Now that it has become abundantly clear that the pandemic has transformed the way we work, companies are now faced with the challenge of how to maintain innovation, collaboration and retain talent moving forward.

Many companies have started prototyping new HR models in order to keep up with these changes, with some using AI and automation to gather data to have better insights into what their employees need, while improving on their search for new talent.

So what can we anticipate the future of work to look like by 2025? According to a McKinsey & Co. survey of 800 executives, some notable trends will include a bigger move towards automation, machine learning, remote and hybrid working and an increased use of freelancers.

Many of these trends have already begun to take place, with the survey finding that the use of digitization, automation and artificial intelligence have increased since the start of the pandemic.

Additionally, many major companies have already shifted the majority of their workforce to remote working arrangements and have expressed interest in continuing flexibility after the pandemic is over.

“We were lucky since pre-pandemic 40% of our workforce worked remotely so we already had technology and practices in place to handle a rapid transition to a virtual workplace,” said Fran Katsoudas, Cisco’s chief people officer. “AI and machine learning is helping us better understand how our people think and work. It’s helped us develop perks to incentivize our employees, find pools of hidden talent around the globe and develop new ways to stimulate innovation.”