LinkedIn Sizes Up the HR Skillsets Needed for Success

LinkedIn has shared its newest Skills on the Rise in Human Resources list, highlighting the 10 fastest-growing areas of expertise “that HR professionals should be investing in to get ahead in today’s world of work.”

According to a LinkedIn statement, the social networking service annually measures the year-over-year growth of skills based on two pillars: skill acquisition and hiring success. Skill acquisition measures the growth of a given skill being added to member profiles, while hiring success gauges the growth of a given skill possessed by members who have been hired in the past year.

For its most recent Skills on the Rise list, LinkedIn measured growth rates for all metrics by comparing LinkedIn data from Dec. 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2025 to the same time period from the previous year (Dec. 1, 2023 to Nov. 30, 2024). The skills that LinkedIn found to be most critical to success for HR leaders at the moment included:

Employment law and compliance

Employment law and compliance is the practice of ensuring that an organization’s employment practices, “like wages and employee records management, are aligned with local, state and federal laws and regulations,” according to LinkedIn News.

AI Literacy

AI literacy “encompasses the ability to understand and effectively utilize AI tools and technologies for business purposes,” LinkedIn News recently wrote, adding that HR professionals can leverage AI for tasks including scheduling interviews or analyzing workforce data.

Operational Efficiency

Improving operational efficiency involves streamlining individual, team or organization-wide operations to improve productivity and quality, according to LinkedIn News.

“By using tools to reduce manual tasks and optimizing workflows, HR teams can focus efforts on high-impact areas.”

Data Analytics

LinkedIn defines data analytics is the process of interpreting workforce data—such as headcount, tenure and performance trends—to improve HR policies and strategies and inform decision-making.

Organizational Change Management

Earlier this year, an Eagle Hill Consulting survey found many workers saying their organization struggles with change management.

According to the LinkedIn analysis, successful HR leaders can play a key role in helping their organizations improve in this area, especially in terms of communicating significant changes to the workforce.

“Organizational change management is the strategy for guiding employees through company changes like digital transformation or workforce restructuring. It requires strong guidance from internal teams to ensure that employees are adequately informed about and prepared for the transition.”