Will 2026 be the year the much-anticipated “future of work” arrives in a flash? Not likely. But it will mark a pivotal shift for people leaders as HR evolves from a compliance-driven function to a core driver of business adaptability.
To fulfill the mission, people leaders must:
Deeply understand the business, its challenges and opportunities, what success looks like and how we intend to get there. Make sure the organization fills the right seats by crafting talent strategies that support, enable and accelerate business strategies. Execute talent management practices—acquisition, development and rewards—that make that talent strategy a reality.
The HR function must also drive business adaptability by cultivating and empowering leadership. When the business needs to adapt, it is on team leaders to articulate the rationale for the change and ensure that stakeholders understand and can adjust.
See also: CHROs, here are 5 opportunities to lead the future of work
The convergence of workforce models, talent markets and technology will continue to reshape how companies hire, develop and sustain people, with a few critical forces driving this shift:
Structuring the backbone of work
AI is widely seen as essential, but it is still not clear that the industry has coalesced
