CHROs should anticipate these challenges in 2026, experts say

This year was a challenging year for CHROs. But if they think 2026 will be any easier, we’ve only got one word for them: SIKE!

HR Brew chatted with three HR experts about the biggest challenges they anticipate for CHROs in 2026. None are necessarily new (hello, AI and hybrid work)but continuations of increasingly complicated issues.

Going deeper on AI. AI will continue to be a major—if not the most significant—challenge for HR in 2026. Shocker!

However, as the technology becomes somewhat less novel, the challenge for HR leaders will be surviving its hype cycle, and factoring it into talent strategy.

HR has already experimented with AI, including in recruitment, learning and development, and total rewards. But the flurry of piloting and testing is burning them out, though, Dan Kaplan, managing director and co-head of the CHRO practice at ZRG Partners, told HR Brew. And it’s far from over.

“We are so early in the adoption of AI, the power of AI recognizing what can be done, harnessing it,” Kaplan said. “The companies and HR leaders who don’t embrace it know they’re going to be left behind.”

To that end, HR leaders will need to consider when to delegate to AI, which skills will be required of humans, what career progression will look like, and what workforce planning will look like when business growth is no longer contingent on headcount. Many of these challenges are already top of mind for CEOs and other C-suite leaders; it’s critical that CHROs participate in their conversations.

“You’ve got to find out if and where those conversations are happening, and be in on it,” said Mark Whittle, VP of research and advisory at Gartner’s HR practice. “Because it’s probably happening and they don’t recognize some of the ripple effects.”

Navigating the power shift. In recent years, the power dynamic between employers and workers has shifted. The leverage that workers gained during the Great Resignation has waned, and employers have pulled back many perks, including flexible work arrangements and above-average compensation increases.

Companies are under immense pressure to achieve results against headwinds including tariffs, AI, and a cooling labor market. CEOs, as a result, have emphasized performance, said Whittle.

“They’re just laser focused on: ‘We have to improve performance…because if we don’t, then we’re not gonna have jobs at all,’” he said.

That fixation can hinder an organization’s ability to achieve results, Whittle said, citing Gartner research calling the phenomenon “culture atrophy.” Gartner’s research recommended CHROs embed the desired culture into day-to-day work. Whittle recommended focusing on middle-of-the-road performers.

“I think it’s important to look at that middle 50%,” he said, adding, “don’t focus on the 25% that are going to really feel that pain when you’re saying performance.”

One area this dynamic will affect is work arrangements. The debate around hybrid work is far from new, but in 2026, a consensus will likely be reached, Kaplan said.

“CEOs historically like to know that I go down the hall and I see office lights on, and I know that I’m paying for expensive space that’s being used. I know people are working, because I see them coming in the morning and leaving at night,” Kaplan said.

But as AI becomes more commonplace, and more human work is augmented by automation, this will change.

“There’s going to be a pivot, and I think it’s going to start to happen in 2026, where heads of HR, CEOs are going to realize it’s actually less about where people work. It’s more about what is the work that’s being done and who’s doing it,” Kaplan said.

Nonstop change. David Bowie famously sang “turn and face the strange.” But did he ever consider how exhausting it is to do that nonstop? For employers, it’s only gotten harder to keep up with the pace of change.

“It’s not that change is new, but it’s just how difficult and ungovernable change has become today that’s really a challenge,” said Whittle. “We’re not confident that our leaders are able to manage that sort of change.”

Part of the issue is that not enough leaders are prepared, or willing, to address challenges, according to Steve Patscot, leader of Spencer Stuart’s North American HR practice. To prepare them, employers will need to fast track leadership development.

“CHROs have to modernize an approach to development for a VUCA [volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity] world, and help people grow exponentially versus incrementally,” he told HR Brew via email.

Whittle said that leaders, including CHROs, must “routinize change,” or treat it as part of the normal business process. That includes helping employees navigate the discomfort and adopt adaptive skills.

“It’s helping employees and leaders recognize that change is a constant, and you’ve got to make sure that leaders know how to rebalance their time and energy to where it matters most and can be sustainable,” he said.