People teams know their priorities. With the right skills and investment, they can deliver

Based on a YouGov survey of over 800 UK people professionals, the CIPD's new HR pulse report 2026, supported by Talking Talent, highlights the latest priorities for people professionals and where they can support their organisation. It also shows a gap between those priorities and the investment and skills needed to deliver them.

What the survey found

Improving organisational performance is a priority for 91% of respondents. The survey also shows where support is needed to turn that ambition into long-term results.

• Planning ahead. Workforce planning to build future talent pipelines is a priority for 78%. In medium and large organisations, only 61% say their team identifies the skills it will need over the next one to two years.

• Specialist expertise. Significantly fewer say they specialise in workforce planning (14%), talent management (13%), or organisational development and design (12%). These areas are critical for long-term planning and performance.
• Measuring impact. People professionals think the wider business sees their teams as collaborative, valuable and impactful. That's a strong foundation. Clear success measures make that impact easier to show. Just under two thirds of respondents (61%) say their function has them.

"The report findings highlight a real opportunity for our profession in how we can drive value and help organisations, and people, perform at their best. Part of this is about being clear about the impact we bring as a profession. "

Why this matters now

Organisations are dealing with economic pressure, restructuring and the impact of AI. They're asking more of their people teams which means people leaders are operating in an increasingly complex environment.

Your organisation's needs today are one part of the picture. The factors that will shape it in future are the other. If you lead a people team, make the case for long-term, sustainable approaches to the workforce over short-term cost management. Put it in clear commercial terms that reflect the organisation's strategy.

What you can do

Closing the gap starts with knowing where you stand today. Take a performance-led approach to skills and capability planning to see which skills your team has, and which will be critical in the future. Find resources to help you achieve your priorities in the report.

"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."

The report highlights five areas to consider:

• Support line managers. It's a high or medium priority for 91% of respondents. Building their people management skills can free up people professionals for more specialist and strategic work.

• Plan for the long term. Balance future planning with the need to manage change and transformation.

• Measure your impact. Set clear operational and strategic measures of success. They help you show your impact, build credibility and keep improving.

• Partner with the organisation. Run an HR strategy workshop to help leaders tackle the people issues that hold back performance and productivity.

• Invest where it matters most. Put investment into specialist capability that meets current and future demands, and build the business case to back it.

Employers have a part to play

People teams can't close the gap alone. Employers need to invest in them. They should also look to the organisations that lead on performance and productivity, where people management standards are consistently highest.

"HR's role has never been more important. In a period this uncertain, organisations must connect the people agenda with the strategy agenda. That requires strong relationships across the business, between leaders and their teams, and between colleagues at every level."

What happens next

Read the full report to see the findings in detail. For each priority area, it includes reflective questions you can use with your own team, alongside links to resources, tools and evidence reviews.

Planning ahead is one of the gaps the survey points to. At our Annual Conference and Exhibition in Manchester on 4-5 November, we'll set out how we will help the profession strengthen its skills in forward planning and anticipating change.