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HR Priorities Shift in 2025: Leadership Development and Retention Take Center Stage, Says New HR Trends Report from McLean & Company

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A new report from McLean & Company, one of the world’s leading HR research and advisory firms, highlights the critical priorities for HR organizations in 2025. The firm’s research reveals that leadership development, employee retention, and cost management are essential focus areas for HR as organizations adapt to shifting economic conditions and evolving workforce expectations. These priorities reflect HR’s growing role in driving organizational success and navigating the challenges of the future of work. 

TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – As HR leaders seek to prepare their teams and organizations for a future defined by rapid technological advancements, shifting organizational priorities, and an uncertain economic landscape, they are increasingly challenged to identify the most critical areas of focus that will support long-term organizational success. To provide HR leaders with guidance as they navigate the future of work, McLean & Company’s recently published HR Trends Report 2025 offers data-backed insights into the top five priorities for HR in 2025. The new report emphasizes that recruitment has been displaced as HR’s top priority for the first time in five years, replaced by developing leaders and reflecting a growing emphasis on internal talent cultivation and cost-effective workforce strategies.

The annual report draws on insights from 779 HR and business professionals across diverse industries and regions, including North America (84%), Europe (6%), Asia (4%), Oceania (2%), Latin America (2%), Africa (2%), and Middle East (1%). Respondents’ industries included manufacturing, finance and insurance, healthcare and social assistance, educational services, public administration, retail trade, construction, transportation and warehousing, professional, scientific, and technical services, and more. The wide scope of feedback highlights the critical role HR plays in preparing organizations for the unpredictable future.

“It is time to push the boundaries of HR’s comfort zone. HR leaders have a unique opportunity to redefine their impact in 2025 by prioritizing leadership development and retention,” says Will Howard, practice lead, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. “These areas not only address immediate organizational needs but also lay the foundation for long-term growth by ensuring a strong internal talent pipeline.”

In the report, McLean & Company outlines the top five priorities for HR in 2025, as detailed below:

Developing Leaders. Leadership development ranks as HR’s foremost priority in 2025. HR’s effectiveness at developing leaders has an immense impact on financial outcomes like optimizing costs and growing revenues. The case for increasing investments in HR’s ability to develop leaders is clear, with research revealing that organizations excelling in this area are 1.9 times more likely to be high performing at achieving strategic goals and objectives and 1.7 times more likely to be high performing at revenue growth.

Retaining Employees. Employee retention is a new addition to the firm’s reporting and ranked exceptionally high on the list of critical HR priorities as organizations shift focus from external recruitment to strengthening internal talent pools, helping to mitigate high turnover costs. The report’s findings point to strategic listening as integral to delivering on HR’s second and fourth priorities in 2025 – retention and the employee experience. Despite the important role employee listening plays in retention, few organizations are listening to the employee voice strategically. McLean & Company’s new report spotlights that only 23% of organizations have a formal employee listening strategy, emphasizing the need for HR organizations to take steps to improve in this area.

Controlling Labor Costs. Labor cost management remains a key priority amid continued economic pressures, prompting HR to adopt strategic workforce planning and cost-optimization measures. As explained in the firm’s report, being strategic about total rewards is key to controlling labor costs. When HR has a formal total rewards strategy, they are 1.9 times more likely to be highly effective at controlling labor costs and maximizing the value of labor spend compared to those with no total rewards strategy. Labor costs are often the organization’s biggest expense, making a total rewards strategy essential to ensuring investments are directed in a controlled and impactful way.

Enhancing Employee Experience. Providing a positive employee experience remains critical in maintaining engagement and productivity. McLean & Company’s trends report notes that when used in HR, AI enhances key employee experience outcomes, including talent acquisition, the candidate experience, talent management, and learning & development. Though AI adoption within HR is increasing, there is still much progress to be made, with only 42% of HR respondents indicating they have implemented AI in HR. This is an indicator that HR must continue to work to elevate its data and technology skills, which will significantly impact the employee experience.

Recruitment. For the first time in five years, recruitment is no longer the top priority for HR in 2025. This drop in priority suggests that organizations may be shifting priorities to emphasize important areas like leadership development, where effectiveness has stalled over the past several years. However, recruitment continues to play a vital role in addressing talent gaps and building organizational capacity. The firm’s research findings explain that pay transparency is improving recruiting effectiveness, with organizations that have or are working on improving pay transparency being 18% more likely to report they are highly effective at recruiting compared to those who have not increased pay transparency.

“By addressing these priorities and leveraging data-driven strategies, HR can demonstrate its value as a clear strategic partner, ensuring organizations are well-positioned to navigate future challenges,” explains Howard.

In addition to HR’s top five priorities in 2025, the new report from McLean & Company spotlights key trends that will inform the way HR plans and prepares for the future of work:

Human Leadership in a Complex Digital World.AI Transformation in HR. Navigating Multiple Threats to Wellbeing. Emerging Trends.

McLean & Company advocates that delivering on HR’s top priorities requires elevating HR’s data and technology skills, noting that increasing HR’s data literacy skills will enable HR to drive effective decision-making and deliver on their top priorities. HR must also be prepared to use technology for data-driven insights and guide its implementation to ensure people-informed technology implementation in 2025 and beyond.

For more in-depth details regarding the HR trends in 2025, please visit the official HR Trends Report 2025 press release.

To access the full report, which offers comprehensive insights into these priorities and trends, along with actionable recommendations for HR leaders as they guide their organizations through a new year of possibilities, please contact ktame@infotech.com.

To register for McLean & Company’s free upcoming CHRO panel, Leading the Way: CHRO Perspectives on Emerging HR Trends for 2025, on February 13, 2025, at 1 PM ET | 10 AM PT, please visit the official registration page.

Media interested in accessing full research insights or connecting with McLean & Company analysts for exclusive, research-backed insights and commentary on HR Trends in 2025, HR’s critical role in digital transformation, and the future of work, and more can contact Communications Manager Katie Tame at ktame@infotech.com.

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company pairs evidence-based research and immediately applicable tools with deep HR expertise to position organizations to meet today’s needs and prepare for the future. The global HR research and advisory firm’s member organizations enjoy comprehensive resources, full-service diagnostics, workshops, action plans, and advisory services for all levels of HR professionals, from executive leadership to HR leaders to HR team members, that help shape workplaces where everyone thrives.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.
Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm’s Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact ktame@infotech.com.

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SOURCE McLean & Company

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Trive Capital Announces Sale of EarthLink

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DALLAS, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Trive Capital (“Trive”) is pleased to announce that it has closed on the sale of EarthLink, LLC (“EarthLink” or the “Company”) to a family office consortium consisting of WaveDivision Capital (“Wave”), The Pritzker Organization (“TPO”) and Stephens Capital Partners (“SCP”), in partnership with EarthLink’s management team. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, EarthLink is one of the largest internet service providers in the United States, serving over 500,000 internet and managed services customers nationwide. Through partnerships with several of the nation’s largest fiber and 5G providers, EarthLink has built an asset-light, nationwide network that can offer fiber internet service to more than 68 million homes.

Since Trive’s investment in EarthLink in 2018 as part of a corporate carveout, the Company has transformed from a legacy DSL and email business in precipitous decline to an asset-light connectivity platform serving over 500,000 consumers and small businesses nationwide. The Company has grown and will continue to grow based on its expanded fiber and 5G internet solutions and commitment to customer service for consumers and small businesses.

Shravan Thadani, Partner at Trive, stated, “EarthLink has been a true partnership between management and Trive in every sense of the word. The team built a differentiated, asset-light platform that gives consumers and small businesses real choice in how they get connected, and did so while standing up every function of the platform outside of its former, public parent. We are proud to have been a part of such an iconic brand’s journey and will continue to support Wave, TPO and SCP as they work with management to accelerate growth in the coming years.”

“During our partnership with Trive, we have taken one of the most trusted brands in the internet space and turned it into a trusted option for consumers and small businesses nationwide,” commented Glenn Goad, Chief Executive Officer of EarthLink. “As internet access has become one of the most important utilities in a consumer’s life, EarthLink has a renewed focus on making it easier for our customers to access the best internet options at affordable prices. Trive was critically important through and after the carve-out, and we are excited to partner with Wave, TPO and SCP to continue to grow EarthLink alongside our trusted fiber and 5G partners. Our collective goal remains the same: to provide the right technology at the right price, supported by a world-class customer experience.”

About EarthLink

EarthLink is an internet service provider offering fiber and 5G internet solutions for homes and businesses nationwide. With a focus on dependable connectivity, flexible plans, and customer-focused service, EarthLink provides broadband options designed to meet the needs of modern households and businesses. EarthLink is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and serves over 500,000 customers. To learn more, visit earthlink.net.

About Trive Capital

Trive Capital is a Dallas, Texas based private equity firm with more than $8 billion of regulatory assets under management. Trive focuses on investing equity and debt in what it sees as strategically viable middle-market companies with the potential for transformational upside through operational improvement.

The Trive team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals who have been involved in over 250 middle-market transactions representing in excess of $10 billion in revenue across Trive’s targeted industry sectors and situations.

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SOURCE Trive Capital

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Rondo Energy and Rio Tinto Advance Australia’s Largest Thermal Energy Storage Project

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GLADSTONE, Australia, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rondo Energy and Rio Tinto have started front-end engineering and design on the project for a 360 MWh storage / 30 MW discharge Rondo Heat Battery, supported by a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

ARENA’s funding for the project will be provided in stages, with an initial $3.6 million to complete front-end engineering and design work. Following successful completion of that study, ARENA will provide up to $38 million for deployment. ARENA has also approved up to $33.3 million in conditional contingency support, which would only be made available in defined circumstances to manage specific project risks, including cost overruns and electricity costs. 

If progressed, the project would be delivered at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery near Gladstone, Queensland and would be one of the first large-scale demonstrations of thermal energy storage for industrial process heat globally, and a world-first for the alumina industry.

Rondo Heat Batteries use abundant, low-cost midday electricity to charge, storing energy as high-temperature heat in refractory brick, and supplying energy as 24/7 continuous process heat to industry. Typically, the heat is delivered as steam, directly into an industrial facility’s steam network. Australia regularly has 4-6 hours of surplus solar-generated renewable electricity in the middle of the day, but industrial facilities need heat 24 hours a day, not just when the sun is shining. By charging when electricity is cheap and abundant and discharging continuously, Rondo Heat Batteries turn short periods of low-cost electricity into 24/7 delivery of low-cost steam. 

For energy-intensive industries such as alumina refining, Rondo Heat Batteries create a pathway to electrification that addresses both emissions and energy costs. Because the heat battery slots into the existing steam network, the facility’s processes run exactly as before — the only thing that changes is the energy for that heat: no longer from fossil fuels, but sourced from low cost electricity instead. The Yarwun study will assess the technical and economic viability of integrating the technology into refinery operations.

“This project shows how Australia’s abundant energy can become a competitive advantage for industry,” said Dr. Kira Rundel, Rondo’s Head of Australia. “Heat batteries allow manufacturers to use low-cost electricity to produce the reliable, round-the-clock heat their operations need. Australia’s largest heat battery will show how factories can cut emissions without increasing energy costs, helping Australian industry to increase global competitiveness and supporting local manufacturing jobs.”

Rio Tinto Pacific Operations Managing Director Armando Torres said: “Reducing emissions from alumina refining is complex, particularly when it comes to generating the high-pressure steam needed for our operations.

“This study will help us determine whether thermal energy storage can provide a technically and economically viable alternative to fossil fuels for part of Yarwun’s steam requirements.

“The best way to tackle challenges of this scale is through collaboration between industry, government, and technology partners. We welcome ARENA and Rondo’s support as we assess technologies that could help reduce our Scope 1 emissions while maintaining reliable operations at Yarwun.”

About Rondo Energy

Rondo Energy delivers firm heat and power, including combined heat and power (CHP), to heavy industry and provides power solutions and long duration storage to data centers. For industrial heat applications, Rondo Heat Batteries convert 4-6 hours of low-cost electricity into continuous 24-hour, high-temperature heat, delivered as steam or hot air up to 1,000°C. The heat delivered integrates directly with existing industrial equipment and processes, eliminating on-site emissions and running on lower cost energy. Rondo heat storage can integrate with steam turbines to deliver combined heat and power (CHP) for industry, and long duration power-to-power solutions for large energy consumers such as data centers. Built on proven refractory brick as the thermal storage medium, Rondo’s platform is engineered for multi-decade operation in the most demanding industrial environments.

Rondo Heat Batteries have been delivering firm heat and power at scale since 2023, with operational facilities serving customers in fuels and cement (including steam driving turbines for electricity) in the United States and in Asia. The next unit will come online shortly – a 100 MWh Rondo Heat Battery under construction in Europe for a chemical plant. Rondo is a global company based in California, with teams across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Providing heat and power solutions to the alumina industry is an area of focus for the company due to the strong fit of Rondo’s technology with the heat and power needs of the alumina industry.

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SOURCE Rondo Energy

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14 Organizations Earn CHIME’s Highest Digital Health Most Wired Designation for 2026

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ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), the leading professional organization for digital health leaders, today announced 14 organizations have achieved Level 10 in the 2026 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired (DHMW) survey. Powered by Digital Health Analytics (DHA), the survey is CHIME’s global assessment of digital health excellence, with Level 10 as its highest designation.

Representing health systems across the U.S., this year’s Level 10 organizations demonstrated exceptional performance across the enterprise digital ecosystem, leveraging technologies, data, infrastructure, and strategic practices shaping modern care delivery. The prestigious designation recognizes organizations that have moved beyond technology implementation to integrate digital investment across clinical and operational environments, producing measurable value for their health systems, patients, and providers.

The 2026 DHMW survey maintains a rigorous scoring methodology designed to account for differences in organizational size, complexity, risk, and resources, creating an equitable measure of performance across diverse healthcare environments. The model evaluates organizations across 10 distinct segments, measuring both the foundational elements required for digital maturity and the advanced practices that demonstrate broader adoption, integration, and value.

“Healthcare is experiencing extraordinary technological acceleration, driven in large part by the rapid adoption of AI and increasingly sophisticated digital capabilities,” said Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME. “As that pace intensifies, the Digital Health Most Wired Survey continues to provide a rigorous benchmark for evaluating whether technology is translating into meaningful progress. It gives leaders a data-driven view of performance, critical gaps, and opportunities for high-impact investment while setting an industry standard of excellence for responsible technology adoption. The Level 10 organizations recognized this year exemplify the leadership and innovation required to turn digital investment into measurable improvements in care delivery.”

The 2026 Digital Health Most Wired survey includes data from more than 45,000 facilities worldwide, offering a global view of technology adoption, investment and performance across healthcare organizations and the evolving role of digital health in care delivery, operations and the patient and provider experience.

Each participating organization received a customized benchmarking report through the Digital Health Analytics (DHA) portal, offering detailed insights into performance metrics across 10 key segments:

InfrastructureSecurityAdministrationSupply chainAnalytics and data managementInteroperabilityPopulation healthPatient engagementInnovationClinical quality and safety

Fourteen healthcare organizations achieved Level 10 distinction, the highest designation awarded through the 2026 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey. The recipients are Baptist Health System (Jacksonville, Florida); Bon Secours Mercy Health (Ohio); MetroHealth Medical Center (Ohio); MultiCare Health System (Washington); Northeast Georgia Health System (Georgia); NYU Langone Health (New York); Parkview Health (Indiana); Roper St. Francis Healthcare Services, Inc. (South Carolina); Stanford Health Care (California); UCHealth (Colorado); UNC Health (North Carolina); University Health (Texas); University of Utah Health (Utah); and UPMC (Pennsylvania).

Collectively, the 2026 Level 10 designees reflect a healthcare environment in which digital performance increasingly depends on the alignment of technology strategy, data, infrastructure, and organizational priorities with strong leadership and a sustained commitment to innovation. Their results demonstrate how leading health systems are converting digital investment into measurable gains across clinical and operational environments while establishing the foundations required to responsibly adopt emerging technologies at scale.

CHIME will formally recognize these distinguished Level 10 honorees on November 12, 2026, during the CHIME26 Fall Forum in Denver, CO, which runs from November 11-14.

For additional details on the 2026 Digital Health Most Wired survey and the complete list of all Level 7-10 award recipients, visit dhanalytics.org.

About CHIME 
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is the leading professional organization for digital health executives and leaders. CHIME provides a trusted, collaborative environment where members and partners connect, share best practices, advance professional development, and advocate for the effective use of information and technology to improve health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.

About Digital Health Analytics (DHA)
Digital Health Analytics provides healthcare organizations, technology companies, and academic researchers with the data, benchmarking, and market intelligence they need to lead digital transformation — 365 days a year. Powered by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), DHA helps provider organizations supercharge their digital health transformation capabilities. For more information about DHA, visit dhanalytics.org.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Calli Dretke
Executive Vice President & Chief Digital and Marketing Officer
CHIME
734.665.0000
cdretke@chimecentral.org

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SOURCE College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)

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