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This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thinking about the rest of 2025, 1 in 5 chief human resource officers said they plan to decrease hiring during the next six months, nearly doubling the 11% who said the same a year ago, according to an Aug. 20 report<\/a> from The Conference Board.<\/p>\n Instead of growing their workforce, CHROs are bracing for change, the report found. Half said they planned to invest in change management training for leaders, and nearly half said they\u2019re investing in similar training for managers.<\/p>\n \u201cCHROs are taking a more thoughtful, steady approach as economic and policy uncertainty lingers,\u201d Diana Scott, leader of The Conference Board\u2019s U.S. Human Capital Center, said in a news release.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis slowdown in hiring isn\u2019t about losing confidence \u2014 it\u2019s about being smart and strategic,\u201d Scott said. \u201cRight now, leaders are focused on strengthening their current teams, managing change well and staying flexible before making big moves to hire again.\u201d<\/p>\n In a survey of more than 100 CHROs, two-thirds said they feel confident about their organization\u2019s ability to manage upcoming change. However, they also feel they need to prepare leaders and invest in training. Notably, more than a third of CHROs said they\u2019re standardizing change management practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n Overall, CHROs\u2019 outlook on the state of the workforce remained stable. About a third said they expect employee retention to improve during the next six months, continuing similar trends from 2024. Another 16% expect employee retention to decrease.<\/p>\n CHRO optimism about employee engagement appeared to be up as well, with nearly half expecting engagement to increase and only 14% believing engagement will decrease.<\/p>\n Financial difficulties have prompted nearly 8 in 10 HR leaders to conduct multiple rounds of layoffs<\/a> during the past year, according to a survey from outplacement firm Careerminds. Rather than preparing with long-term planning, some organizations seem to be trending toward \u201creactive workforce management,\u201d the firm said.<\/p>\n