Employers need to invest more deliberately in the long-term capability of their HR and people teams if they are to improve performance and prepare for future change, according to new CIPD research.
The CIPD’s HR Pulse Report 2026, supported by Talking Talent, finds a clear gap between the priorities people professionals identify and the resources, specialist skills and evidence they have to deliver them. The research comes as organisations manage economic pressure, restructuring and the growing impact of AI.
Ambition is outpacing capability
Improving organisational performance is a priority for 91% of respondents, while 78% say workforce planning to build future talent pipelines matters to their people function. Yet only 61% say they can proactively identify the skills their organisation will need over the next one to two years.
Specialist expertise also remains limited: just 14% of respondents hold workforce-planning skills, 13% have talent-management expertise and 12% have organisational-development and design capability. Only 61% said their teams have clear success measures in place to demonstrate how people activity directly affects performance and business outcomes.
“Employers can no longer afford a slapdash approach to people planning – it’s at the very core of building sustainable organisations.”
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the CIPD, said: “People professionals know where businesses need them to focus: boosting performance, great people management, and preparing for the future. But the questions being asked of our profession are more complex than ever, and that demands a shift in our capability.
“The first step is an honest assessment of current skills, so people teams can prioritise training, set clear measures of success, and make the business case for investment. But knowing what to do is only half the story. People teams need the backing of their organisations to deliver.”
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive, CIPD
What people teams should prioritise
The report encourages employers and HR leaders to strengthen line-manager capability, balance immediate change with longer-term workforce planning, improve operational and strategic measures, work more closely with business leaders, and invest selectively in specialist capability.
Dr Mary-Clare Race, CEO of Talking Talent, said the research shows that putting performance, leadership and change on the agenda does not necessarily mean an organisation has the tools to deliver. She said teams need support to measure HR’s impact, build leadership capability and give junior people professionals the confidence and specialist skills needed to succeed.
Dr Mary-Clare Race, CEO, Talking Talent
The CIPD will set out further support for developing future-planning and change capability at its Manchester conference in November.
About the research
The findings are drawn from the CIPD’s HR Pulse Report 2026, supported by Talking Talent.
