CAHRS Top 10 August 2026
1.The Power of Advocacy
Cultivating Mentors, Sponsors, and Stakeholders
eCornell
In this keynote, Cornell ILR School Human Resources (HR) Studies Associate Professor JR Keller and Baker Hughes’ Melody Kelleher examine the critical role of advocacy in career development and organizational success. They distinguish advocacy from mentorship, coaching, and networking, emphasizing that advocacy involves actively championing others and creating opportunities for their growth. The session provides practical strategies for developing self-advocacy skills, including crafting an effective elevator pitch, communicating accomplishments with confidence, and building relationships with sponsors who can influence career advancement.
2. Is DEI Dead?
Not According to new Catalyst Data on Workplace Inclusion
Forbes
New Catalyst research challenges the perception that corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are disappearing. A survey of more than 2,000 United States (US) employees and leaders found that 80% of organizations remain committed to inclusion, fairness, and diverse representation, even as many have changed their language or public messaging. While 55% of organizations publicly signaled a retreat from DEI, only 34% reported reducing their inclusion efforts. For HR leaders, the findings suggest that workplace inclusion remains a business priority, but strategies must be adapted to withstand greater legal and political scrutiny.
3. How HR Can Make Transformation Stick
Focus on Clarity, Ownership and Curiosity
My HR Future
In this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, Phil Le-Brun and Jana Werner, Executives in Residence at Amazon Web Services and authors of The Octopus Organization, argue most companies still operate like what they call a Tin Man organization: standardized, permission based, built for control rather than adaptability. Drawing on their work advising leadership teams, they outline three themes, clarity, ownership, and curiosity, that separate organizations able to adapt from those that cannot. Rather than treating transformation as a one-time project with an end date, they argue HR should embed learning into daily work and measure progress through flow of work, not vanity metrics.
For further reading on HR transformation, have a look at the ILR School report “Learning & Development as a Change Management Lever for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Transformations”.
4. Evidence-Driven Decision-Making
CAHRS Partner Workday Suggests Placing Data at the Heart of HR
KPMG
KPMG's June 2026 CHRO Round Table on People Analytics found that 83% of Chief People Officers expect to scale AI adoption within HR, and that organizations with mature people analytics practices can see productivity gains of up to 25%. CAHRS Partner Workday indicated that most HR functions still rely on manual reporting rather than a unified data foundation, which limits the shift from descriptive reporting toward predictive and prescriptive insight. Workday also demonstrated how persona-based dashboards turn that data into real time decisions.
5. The say-on-pay Vote is in
What did it Actually say?
Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance
Although average Say-on-Pay support among Standard & Poor’s (S&P Global) 500 companies remained high at 91% as of June 1, this article argues that the headline percentage can obscure important shareholder signals. Compensation committees should examine voting trends over time, whether opposition is concentrated among major holders, and whether concerns relate to plan design, disclosure, pay outcomes, or proxy advisor recommendations. Committees should use vote analysis to guide fall shareholder outreach and future compensation decisions without allowing a single annual result to override broader business, talent, and performance considerations.
6. Experimenting at the Margins
AI Report Says HR Needs to Move Beyond Them
HR Dive
An i4cp survey of more than 1,300 business and HR leaders finds that many organizations are moving beyond isolated AI use cases, but implementation remains a collection of disconnected experiments rather than a fundamental redesign of work. Organizations with strong AI cultures were 4.5 times more likely to report that AI had increased HR’s impact, and they were also more likely to help managers adopt the technology effectively. The findings call on HR leaders to move beyond introducing tools and instead redesign workflows, identify which employees need upskilling, and use AI to improve decision-making and organizational agility while preserving the human elements of HR.
In “What I got Wrong About AI”, CAHRS Advisory Board Chair and IBM Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Nickle LaMoreaux reflects on the importance of applying AI to help change the way people work.
7. Engagement in 2026
What 23 Million Employees say About it
Perceptyx
Perceptyx's 2026 Benchmark Report, drawing on more than 23 million employee responses across 490 organizations, finds engagement rose one point to 81% in 2025 after years of flat results. The strongest driver has shifted: confidence in senior leadership and how change is managed now outweigh belonging and feeling valued - the top drivers from 2016 through 2024. Highly engaged employees are 1.9 times more likely to say change is effectively handled, even though only 55% rate change management favorably. AI optimism is outpacing readiness, with just one third of employees feeling prepared to use AI tools.
8. HR Moves
The Ones That Made Headlines in the First Half of 2026
HR Brew
The first half of 2026 brought significant turnover across senior HR leadership roles. New appointments included Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) or chief people leaders at Albertsons, Alaska Airlines, Comcast, Coca-Cola, and CAHRS partner JPMorgan Chase. At the same time, senior HR leaders departed organizations including Epic Games, Coca-Cola, Sanofi, Yum! Brands, and Google, often amid layoffs, CEO transitions, or retirement. Taken together, these moves suggest that companies are reshaping expectations for top HR leaders, with some roles broadening beyond traditional people-responsibilities, while leadership transitions increasingly coincide with wider business and workforce transformation.
For a look at turnover in fulfillment centers, download this ResearchBrief based on ILR School research looking at whether a voice channel can reduce employee turnover.
9. OECD Employment Outlook 2026
Geographic Disparities in Jobs and Incomes
OECD
The OECD's Employment Outlook 2026 finds employment across its 38 member countries reached 670 million in May 2026, up about 26% since 2001, with growth projected at 0.3% this year and 0.6% in 2027. Unemployment held at 4.9%, near a multi-year low, even as real wages remain below their 2022 peak in a third of member countries and a new energy shock threatens further pressure. The report's central finding is that geography increasingly shapes job prospects: employment rates vary by more than 20 percentage points across small regions in more than half of OECD countries.
10. CAHRS HRBP Exchange
Members Gathered at IBM to Discuss This Complex HR Role
CAHRS
The CAHRS HR Business Partner (HRBP) Exchange brought together leading organizations to explore how the role is evolving in response to rapid business change, organizational transformation, and workforce disruption. Discussions centered on the newly developed CAHRS World-Class HRBP Framework, emphasizing that effective HRBPs must move beyond traditional HR support to become strategic business advisors who connect talent, organization design, culture, and workforce planning to business outcomes. Participants shared practical approaches for strengthening HRBP capabilities, including using assessments and AI tools for development, improving strategic influence with business leaders, and maintaining a positive employee experience during periods of uncertainty and change.