Tory Atkins

Today’s HR signal is strategic caution, not chaos. CEOs are signaling a low-hire, low-fire market in 2026 while AI continues to shape workforce narratives. Leaders must anchor their talent strategy in capability, not headcount; govern AI with clarity; elevate HR as a strategic partner; and double down on human experience as a competitive advantage. The future of work is being designed, not discovered. THE HR LANDSCAPE — TODAY’S SIGNALS C-suite sentiment signals a “low-hire, low-fire” labor market. The latest Conference Board survey finds most CEOs are not planning workforce expansion in 2026, citing economic uncertainty and AI as factors shaping cautious hiring, although layoffs remain contained due to talent scarcity and relatively strong sales. AI narratives are influencing workforce decisions, and scrutiny is rising. OpenAI’s CEO suggests some companies may be using “AI-washing” as a convenient rationale for restructuring rather than real automation displacement, underscoring the need for leaders to separate rhetoric from real strategic change. Role redesign and skill signals are emerging. HR hiring trends show AI-related competencies and strategic HR specialties gaining traction even as overall HR job openings remain more cautious, reflecting evolving expectations for HR leadership and capability. HR trend intelligence confirms a strategic pivot. Leading analyses reinforce that AI integration, skills-based design, employee experience, and workforce adaptability are the forces reshaping how HR creates and sustains value in 2026. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR LEADERS Workforce planning is back at the strategic table. A low-hire, low-fire market means leaders must optimize for quality of capability over sheer scale, with talent portfolios tied to strategic outcomes. Narrative integrity matters. As AI becomes part of workforce discourse, leaders must avoid superficial claims and ground their decisions in transparent, measurable strategy lest trust erodes across employees and stakeholders. HR leadership must evolve beyond traditional execution to strategic design. With roles and skill requirements shifting, HR must co-draft workforce architecture with business strategy, not merely respond to it. Employee experience and resilience are competitive chips. Stable labor markets and talent scarcity make engagement, development, and psychological safety differentiators in retaining and activating key contributors. LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS ✔ Treat talent strategy as enterprise strategy. ✔ Anchor AI adoption in measurable performance outcomes. ✔ Elevate HR roles that bring strategic insight and capability planning. ✔ Build experience ecosystems that sustain retention. ✔ Skill signals define advancement pathways. EXECUTIVE ACTION STEPS 1) Embed Workforce Strategy Into Core Planning Cycles 2) Stand Up a Strategic AI Governance Framework 3) Expand HR Leadership Influence 4) Strengthen Experience-Based Metrics 5) Invest in Skills-Forward Mobility Engines

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You can finally stop acting like a human reporting engine. 📉 Most HR leaders spend their best hours digging through spreadsheets just to answer basic leveling questions for leadership. Rippling AI turns that "data hunt" into an instant strategy session. Watch as we move from a raw leveling split to analyzing tenure vs. career development in seconds. Instead of just handing over a report, you’re delivering the insights that actually drive people strategy. The Goal: Get the answers for leadership in seconds so you can spend your time on the meaningful work you actually signed up for. 🚀 See the HR demo in action ⬇️

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Hiring became a process. Recruiting became survival. There’s a dangerous belief floating around: “We optimized hiring, so recruiting is fine.” SHRM’s 2025 Recruiting Executives Benchmarking shows a different story (2017 → 2022 → 2025). Executive hiring costs have surged (+113% vs 2017, +21% vs 2022). At the same time, only 20% of organizations track Quality of Hire. So we’re getting “efficient” at moving candidates through pipelines… while staying blind to the only question that matters: Did this hire ramp, perform, and stay? One-sentence diagnostic: What’s your definition of a “good hire,” and how do you measure it 90 days later? If that answer is unclear, your hiring system isn’t optimized. It’s just busy. If you’re building this now (success definition, a simple QoH layer, decision discipline, and a hiring process that produces consistent outcomes), that’s the kind of work we do at RIST. Full SHRM source + our notes: https://lnkd.in/dFpg-ZV6

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Is HR holding itself back? While lacking the right infrastructure and tools contributes to inefficiency, Melanie Naranjo explores a deeper issue: the feeling of being dismissed and undervalued. HR often works harder, trying to prove their worth through sheer effort rather than strategic impact. Giving up manual tasks to automation isn't about working less. It's about shifting focus. It's time for HR to claim its role as a strategic business partner! 📢

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𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲…but the CHRO seat is empty. Watch the full video on when you need an interim HR executive. They can: ☑️ Align leadership by balancing board priorities with employee needs ☑️ Guide critical culture change and rebuild trust ☑️ Stabilize the organization 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆. 𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆. It means trusted. It means transformational. Let’s discuss your organization’s needs: www.dergelcornerstone.com #DERGEL #Interim #CHRO

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After 20+ years building and leading people functions, we saw a pattern: most leaders don’t need more HR, they need senior judgment at the moment decisions get expensive. Apex Partners was built to provide on-call, micro, and fractional people advisory for founders and growing companies navigating hiring, performance challenges, people risk, and growth decisions, without overbuilding HR or committing too early to full-time roles. Calm guidance. Clear decisions. Human relevance. Here for you.

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So, people… if you’ve been baffled by the 2025 economic trends and decided to dust off the 2008 downturn playbook, you might just want to take a pause. Hear us out… In a “normal” slowdown, we’d expect job-hugging (made famous on TikTok - people clinging to roles out of fear.) But 2025 simply isn’t following that script. The data shows more of a Great Disconnect: 😱 Businesses are nervous and manufacturer confidence is falling. 🏠 Households are more resilient than they were in 2008 (debt’s at an 18-year low and retail sales are up 🤔) So, this isn’t 2008 and people aren’t financially trapped as they were then… and THAT flips the talent equation: 🎯 High-performers aren’t job-hugging. They’ve still got options, confidence, and low debt. They’ll possibly leave for better leadership, flexibility, or career pathing. 😴 BUT disengaged employees are job-hugging, staying put, coasting, and quietly draining productivity. The result… you lose your best people and keep your least engaged. Here’s what we’re thinking: 1️⃣ Launch “Defensive Retention.” Shift your focus on recruitment to getting into the psychology and re-engaging your A-players. Make an A-player retention dashboard if you haven’t already; and act fast on its insights. Use your human skills to inform it. 2️⃣ Leverage your Non-Financial EVP arsenal. With squeezed margins, money isn’t the lever. Think about Career pathing and show there’s a future here. Fight the urge to RTO and drive radical flexibility so that you prove you trust them. And make “great place to work” feel real, not rhetoric. 3️⃣ Double-down on Manager Effectiveness. Resilient, high performing people won’t tolerate poor leadership so one of your best retention tools will be an army of capable, truly empathetic managers. Get them using their human skills, too. That old downturn playbook is unlikely to work today and 2025 isn’t as much about managing cuts; it may just be about managing a significant performance and engagement divide. So, People… how ready are you to fight the strangest of macro trends? ——— The SOPEOPLE Strategic People Pulse brought to you by www.sopeople.co.uk | hiya@sopeople.co.uk

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