When it comes to upgrading an organization’s HR technology stack, what once was a steady march of incremental changes has turned into a continuous sprint. AI-fueled tools have flooded the market, with vendors racing to rebrand themselves as future-proofing platforms. The result is an even more complicated landscape for upgrading and implementing HR technology.
“Overwhelming doesn’t even begin to cover it,” said Andy Biladeau, SHRM’s chief transformation officer. “A massive influx of new AI tools came onto the market this past year, and many HR leaders are struggling to keep up, all while day-to-day responsibilities have simultaneously increased.”
Whether you’re fine-tuning a portal or taking on a full-scale human capital management (HCM) overhaul, success depends on knowing when to adopt, where to invest, and how to bring people along for the ride.
Leverage AI Without Losing Integration
Not long ago, HR technology upgrades meant choosing between vendors offering similar features in payroll, benefits, or performance. Artificial intelligence has rewritten the playbook.
“Leading up to 2024, we saw HR tech vendors integrating functionalities across HR domains to augment their core offerings,” Biladeau said. “But starting this year, there’s a clear pivot to delivering AI capabilities within core products — some as conversational layers, others embedded in workflows.”
That shift requires HR leaders to take a hard look at their current systems and ask critical questions. Do our platforms already have underused AI features? Can they talk to each other? Vendors are increasingly touting interoperability — a return to integration, but this time powered by AI. Systems will increasingly lean on the Model Context Protocol, an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to external systems.
“We’re seeing a shift back to solution providers emphasizing interoperability across HR,” Biladeau said. “In the coming year, HR tech companies will likely emphasize their ability to harness Model Context Protocol as a universal approach for connecting LLMs.”
In other words, readiness isn’t just about the appetite for change. It’s about ensuring your tech foundation can support HR through the AI wave.
Map Your Tech Strategy to Your Workforce Strategy
In 2025, it’s common to come across a litany of tech products promising to revolutionize hiring, performance, or learning with AI. But with budgets tight, not every promise is worth chasing.
“HR technology stacks have never been more complicated and in so much flux,” Biladeau said. “Review all your existing vendor agreements to understand where you have long-term commitments and where you may be approaching renewals.”
HR investments should map directly to your workforce strategy. If headcount growth is slowing, pouring money into new recruiting tools may not make sense. If skills development is a business priority, AI-enabled learning platforms might be the smarter bet.
“Establish alignment with business leaders about the trajectory of talent for the next two to three years,” he said. “That’s where your tech priorities should go.”
Why ‘Adoption’ Might Be the Wrong Word
When HR rolls out new systems, the word “adoption” often dominates the conversation. Did employees log in? Did they use it? Did utilization hit the target? Biladeau suggested flipping the terminology.
“Many companies, including SHRM, are shifting emphasis away from adoption of AI and more toward framing AI implementations as enablement for employees,” he said. “Be clear with employees about the technology investments your company is making for them.”
SHRM recently underwent an enterprisewide project management rollout. Training sessions weren’t framed as compliance exercises but as ways to help teams prioritize critical work, manage cross-functional projects, and build agility. The goal: to clarify the value and benefits of the new tools.
To Get Beyond Regret, Acknowledge Change
According to SHRM’s new Core HR Technologies Survey, a full 30% of HR leaders said that after evaluating the time, money, and effort involved in selecting and implementing a new HR system, the investment wasn’t worth the cost. Larger companies were more likely to feel regret: 34% of organizations with 1,000 or more employees reported that their tech purchase wasn't worth it, compared with 22% of organizations with fewer than 100 workers.
One main reason so many HR transformations fail or stall is that leaders try to make them linear — from here to there, old to new.
“I’ve seen many HR organizations lead change management efforts with a very ‘from-to’ mindset,” Biladeau said. “Instead, it’s important to recognize two universal truths: Change is messy, and change is unending.”
Biladeau suggested combating this by inviting employees to be part of the experiment. Rather than providing AI training as a webinar, consider a live “lab” where employees can watch peers tackle a task, then try it themselves with the help of a coach. Hackathons and pilot programs create safe spaces to stumble, learn, and build confidence.
“Change works best when it’s shared, not delivered,” he said.
‘Start with What Makes Your Day Easier’
The AI boom has left many HR leaders and their teams paralyzed and unsure of where to start. Biladeau suggested beginning with something small and practical.
“Auto-generating job descriptions, identifying critical emerging skills, and rapidly developing learning content are all low-barrier-to-entry activities HR professionals can quickly practice,” he said. “Start with what makes your day easier, then expand.”
By experimenting with everyday tasks, HR can not only ease workloads but also build the credibility needed to guide larger transformations.
Collaboration: The Unsung Hero of Tech Success
Even the best HR strategy will crumble without cross-functional allies.
“Cross-functional collaboration is critical,” Biladeau emphasized. “Joint planning and implementation ensures compliance, budget alignment, and technical integration.”
That means pulling IT, finance, and legal into the conversation early — not as blockers, but as co-designers of the HR ecosystem.
The Bottom Line: Ground the Hype in Reality
For all the buzz about AI, Biladeau emphasized grounding the conversation in reality.
“No single system can do everything,” he said. “Defining the right composition and mix for your foreseeable needs is a strong foundation to build upon or, in many instances, make the case for rationalization.”
In other words, the future of HR tech isn’t about finding the perfect tool. It’s about crafting a flexible, resilient ecosystem that evolves alongside your people and business. While the pace of change may feel dizzying, HR professionals who treat AI as a learning partner — not as a threat — are the ones most likely to thrive.
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