McKinsey’s HR Monitor report shows that the HR function stands at a turning point: from functional excellence to system-level transformation.
Based on a survey of approximately 1,300 HR professionals and 5,500 employees across Europe, the United States, and China, the report explores how AI and automation are rapidly reshaping how work gets done and which skills are required. It identifies five priority changes leaders must embrace in the age of human–AI collaboration, spanning strategic workforce planning, hiring effectiveness, employee development, employee experience, and the emergence of agentic HR operating models. The shift toward AI-enabled, agentic organisations represents the greatest opportunity the people function has had in decades, but structural and capability barriers prevent scaling.
