Raise your hand if you saw 2016 coming. Not literally saw 2016 coming; simple math determined that 2016 had to come immediately after 2015. But if you weren’t surprised by how last year went—if you expected every twist and turn that occurred during our last lap around the sun—raise your hand. Go ahead, raise it. . . . I’m willing to bet your hand isn’t raised. Am I right? 2016 was a wild and unexpected year that left many thinking, “Now what?!”

Almost three weeks into 2017, this year still very much feels like a blank slate; there’s reason for both optimism and caution. Because we love looking to the future of HR with our intuitive crystal balls, we asked a few HR experts—including our very own Rusty Lindquist—how they see things shaking out for HR in 2017. Below are some of the responses we found helpful.