5 ways you can celebrate International HR Day
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We all need a pat on the back occasionally, and HR professionals are no exception. While the efforts of HR professionals are seldom acknowledged, International HR Day advocates for a greater appreciation of this crucial business function. International HR Day provides an opportunity to:
Recognise HR and people practices at an individual, team, company, national and international level
Publicise the significant contribution the HR and people profession is making right now
Highlight best practice and share tips with peers
Shaping the new future
The theme for 2025 is ‘HumanifyAI: Leading Change Together’.
Each year, the founding organisation behind the day’s inception — the European Association for People Management (EAPM) — announces a unique theme.
The premise of this year’s theme is based on helping HR professionals better understand how digitalisation enhances equality, autonomy, and good job design — while also helping mitigate any potentially negative effects on both employee wellbeing and organisational culture.
“If we keep our focus on human potential—supported by intelligent tools—we will shape a future where everyone can do their best work,” said Berna Ötinaz, President of the EAPM.
She believes that aligning business goals with ethical, inclusive cultures is the recipe for business success.
The benefits, challenges, and future of AI in HR
AI has burst onto the scene with force, establishing itself as a key buzzword in the business world over the past few years — although, not without controversy and extensive debate.
Overall, the pros and cons of AI in general can be summarised as follows: it’s unbiased, can increase productivity and efficiency, and serves as a fantastic research partner — however, it undermines the importance of critical thinking, poses serious privacy and IP concerns, and is prone to making mistakes. When it comes to HR, however, the adoption and use of AI in human resources management (HRM) processes has been a slow burn.
This report by AHRI on the state of AI in Australian HRM found that while many consider AI potentially beneficial, others remain uncertain or even impartial. For example, 48% of respondents claimed that employees were not yet being offered training on AI, with 63% indicating that HR hasn’t provided guidance to the wider business on its use. On the other hand, almost 35% of respondents ‘somewhat agreed’ that HR staff would support the use of AI. Just over 33.2% of respondents ‘somewhat agreed’ that AI would improve job satisfaction. This is only a snapshot, but the general data and sentiment shows that overall, HR professionals are treating AI with cautious optimism.
There’s no question that HR, at its core, is still powered by people — but AI continues to be woven into crucial processes such as hiring and recruitment, while also augmenting several steps that help shape the overall employee experience. With some research, hands-on usage, and a sprinkle of policy writing, AI has the potential to supercharge HR teams and processes. This has been acknowledged by HR software providers, who are constantly refining and enhancing their offerings to incorporate AI-powered features. For example, Humanforce’s demand-driven rostering will optimise staffing processes by using AI to match demand to resources with greater accuracy.
5 ways you and your team can celebrate #InternationalHRDay
Produce a reel, short film, or photo collage of what leading change together means for your organisation, with an incrased focus on AI. Then, share it on social media using the hashtag #InternationalHRDay
Invite a champion of the HR profession to speak in a virtual forum via livestream on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, or YouTube. Interview them about how they are driving meaningful change, and how tech and AI play a role in this transformation. Encourage audience engagement with questions.
Give your HR team a shout out on social media for going above and beyond the call of duty over the past 12 months. Share images, videos, or stories that show how your HR team has put people first and led change together. Of course, don’t forget to use the hashtag #InternationalHRDay
Host a chat or question and answer session on X, or any other of the live platforms mentioned above, and have people discuss how they are incorporating AI into their daily processes. In doing so, we can HumanifyAI with practical, real-life examples of how HR can implement AI into their daily workflows.
Spread the love internally by sharing the innovative initiatives and AI processes that HR has adopted within your organisation. Have your employees share these stories externally on social media to spread awareness and encourage other organisations to do the same.
As a bonus activity, you can download the Walk15 app to join in the Step Challenge. Select your country team and join in on a 126-day journey to hit 6,000,000,000 steps to celebrate the 6th anniversary of International HR day. For even more ways to get your team involved, visit the official page here.
All HR professionals are urged to take some time to celebrate themselves and their teams on this special day. All throughout the day, professionals will be posting photos and videos on social media using the hashtag #InternationalHRDay.
Happy celebrating — you deserve it!
About Humanforce
Humanforce is the all-in-one platform for frontline and flexible workforces, offering a truly employee centred, intelligent and compliant human capital management (HCM) suite – without compromise. Founded in 2002, Humanforce has a 2300+ customer base and over half a million users worldwide. Today, we have offices across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK.
Our vision is to make work easier and life better by focusing on the needs and fulfilment of frontline workers, and the efficiency and optimisation of businesses.
To learn more about how Humanforce’s solution can help automate people processes in your business, please contact us.