy LIVE for more information.?

Let’s Build Resilient Teams While We Walk Towards a Sustainable Future!?