Thepastfewyearshavefundamentallyreshapedhoworganisationsthinkaboutpeople,workandvalue

creation.Aswemoveinto2026,HRandTalentAcquisitionleadersarenolongerbeingaskedsimplytorespond

tochange,buttoprovideclarity,directionandconfidenceinanincreasinglycomplexenvironment.

AtTalentInsightGroup,weworkwithorganisationsnavigatingskillsshortages,demographicshifts,evolving

candidateexpectationsandrapidtechnologicaladvancement.Whatweseeconsistentlyisthatsuccessdoesnot

comefromchasingeverynewtrend,butfrommakinginformed,intentionaldecisionsgroundedinevidence.

Thisguidebringstogetherourresearch-ledinsightintothemostsignificantHRandTAtrends

shapingtheyearahead.Itisdesignedtohelpleaderspause,reflectandprioritise—to

understandnotjustwhatischanging,butwhyitmattersandwheretofocus.

Ouraimissimple:toequipHRandTAleaderswiththeinsightstheyneedtoreducerisk,unlock

opportunity,andbuildworkforcesthatareresilient,adaptable,andfitforthefuture.

GlenHall,Chairman

TalentAcquisitionwithaSocialMission

Asabusiness,we’recommittedtogivingsomethingbackandmakingadifference

wherewecan.Ourprofitssupportcharitiesservingourlocalcommunity,including

TheRecruitmentJunction,People’sKitchen,andTheRGSBursaryFund.

FromReactiontoStrategyin2026

AsHRandTalentAcquisitionleaderslook

towards2026,theoperatingenvironmentisdefinedlessbycrisisandmorebycomplexity.Thevolatilityoftheearly2020shasgiven

waytoacoolerlabourmarket,tighter

budgets,andheightenedscrutinyofvalue,productivity,andreturnoninvestment.In

thiscontext,theroleofHRandTAisevolvingfromdeliverypartnertostrategicadvisor.

Strategy,atitscore,isaboutfocus.ForHR

andTAleaders,thismeansmakingdeliberatedecisionsaboutwheretoinvestlimitedtime,budgetandcapability—andwheretostop.

In2026,successfulpeoplestrategieswillbalanceefficiencywithempathy,technologywithtrust,andshort-termpressureswithlong-termresilience.

ThisguideexploresthekeyHRandTA

trendsshapingtheyearahead,drawingonTalentInsightGroup’sresearchandinsighttoprovidecontext,challengeassumptionsandhighlightpracticalroutesforward.

Eachsectionintroducesacriticaltopicandprovidessignpoststodeeperguidance

FromReactiontoStrategyin2026

“Theessenceofstrategyischoosingwhatnottodo.”

MichaelPorter,BusinessmanandHarvardBusinessSchoolProfessor

forleaderslookingtotakeaction.

ArtificialIntelligenceinTalentAcquisition:

FromExperimentationtoAdvantage

AIisnolongerafutureconsideration

forTAteams–itisapresentreality.In2026,thequestionisnolongerwhetherAIshouldbeusedinrecruitment,but

howitcanbedeployedresponsibly,effectivelyandatscale.

What’schangingin2026istheexpectationofvalue.Leadersaremovingbeyond

pilotsandpointsolutionstoaskinghowAIcangenuinelyimprovehiringoutcomes,candidateexperienceandteamcapacity.

Manyorganisationsalreadyuseautomationtostreamlineadministrativetasks,butAI

isopeningnewopportunitiesacrosstherecruitmentlifecycle—fromcandidate

attractionandscreeningtoengagementandtalentrediscovery.ThisisparticularlysignificantasTAteamsfaceawideninggapbetweendemandandcapacity.

ArtificialIntelligenceinTalentAcquisition

66%

ofTAteamsexpecthiring

demandtoincreasewhileteamsizesstaythesameorshrink

42%

oforganisationswithover5,000employeesare

alreadyusingAIinhiring

AIoffersapotentialsolution,butitalso

introducesrisk.Poorlyimplementedtoolscanunderminetrust,introducebiasandpotentiallydamagetheemployerbrand.Asaresult,2026willseeashiftawayfromexperimentationtowardgovernance,

capabilitybuilding,andintegration.

In2026,successwilldependon:

?UnderstandingthedifferencebetweenAI,automationandmachinelearning

?IdentifyingwhereAIgenuinelyaddsvalueversuswhereitaddsrisk

?BuildingconfidenceandcapabilitywithinTAteams

WhatthismeansforTALeaders

?Prioritisehigh-impact,low-riskusecases

?Maintainhumanaccountabilityindecision-making

ArtificialIntelligenceinTalentAcquisition

AIinTalentAcquisition

Unlockthewholepicture,includingthepotentialrisksandbenefits,

andpracticalrecommendationstoguidesafeimplementationinyourorganisation,inourin-depthguidetoAIinTalentAcquisition.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

?BuildAIliteracyacrossTAteams

TalentTransformation:

BuildinganAgile,Future-ReadyWorkforce

In2026,organisationsareincreasingly

recognisingthatrecruitmentalonecannotsolvesystemictalentchallenges.Skill

shortages,digitaltransformationand

economicuncertaintyareexposingthe

limitationsoftraditionalworkforcemodels.

Talenttransformationrepresentsa

fundamentalshiftinhoworganisations

thinkabouttalent—movingbeyondhiringandretentiontowardsthedevelopment,deploymentandoptimisationofskills.

Thisrequirescloseralignmentbetween

HR,TA,L&Dandinternalcommunications,supportedbystrongleadershipsponsorship.

Ratherthanrelyingsolelyonexternalhiring,organisationsare:

?Investingininternaltalentdevelopment

?Prioritisingreskillingandupskilling

?Embeddingcontinuousworkforceplanning

Therewardisamoreagileand‘a(chǎn)ntifragile’workforce–onethatcanadaptandcreatevalueeveninuncertainconditions.

TalentTransformation

Understandwhyrecruitmentalonefails—andhowtalent

transformationbuildsresilient,future-readyworkforces.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

Organisationsthat

placetalentatthe

centreofbusiness

strategyaremore

resilientduring

economicdownturnsandbetterpositionedforlong-termgrowth.

TalentTransformation

UnlockingtheValueoftheAgeingWorkforce

Demographicchangeisreshaping

labourmarketsacrosstheUKand

globally.Aslifeexpectancyrisesand

birthratesfall,theaverageageofthe

workforcecontinuestoincrease.By2050,morethan2.1billionpeopleglobally

willbeaged60orover(WHO).

Foremployers,thistrendpresents

bothriskandopportunity.Without

intervention,organisationsface

increasedretirements,lossofinstitutionalknowledgeandgrowingskillsgaps.

Yetolderworkersalsorepresentahighlyexperiencedandoftenunderutilisedtalentpool.

In2026,organisationsthatfailtoplan

foranageingworkforcerisklosing

criticalskills,decreasingproductivity,

andfragilesuccessionpipelines.Thosethatsucceedhavetheabilitytoretain

UnlockingtheValueoftheAgeingWorkforce

Learnhowtoretainexperience,

protectskills,andfuture-proofyourworkforceasdemographicsshift.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

experience,improveknowledgetransferandbuildonexistingskillsets.

UnlockingtheValueoftheAgeingWorkforce

70%

ofpeopleaged50–64wereinworkin2024

41%

ofworkersover45who

haven’tparticipatedintrainingoverthelastfiveyears

saytheywanttodoso

Thischallengeisparticularlyacuteinsectorssuchasmanufacturing,utilities,healthcareandeducation–butnoindustryisimmune.

Skills-BasedHiringandtheRiseoftheInternalTalentMarket

Ascompetitionfortalentpersists,skills-basedhiringisgainingtractionasamoreinclusiveandevidence-basedapproachtorecruitment.In2026,theemphasis

isshiftingfromintenttoexecution.

Skills-basedhiringshiftsthefocusfromqualificationsandjobtitlestocapabilityandpotential.Whendonewell,itcan

improvediversity,retentionandextendtointernalmobility.However,when

executedpoorly,itrisksbecomingasuperficialchangetojobdescriptions.

Leadingorganisationsareextendingthisapproachinternally,creating

internaltalentmarketplacesthat:

?Increaseworkforceflexibility

?Reduceexternalhiringdependency

Skills-basedHiring

Whyskills-basedhiringsucceedsonlywhenembeddedintointernalmobilityandtalentmarketplaces.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

?Supportfasterredeploymentofskills

Skills-BasedHiring

51%

ofemployerssayit’shardertofindtoptalentthantheyearbefore

2in5

HRleadersadmittheydon’tknowwhatskillsthey

haveinternally

EmployeeExperience:

FromEngagementtoPersonalisation

Employeeexperience(EX)isfastbecomingastrategicdifferentiator.Asthetension

betweenemployerdemandsandemployeeexpectationscontinuestobuild,thelimitsofone-size-fits-allengagementmodels

havebecomeincreasinglyapparent.Asaresult,EXhasemergedasastrategicpriorityfororganisationsgrappling

withshiftingexpectationsaroundflexibility,purposeandbelonging.

Theshiftisfromtop-downengagement

initiativestopersonalised,experience-led

approachesbuiltonlistening,actionand

communication.ThefocusonEXcreates

spacefortheemployee-employerrelationshiptodevelopamodelofworkthatworksfor

boththeindividualandtheorganisation.

EffectiveEXstrategiesfocuson:

?Thefullemployeelifecycle

?Recognitionandpurpose

?Alignmentbetweenstatedvaluesandlivedexperience

EmployeeExperience

Whyemployeeexperience

outperformsengagement—andhowtobuilditacrossthelifecycle.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

Explorehowtomovefromengagementtoexperiencebyaccessingthecompleteguide.

Employeesin

organisationsthatleadonEmployeeExperienceshow

40%higher

discretionaryeffort.

EmployeeExperience

9,

SuccessionPlanning:

PreparingforLeadershipVolatility

Itisalsoinseparablefromageing

workforcedynamicsandskillsplanning.

Successionplanningremainsoneofthemostunderdevelopedareasoftalentstrategy–andoneofthemostcritical.

In2026,successionplanningmustextendbeyondtheC-suitetoincludecritical

rolesandspecialistexpertiseacross

theorganisation.Whendonewell,it

SuccessionPlanning

Whysuccessionplanningmustextendbeyondleadershiptoprotectskills,continuityandorganisationalknowledge.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

reducesrisk,improvesengagement,andprotectsorganisationalknowledge.

SuccessionPlanning

60%

oforganisationshavenoCEOsuccessionplan

AverageUKCEOtenurehasfallento

5.2

years

EmployeeValueProposition:

CompetingBeyondSalary

Attractingthebesttalentremainsacriticalchallenge,evenaslabourmarketscool.

Today’scandidatesaremoreselective,morevalues-drivenandmorelikelytotakea

holisticviewofthetotalbenefitspackagewhenconsideringpotentialemployers.AstrongEmployeeValueProposition(EVP)helpsorganisationsattracttalentthat

bestfitstheirrequirementsandbusinessvalues,byhighlightingwherecandidatemotivationsintersectwiththedriving

forcesbehindabusiness’sobjectivesandwhatitoffersitsemployees.

AcompellingEVPbalancesreward,

flexibility,development,purposeand

belonging—andmustbeauthenticandconsistentlyexperienced.Findingand

EmployeeValueProposition

UnlockthesecrettoastrongerEVP,anddiscoverthesixcrucialcomponentsofaneffectiveEVPinourcomplimentaryguide.

READTHEFULLGUIDE

promotingthissweetspotstrengthensattractionwhilealsoimprovingretention,engagement,andworkforcestability.

EmployeeValueProposition

29%

ofleadersbelievetheyhavethetalenttheyneededtoday

Superiortalentcanbeupto

8x

moreproductive

LookingAhead:

FutureproofingHRandTA

Thedefiningchallengeof2026isnotalackofideas,butalackoffocus.HRandTAleaderswhosucceedwillbethosewhoalignstrategy,insightandexecution–usingdataintelligentlywhilekeepingpeopleatthecentre.

It’snosmallchallengetokeepupto

speedwiththisc