RGP® (Nasdaq: RGP), a global professional services firm, today released new research around the top factors shaping workforce strategy decisions for U.S. companies, including interest rate cuts, widening skills gaps, and AI investments
Business leaders remain committed to increasing workforce investment in 2025, according to the poll of 201 U.S. full-time professionals who influence finance decision-making within their companies. The RGP Transformation Barometer shows that 91% of respondents reported that their organization is planning to increase its overall investment in workforce strategy development in 2025. Nearly half of financial decision makers (46%) said their organization remains focused on increasing resources to reskill and upskill existing employees, while 22% plan to increase investment in outside talent, and 18% expect to increase investment in internal headcount.
“We’re seeing constant shifts in how companies are aligning their workforce priorities as they navigate a lower interest rate environment, widening skills gaps, and constant change spurred by AI,” said Kate Duchene, Chief Executive Officer of RGP. “More than one-third of financial decision makers believe that policy changes under the new administration will have the biggest impact on their investment in workforce development, yet leaders we surveyed were more concerned by employee retention and engagement, growing urgency to better leverage AI, and hiring challenges. These factors will continue to shape the way businesses are prioritizing their workforce investments in the year ahead.”
Recent Interest Rate Cuts
More than half of financial decision-makers surveyed (58%) expect increased investment following last year’s three interest rate cuts to begin flowing within the first six months of 2025. Four out of five respondents (79%) said they expect to see increased investment flowing this year.
Nearly 70% of respondents expect their organization to unlock new capital in digital transformation and AI in 2025. Respondents also cited workforce development (48%), enterprise resource planning (47%) and business process optimization/automation (46%) as top areas of increased investment in a lower interest rate environment.
Widening Skills Gaps
One in four respondents (26%) said they are currently experiencing widening skills gaps within their organization – an increase from 17% in October’s survey. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) said they expect their organization’s skills gaps to increase in 2025. Meanwhile, 27% reported that their organization has narrowed its skills gaps with AI and other digital tools.
Businesses continue to be impacted by the shortage of accountants, with 40% of respondents reporting that their organization is currently facing a skills gap in accounting. More than one in four financial decision-makers (27%) expect this gap to widen this year.
AI Investments
Two-thirds of financial decision-makers expect customer service to be the function impacted most by their organization’s AI investments over the next 12 months. Respondents also cited operations (64%) and marketing (60%) as areas where they expect to see the biggest impacts.
The RGP Transformation Barometer is a quarterly survey that explores the shifting workforce dynamics and investment priorities that organizations face. The findings are based on a poll of 201 U.S. full-time professionals conducted January 2 – 9, 2025. The poll consisted of respondents at the director level or above who influence finance decision-making at organizations with $500 million or more in annual revenue. Read more about the findings here: https://rgp.com/insights/workforce-development-tops-investment-priorities/.
