AI, Adaptation, and Engagement: Leading Leaders into 2025
The last 2 years have been quite a doozy for most people in the staffing industry. 2024 capped off the second consecutive year of double-digit decline - after a post covid recovery boom that saw nothing but growth. We’re a month into 2025 and the industry, for the first time in 3 years, is projected to have 5% growth according to an SIA report late last year. This has staffing firms of all shapes and sizes feeling optimistic. With an ever changing economic, political, and sociological landscape, staffing leaders need to be able navigate the changing environment that will be 2025.
Here are 3 ways leaders can stay ahead this year:
1. You Guessed It, Embrace AI
In tandem with the release of Ried Hasting's New Book, Superagency: "What Could Possibly Go Right With our AI Future", McKinsey Digital just published one of the most comprehensive AI in the workplace studies that I have seen. The opening sentence immediately grabbed my attention:
Almost all companies invest in AI, but just 1 percent believe they are at maturity.
Our research finds the biggest barrier to scaling is not employees—who are ready—but leaders, who are not steering fast enough. As leaders, it is your responsibility to drive the generative AI transformation. In the world of staffing, if you are not getting better, faster, smarter than your competitors, you are losing. Your sense of urgency needs to match the current speed of change.
Two years ago, OpenAI was an unknown entity to most- I know it was to me. In the past few weeks, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, spoke at the White House announcing a $500-billion joint venture called Stargate and ChatGPT Operator was released - the first real step to autonomous agents.
This should leave you asking yourself 2 questions:
How am I investing in AI to help optimize my business?
How am I investing in my employees at the individual level to enhance their own AI skills? 48% of employees survey by McKinsey ranked training as the most important factor for gen AI Adoption.
Regardless of where you are on the AI adoption spectrum, one thing is for sure, AI is here and it is here to stay.
2. Understand that what worked (or didn’t work) in the past, will not work in the future:
Are you chalking up the last 2 years to a bad economy?
Are you banking on the projected industry growth to get you back in the black this year without making any changes?
If you are waiting for growth to come to you, you may be waiting for a while.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to not only set the vision of where your team or organization is going, but also how your team or organization is getting there. Every system is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets. At Butler Street we have a saying,
No Change, No Change.
If you want different results than you got last year, you need to do things differently. Depending on where your company is on its growth journey, this could be several different things: Account Expansion and Protection, New Logo Acquisition, Enhanced Service Offerings, to name a few. The worst thing you can do is try to do what you did last year and expect a different result!
Regardless of how you plan on growing in 2025, making sure your people know the strategy is priority #1.
3. Employee Engagement Needs to be a Priority:
Engaged employees are 23% more profitable and 81% less absent than disengaged employees.
Your employees are an extension of your brand. We sometimes get confused between employee engagement and employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is liking your job, accepting your salary, and having friends at work.
Employee engagement comes down to 2 things: am I making progress and do I feel like I have a purpose. In other words, am I getting better and does it matter?
Hard work and Happy Hours can only get you so far. Investment in personal and professional development, training, skill development, pushing your employees outside of their comfort zone can all lead to enhanced engagement.
When it comes to your employees, do not leave their engagement up to chance.
The staffing industry is evolving fast, and 2025 presents both challenges and opportunities. The firms that will thrive are the ones that embrace AI, adapt to change, and invest in their people.
The question is—will you be one of them?
At Butler Street, we help staffing leaders take the right steps to drive growth, enhance employee engagement, and future-proof their businesses.
Responses from recent program participants:
"I realize this may sound overdramatic but this training has fundamentally changed how I do my job and view my interactions inside and outside my company. I've learned so much in these past months that has grown my thinking and my skills. I'd recommend this training to anyone, anytime!"
"Butler Street opened up a new world for me."
"The engagement and enthusiasm of the trainers were truly remarkable. They brought a contagious energy to the room, making every moment enjoyable and interactive. The content was well-structured and highly relevant, providing valuable insights and practical knowledge. The role play exercises were particularly effective, allowing us to apply what we learned in real-life scenarios, which greatly enhanced our understanding and retention. The homework assignments were thoughtfully designed to reinforce the day's lessons and encourage further exploration of the topics covered. The guidebook provided is an excellent resource. Lastly, the templates offered during the training were incredibly useful. They provided a solid foundation for implementing the concepts we learned and have already proven to be beneficial in my daily work."
Let’s make 2025 your strongest year yet. Contact us today to learn how we can partner with you on your journey to success.
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