Looking Ahead to HR in 2026

• By: Posted by HR Alliance Staff
• On: 11/20/2025 11:13:12
• In: HR Business
• Comments: 0

With 2026 planning in full gear, we wanted to share some trends we're hearing from members and seeing in the market to help inform your decisions and planning.

AI continues to reshape the work of HR
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting every area of work and HR is no exception. From recruiting to retention, HR teams have to be plugged into how employees and candidates are using AI and how it can help them work more efficiently. Our AI panel earlier this year discussed a number of ways HR professionals can lean into AI tools to help streamline administrative work and deliver new insights into the workforce. Using AI in the everyday work of HR will help professionals better understand the technology's capabilities and limits, positioning HR as a key partner in the organization's AI strategy.

Moving into 2026, HR professionals need to recognize how the AI revolution is providing a unique opportunity for them to become an even more strategic partner within corporate leadership. HR plays a critical role in helping their workforce adapt to AI. In developing and offering needed training to the workforce, HR must work closely with the CIO and CTO to make sure AI training is consistent across the company, whether it is within the technology staff or the operational staff. HR should work to ensure that AI tools are being used smartly and ethically, looking at ways to train people to use critical thinking alongside the efficiency of AI. Additionally, AI can help HR get a deeper look at the skill sets of their employees, helping to shift existing talent into roles that are changing with the introduction of AI and automation.   

Shift in Talent Management Approaches
General economic uncertainty is impacting the way organizations manage the talent in their workforce. In uncertain times, workers tend to do what they can to hold onto their current job. While it's not inherently bad to stay in a job for a long time, job “hugging” can pose some risks including stagnation for the employee and lack of risk taking, impacting organizational innovation. 

With people holding onto jobs and less new jobs being created, organizations have to shift from expansion-oriented approaches toward models that emphasize redeployment of internal talent and redefinition of existing roles. This means relying less on traditional number-based metrics (e.g., hiring 25 new people this year) to more holistic goals around internal mobility rate, reskilling/upskilling rate, skill gap index, high-po retention as well as scenario planning (e.g., “what if turnover spikes,” “what if a big automation project cuts demand”). Workforce planning in 2026 should emphasize forecasting future demand, mapping skill supply, and building flexibility into the workforce rather than hitting target numbers.

Building psychological safety and wellness is critical
Market conditions and the growing use of AI and automation have introduced an incredible amount of change and uncertainty into the workforce. Will technology take my job? How will my job change? Am I able to keep up with new technology? Additionally, political pressures have touched nearly every sector from the impact of tariffs on prices and budgets, changes to DEI policies, and uncertainty of job stability for government or government adjacent workers. With all of this rapid change, a focus on wellness is more critical than ever. 

Challenge leaders in your organization to make small changes that can make a big impact on employee wellness and satisfaction including:

• Encourage movement breaks – Introduce walking meetings. Encourage five minutes of stretching/movement away from computers each hour. 
• Normalize failure – Admit when you make mistakes or when things are not working. This builds a culture that encourages teams to take action and take risks.
• Make meetings more inclusive – Designate an “inclusion booster” who encourages and invites everyone to speak up. Actively ask (and listen to) for alternative points of view to presented material. 
• Feed the body, feed the mind – Rethink the snacks available in breakrooms and provide healthier options along with nutrition education and opportunities to use food as a way to gather and collaborate among teams. 
• Communicate early and often – In times of uncertainty, employees want clear, more frequent, transparent, and honest communications from senior leaders about how this current environment is affecting the company and where they plan to go - their strategic direction.

Return to office continues
Yet one more change for HR to help navigate is the continuing trend of return to office mandates. Doing so with an eye toward retention, recruitment, and general well-being is critical. Several best practices to consider include: 

• Clear communication – state why the return to office is happening and detail the thought process and decision points that led to the final requirements. 
• Focus on objectives, not facetime – rather than enforcing a specific number of hours or days in the office, focus instead on what you want people to do while they are on site. Prioritize meetings and brainstorms for days when most people are in the office. Communicate how in-office collaboration will help move a project forward. Make the in-office experience unique, meetings should be held in conference spaces, not over Zoom. 
• Be flexible – Consider hybrid models rather than five day a week mandates. Allowing employees flexibility as to when they come into the office builds a feeling of trust. Hybrid models help employees feel a sense of control over the way they get work done. 

2026 will be a defining year for HR leaders — a year that calls for adaptability, cross-functional collaboration, and bold thinking. By investing in AI literacy, fostering wellness, and building resilient talent strategies, organizations can not only weather uncertainty but thrive through it.

To stay on top of these trends (and more) check out our monthly event calendar and follow us on social media. We'd love to hear your thoughts on priorities and strategies for 2026

Authored by the HR Alliance Communications Team.