Report Highlights Significant Increases in Productivity and Strategic Business Alignment, Setting the Stage for Gen AI to Boost HR Efficiency by 51%

According to new research from The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT), Digital World Class® human resources (HR) organizations have continued to establish their leadership through notable efficiency improvements and strategic investments in technology. These advancements have resulted in significantly lower labor costs, increased productivity and a robust foundation for the successful integration of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), projected to enhance HR efficiency by 51%.

In 2024, Digital World Class® HR organizations reported labor costs that are 44% lower than their peer groups – an impressive leap from 2023’s 33% reduction. This shows an ongoing commitment to efficiency and reflects a notable improvement from 2019 when world-class HR organizations aimed for a 17% reduction in cost per 1,000 employees through smart automation. Similarly, these teams can create an additional 40% capacity, delivering more value-added services to the business by leveraging intelligent automation, especially Gen AI.

Technology investments further underscore this commitment to reducing operational costs. In 2023, Digital World Class® HR teams spent 85% more on technology per HR full-time equivalent than their peers. By 2024, this spending increased to 200% (or two times) that of their peers.

Automation remains a key factor, with Digital World Class® HR organizations streamlining 85% or more of their transactions across six key HR processes. This increased focus on automation has led to a 51% increase in HR staff productivity in 2024, illustrating the continued impact of digital tools and Gen AI in boosting operations and enabling extensive self-service capabilities.

“Digital World Class® HR organizations have made exceptional strides by leveraging technology, leading to unparalleled efficiency and productivity improvements,” said Anthony DiRomualdo, senior research director, HR Executive Advisory at The Hackett Group. “Our findings suggest that to continue on this trajectory, HR leaders should focus on integrating AI thoughtfully, ensuring it complements human capabilities rather than replacing them. This balanced approach can unlock new levels of innovation and employee engagement.”

In terms of strategic business alignment, the report highlights that these organizations have significantly bolstered their influence. In 2024, Digital World Class® HR organizations were 67% more likely to have senior HR leaders involved in strategic business planning, expanding on the contributions noted in 2023.

Additionally, they deploy 2.9 times more staff who are highly effective in strategic thinking and analysis. Qualitative attributes of staff like these are a major contributing factor to why Digital World Class® HR organizations are so effective. They ensure staff keep pace with changing skills needs by providing 47% more training hours for professional staff annually.

Moreover, Digital World Class® HR organizations spend 45% more on strategic workforce planning relative to talent management, which improves employee life-cycle cost, productivity and talent outcomes. It follows that Digital World Class® HR organizations deliver remarkable business value by filling 68% more professional positions internally compared to their peers, and taking 27% fewer days to hire.

Jessica Haley, Global HR Executive Advisory practice leader at The Hackett Group, added, “The increased strategic alignment between HR and other parts of the business ensures that HR initiatives are closely integrated with overall business goals. For HR leaders, the path forward involves balancing cost-efficiency with strategic investments in technology, especially Gen AI, to foster sustainable growth and a resilient workforce.”

A public version of the research, “Insights From Top Performers: How to Level Up With Gen AI,” is available free, with registration, at: https://go.poweredbyhackett.com/dwchr2406nr.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT) is an IP and platform-based, Gen AI strategic consulting and executive advisory firm that enables Digital World Class® performance. Using AI XPLR™ and ZBrain™ – our ideation through implementation platforms – our experienced professionals help organizations realize the power of Gen AI and achieve quantifiable, breakthrough results, allowing us to be key architects of their Gen AI journey.

Our expertise is grounded in unparalleled best practices insights from benchmarking the world’s leading businesses – including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 89% of the Fortune 100, 70% of the DAX 40 and 55% of the FTSE 100.

For more information on The Hackett Group, visit: https://www.thehackettgroup.com/ or email media@thehackettgroup.com.

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Cautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Statements

This release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements including without limitation, words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” or other similar phrases or variations of such words or similar expressions indicating, present or future anticipated or expected occurrences or outcomes are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include without limitation, the ability of The Hackett Group to effectively market its digital transformation, our ability to transition our capabilities to support generative artificial intelligence (AI)-related consulting services and solutions and other consulting services, our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions, including the LeewayHertz acquisition into our operations, our ability to manage joint ventures and successfully cooperate with our joint venture partners, competition from other consulting and technology companies that may have or develop in the future, similar offerings, the commercial viability of The Hackett Group and its services as well as other risk detailed in The Hackett Group’s reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hackett Group does not undertake any duty to update this release or any forward-looking statements contained herein.

media@thehackettgroup.com

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