CAHRS Top 10 July 2026
- Hiring by Professional Affiliation
Benefits, Challenges and Strategic Implications
CAHRS
As individual career mobility increases, organizations are turning to the external labor market to fulfill talent needs. This shift has popularized Hiring by Professional Affiliation (HBPA) — a category of hiring practices where a firm leverages prospective hires’ ties to former employers, teams, or colleagues to facilitate selection and gain access to external resources. Cornell ILR School HR Studies Professor Rebecca Kehoe and colleagues share specific suggestions for these types of hires such as onboarding and performance management.
- AI Transformation
CHROs are Being Hired to Lead
HR Brew
Russell Reynolds Associates data shows that external Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) appointments accounted for 56% of global hires in Q1 2026, up from 46% a year earlier, with S&P 500 companies reaching 67% -- more than double the prior year figure. The surge tracks closely with CEO turnover, with incoming CEOs driving the trend. With no established playbook for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-era workforce transformation, many are opting for outside talent rather than promoting from within. The role itself is shifting, with CHROs now expected to lead organizational redesign, realign skills to AI-driven workflows, and build cultures where employees can experiment and adapt.
3. Quiet Quitting
On the Rise in India
Gallup
Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report finds that employee engagement in India fell to 23% in 2025, a four-year low, costing the economy $351 billion in lost productivity annually – equivalent to approximately 9% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While India remains above the global average of 20%, the most alarming signal is a nine-percentage-point drop in manager engagement since 2024, falling from 39% to 30%. Since managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, their disengagement has an outsized effect. Critically, 59% of Indian employees are "not engaged" but not actively working against their organizations, representing significant untapped potential.
4. CAHRS Partner Company PepsiCo
Doubling Down on AI Curiosity Tools
Benzinga
As major tech corporations like Amazon launch AI-powered platforms to automate resume screening and high-volume evaluations, PepsiCo is taking a distinct approach by heavily emphasizing core human traits. Chief People Officer and CAHRS Advisory Board member Becky Schmitt highlights that the company's hiring priority centers on candidate adaptability, persistent problem-solving ability, and constant curiosity as automation handles routine workplace tasks.
Have a look at how CAHRS Partner Company Caterpillar is also using AI to build a sustainable future in this Keynote.
5. HR Directors
What They Need From the CEO
The HR Director
In 2026, the organizations thriving in their sectors are those with the strongest alignment between people and business performance, and that alignment depends on the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Human Resources (HR) director. HR needs genuine partnership from the top, with four specific asks: a seat at the strategy table from the very beginning of conversations rather than when people issues arise; CEO investment in HR technology that enable HR to shift from reporting on the past to advising on the future; CEO ownership of organizational culture; and active backing when HR directors face difficult calls on talent and risk.
6. AI and the CHRO
Redefining Human Capital Leadership
IMD
AI is fundamentally transforming the CHRO from a steward of people operations into an enterprise leader of human-AI strategy. Driven by rapid digitization and impending regulatory deadlines like the EU AI Act's August 2026 enforcement, the vast majority of CHROs now rank AI as their top concern. Leading organizations demonstrate that deploying advanced AI across the HR value chain can boost productivity by up to 30% through automated recruitment screening, personalized internal mobility pathways, and streamlined employee service delivery. To successfully architect this transition without losing their human centered edge, CHROs must actively govern AI autonomy with strict ethical oversight while aggressively reskilling their workforces in the distinct emotional and contextual capabilities that machines cannot replicate.
7. Companies are Spending on Pride Again
But not Like They Used to
Fast Company
Corporate sponsorship of Pride celebrations appears to be picking back up, but support remains more cautious and uneven than in prior years. While some major brands have returned as Pride sponsors, many companies are still scaling back, staying quiet, or limiting their public support amid ongoing scrutiny of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus (LGBTQ+) initiatives. This corporate hesitation can have real workplace implications, as some LGBTQ+ employees reconsider how openly they share their identities at work.
Check out Emerald Insight’s “Debunking Rhetorical Myths About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Trump era,” featuring the latest Cornell ILR School research on DEI.
8. HR Monitor 2026
Top Trends in the People Function
McKinsey
McKinsey's HR Monitor 2026 report outlines five pivotal shifts required for the human and AI collaboration era, noting that workforce planning must move from short term headcount logistics to long term capability strategy as routine tasks decline. Performance and development remain fragmented, with infrequent feedback cycles and restricted training participation often overestimated by HR professionals. Voluntary attrition has dropped as employees increasingly prioritize compensation, work life balance, and job security over extra workplace programming. Large scale AI adoption remains stalled in administrative pilots due to fragmented data, meaning HR must embrace a unified data backbone to avoid losing its strategic responsibilities to Information Technology (IT).
9. EU Pay Transparency Directive
Its Impact on Global Hiring
Thomson Reuters
The European Union (EU) Pay Transparency Directive faces a strict June 2026 deadline, yet widespread non-compliance persists as multiple member states delay implementation due to administrative burdens. Compounding this compliance risk is a global crackdown on worker misclassification, where regulators focus on the actual substance of daily operations rather than independent contractor agreements. Furthermore, global payroll data reveals that statutory contributions in Europe cost an average of 16 percent more than in the United States, meaning flexible work policies often trigger unforeseen financial liabilities.
10. The Future of Leadership Pipelines
Rethinking Succession in the Digital Era
eCornell
Modern organizations are currently grappling with global disruptions that have fundamentally changed how work is structured and how employees engage with their companies. To address these shifts, businesses are moving away from opaque promotion processes that often lead to staff dissatisfaction and high turnover rates. In this Keynote, CAHRS Academic Director and William J. Conaty Professor of Strategic Human Resources Brad Bell and Penelope Sur, Vice President of Global Talent at Eastman explore cutting‑edge frameworks for effective, transparent succession planning.
Liking the Keynotes? Be sure to sign up for the July 8th “The Power of Advocacy”, focusing on the strategies for career advancement shared by Cornell ILR School HR Studies Associate Professor JR Keller.