What are HR leaders focused on right now? We caught up with many of them at the recent Gartner HR Symposium in London. Here are four dilemmas which are keeping them awake at night — and what we'd suggest to ease their insomnia.
01
With the Pay Transparency Directive coming into effect from June 2026 across Europe, HR leaders at the conference were focused on getting ready – with many acutely aware that there is significant work to be done in the next few months.
Gender pay gaps remain widespread in many European companies. The directive seeks to shine a bright light on pay, with the hope that transparency will lead to equal pay for equal work.
Pay transparency legislation is an important force seeking to drive equity in the workplace. To prepare for greater transparency, companies must first establish a solid foundation. It's essential for organizations to define their long-term vision for pay transparency — clarifying how open they intend to be and what that journey looks like. Keep up to date with the latest legislation.
Job leveling, a key component of pay transparency, was a hot topic with delegates. As every HR team is aware, there is so much time and resource required to ensure there is both fairness and consistency across an organization. Senior stakeholders were keen to explore ways in which efficiencies could be found to save time and focus on higher-value activities. It was not a surprise therefore that the tool most people wanted to see in action was our automated job leveling tool that we have been using successfully with clients for more than two years, and which takes the process from hours of work down to minutes. Read more about automated job leveling.
02
Employers are nervous to talk to employees about their rewards. Why? Company leaders are concerned that they will create false expectations that their people will expect to receive more benefits.
Employers should not be afraid to discuss what's on offer. In fact, these conversations can bring unexpected and valuable insights, as well as lifts in engagement and retention. Surprisingly often, employees are unaware of many of their existing benefits and appreciate the chance to learn more.
If you're an employer in this situation, start off by gauging people's understanding of what they already have. Then, ask them what benefits they most value, what else would they value — and what means little to them?
Their answers may surprise you. One group of employees we recently worked with simply wanted more time with their managers – a no-cost item for the employer.
You're not alone. As cost pressures for businesses intensify, 54% of businesses in Europe intend to conduct a smart rebalancing of their total rewards portfolio to better align to what their people really value, over the next three years.
If you're a multinational employer and plan to ask your people what matters most to them, be sure to segment answers from country to country. One of our clients discovered a long-term benefit was a top priority among its Slovakian employees, but bottom of the list in the Philippines.
It's these kinds of revelations which can improve the efficiency of your benefits spend. And such insights can only come from asking your people what matters to them. Find out more about managing benefits strategically in the WTW Benefits Trends Survey 2025.
Employers who are nervous about constructing communications or a benefits survey — particularly those with larger, multinational workforces – may find it helpful to work with a trusted third party.
Find out how ING, Mars and Bosch found out what really mattered to their employees, and then adjusted their reward spends accordingly.
03
Technology is helping HR leaders to grow more sophisticated in how they use data. Talent flow analysis was top of mind for several employers we spoke to at the conference. It helps employers understand what companies they are hiring from and where they are losing people to when they leave.
Harnessing the power of talent flow analysis gives employers several strategic advantages in talent management. First, it shows employers if they are sourcing from too small a pool. Second, it shows who they are competing with for talent, giving them a vital benchmark for their employee value proposition — pay, benefits and employee experience. Third, it's a valuable source of intelligence for employers: what's tempting people away from their organization? What can they do differently to keep talented employees from turning into regrettable losses?
As an employer, the first step is to start conducting the analysis. External data and outside expertise may help employers to get this right.
Once you have a clear view of your company's talent flow, you can design on a targeted set of next steps. Which elements of your value proposition are attracting and engaging people? What elements are they leaving your organization to find elsewhere? This data helps you focus your effort, optimizing your spend and the return you get on those practical changes that make the biggest impact.
04
Last but my no means least, AI was another of the major themes at the conference. The technology is creating fear in society; will it render many people in the workforce obsolete?
At WTW, we believe that we're at a pivotal moment for AI. Together, we have the power to harness AI as a powerful force for elevating human creativity and potential. To put the right building blocks in place for the future, leaders must make wise choices today about where AI is being applied, the pace of adoption and the guardrails we need to ensure safe, effective usage.
AI should not be seen as a replacement for human roles, but as a tool to augment the way we work, both within HR teams and across businesses. The key is to identify where AI can make otherwise time-intensive manual processes more streamlined — it's about augmentation more than replacement.
AI will help HR teams with their burdensome, repeatable tasks. It will also help organizations move from using complicated, disconnected systems to a single, seamless approach. This will leave HR teams with more time to think strategically and shape their overarching employee experience.
AI will also help business leaders to make prescient choices today. The technology can support business leaders as they plan for a vast array of different future scenarios in the uncertain world in which we live. So really, instead of feeling daunted by the future, AI should give us reasons to feel optimistic. Still unsure? Talk to us about practical steps for getting started on your HR AI journey.
Hopefully this shift in perspective, along with the other ideas we've suggested in this article, will help HR leaders to sleep more soundly at night.
