When Josh Bersin speaks – or makes his 2024 predictions – everybody listens

“What will conferences like this do for high-level technology insights when Bersin finally decides to hang it up?

It’s a good question, because everyone who follows technology or HR or talent management events know that Josh Bersin is ‘THE’ person with the most up-to-date insights in the world of HR technology. … 

There is no other analyst who can do what Josh Bersin does, and if there is, I wish someone would point them out and offer a little evidence why.”

When Josh speaks, people listen

IF YOU DON’T KNOW Josh Bersin, his bio says he is “an analyst, author, educator, and thought leader focusing on the global talent market and the challenges and trends impacting business workforces around the world.”

He is easily the most respected and insightful technology analyst in the HR/talent management space today. It’s why so many organizers want Josh to deliver a keynote speech at their event.

That’s because when Josh Bersin speaks, people listen.

Not a lot of conferences get scheduled for December, January, and February, so it’s a good time for people who attend them to work on something else instead.

For Josh, that means it’s time for some predictions about what he sees coming throughout the rest of the year.

He just released his latest titled HR Predictions for 2024: Imperatives for the Year Ahead, where he details 15 predictions that are “new mandates for HR and leadership.” You can also get a feel for his 2024 predictions from this blog post on his website titled HR Predictions for 2024: The Global Search For Productivity. 

To get the complete 40-page report and planning guide (with all the analysis and details)  you need to either enroll in the Josh Bersin Academy or get a corporate membership, but there’s an infographic available to everyone that will also give you some of the insights behind the 15 predictions for 2024.

Want some examples? Here are a few:

• AI will change every part of HR — and every role in the company.
• The employee experience will be redefined — employees now in charge.
• Human-centered leadership will take center stage.
• Talent marketplaces, internal mobility, and career pathways will become essential to business growth.
• Recruiting will become more difficult than ever .

Going all in on AI

HERE’S MY TAKE: Josh is always frank with his analysis, and he doesn’t disappoint on that count in HR Predictions for 2024: The Global Search For Productivity. As he says in the very first paragraph:

“For the last two decades I’ve written about HR predictions, but this year is different. I see a year of shattering paradigms, changing every role in business. Not only will AI change every company and every job, but companies will embark on a relentless search for productivity.”

It’s clear that Josh Bersin is all in when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. Other analysts held similar views last year when the media hype was at its peak, but the hype has cooled in early 2024.

Need an example? How about this recent story in Wired magazine titled Get Ready for the Great AI Disappointment that said:

“In the decades to come, 2023 may be remembered as the year of generative AI hype, where ChatGPT became arguably the fastest-spreading new technology in human history and expectations of AI-powered riches became commonplace. The year 2024 will be the time for recalibrating expectations.

Of course, generative AI is an impressive technology, and it provides tremendous opportunities for improving productivity in a number of tasks. But because the hype has gone so far ahead of reality, the setbacks of the technology in 2024 will be more memorable.”

WANT ONE MORE? Here’s what Marketplace said last week in All aboard the AI hype train:

“Advocates preach AI will transform daily life as we know it, but there are lots of skeptics, including those who predict an ‘AI Winter’ in which interest and investment in the tech wanes. Some analysts warn that the unrestrained economic optimism around AI — what former Federal Reserve Board Chair Alan Greenspan might describe as ‘irrational exuberance’ — is setting unrealistic growth expectations. …

Plus, not everything ‘AI’ is new — or even AI. That was clear at the Consumer Electronics Show, where many companies rebranded old tech as AI. Many companies selling AI products also don’t have data or evidence to prove their products are more than marketing gimmicks. As we reported this week, it may be cheaper for companies to keep paying human workers rather than buying into new tech.”

Don’t ever bet against Josh Bersin

HERE’S MY PREDICTION: You’ll be seeing a lot more stories about the overhyping of AI in the weeks and months to come, but that’s to be expected because what goes up must come down.

That doesn’t mean Josh Bersin is wrong when he writes that “AI (will) change every company and every job.” He’s become one of the most prominent and respected technology analysts in the HR and talent management space for a reason — because he has a good feel for what is coming in the not-too-distant future.

I would never bet against him.

That’s why you may want to take a little time to read Josh Bersin’s 15 predictions for 2024, analyze them yourself, and see what you think.

If AI is really going to transform the world of work, it’s probably good to get ready. If you are, reading what Josh Bersin has to say would be a good place to start.

Other trends and insights …