4 Priorities for CHROs in 2026

For Chief Human Resources Officers, 2026 will not be defined by incremental change. It will be defined by how effectively HR leaders architect organizations that can absorb disruption, adapt quickly, and still perform at a high level.

As one member of i4cp’s CHRO Board noted, “As HR leaders fundamentally transform and prepare the workforce to thrive in an AI-powered future, we will need to navigate levels of disruption we’ve never seen before.” That sentiment captures the reality facing CHROs globally: the scale and speed of change now outpace traditional HR capacity and models.

The mandate is clear. Future-ready CHROs are no longer simply responding to change—they are actively driving it.

The Three Dimensions of Readiness

i4cp’s research points to three forms of readiness that increasingly define organizational advantage:

• Culture readiness: A culture that treats change as manageable and opportunistic rather than threatening.
• AI readiness: A workforce and environment that enable responsible, effective use of AI.
• Skills readiness: Ongoing confidence that the workforce has the capabilities needed for the next one to three years.

As disruption accelerates, these dimensions of readiness are no longer abstract aspirations—they are competitive necessities.

2026 CHRO Priorities:

Based on input from i4cp’s global CHRO Board, four priorities rise to the top for 2026.

1. AI-related workforce initiatives (68%)

AI is now a dominant priority for HR, driven by both technological advances and CEO expectations. Boards are increasingly looking to CHROs to ensure the enterprise is prepared for AI’s impact on work, workforce design, and culture.

Importantly, this is less a technical challenge than a leadership one. AI experimentation that succeeds begins with real business problems, not abstract pilots. Organizations that learn fastest are those that study how peers are applying AI in practical, business-specific ways—reducing risk while accelerating impact.

2. Leadership development (57%)

Leadership development remains a top priority, but its definition is changing. In 2026, effective leadership is less about managing hierarchy and more about enabling networks.

As work becomes more distributed, leaders are expected to orchestrate collaboration, trust, and connection across boundaries. i4cp research consistently shows that leaders who build strong networks of purpose and energy drive significantly higher performance—especially in hybrid and AI-enabled environments.

At the same time, leadership pipelines are shrinking. High-performing organizations are responding by involving senior leaders as teachers, sponsors, and mentors, and by using AI to personalize development journeys and accelerate readiness.

3. Strategic workforce planning and work redesign due to AI (50%)

CHROs increasingly face a new mandate: demonstrate why work cannot be done using AI before asking for more headcount.

Leading organizations are responding by deconstructing roles into tasks, clarifying where AI can augment or replace work, and where human judgment remains essential. When paired with skills data and internal talent marketplaces, this approach enables rapid redeployment of talent and more accurate forecasting of future needs.

Workforce planning is no longer about static headcount models—it is about continuously redesigning work itself.

4. C-suite succession (50%)

Executive turnover continues to rise, exposing a persistent gap in succession readiness. i4cp research shows that only a minority of organizations believe they have ready successors for executive or mission-critical roles.

In response, high-performing organizations are expanding succession efforts beyond the C-suite, building succession talent pools rather than naming single successors, and leveraging people analytics to understand bench strength, risk, and readiness. Succession planning is becoming a broader capability strategy, not a narrow replacement exercise.

“This year is about doing more with more. It starts with skilling and re-skilling. HR leaders can use technology and AI as a platform to help innovate and grow skills in the team. Innovation can bring people and ideas together.”
— Amy Linsin, EVP and CHRO, Prisma Health

2026 CHRO Predictions:

Looking ahead, CHROs offered several predictions that frame how the function itself will evolve.

• Treat 2026 as an “intern year” for agentic AI.
  Agentic AI will require supervision, not blind trust. The most effective organizations will treat AI agents like interns—capable, fast learners that still require oversight, context, and clear boundaries.
• Agility will matter more than resilience.
  Resilience helps organizations recover. Agility helps them stay ahead. In an AI-infused world, CHROs will increasingly design for anticipation and adaptability rather than recovery alone.
• Uncertainty becomes the operating backdrop.
  Economic, political, and regulatory uncertainty will continue to shape decisions in 2026. CHROs will be called on to provide clarity, discipline, and focus in environments where predictability is scarce.
• The rise of the intelligent, adaptive HR ecosystem.
  The traditional three-pillar HR model will continue to give way to a more fluid, intelligence-driven ecosystem. HR business partners evolve into performance enablers, centers of expertise into enterprise intelligence architects, and shared services into experience engines—powered by AI and analytics.

Across all of these priorities and predictions, one theme is unmistakable: the CHRO role is expanding. HR leaders are no longer stewards of programs alone—they are architects of organizational capability.

In 2026, the CHRO’s impact will be measured by how effectively they help the enterprise sense change, redesign work, and build the skills and culture required to thrive.

To read the full perspectives of CHROs and senior HR leaders who serve on one of i4cp’s executive Boards, download i4cp's 2026 Priorities & Predictions report.