What’s really keeping HR up at night in 2026 and why process matters more than tech

If HR work feels heavier than it used to, you’re not imagining it.

HR teams are being asked to support faster change, higher expectations from leadership, growing employee needs, and increasing pressure to “do something with AI” all at the same time. Yet the size of your team and the hours in your week haven’t changed.

The effects of this are shown clearly in the What’s Keeping HR Up at Night? 2026 Edition report from HR Executive. It captures what many HR teams are already living with day to day: rising responsibility, fragmented systems, and not enough capacity to step back and fix the foundations 

And that’s where most AI conversations quietly fall apart.

What are the key pressures impacting HR teams in 2026?

The report outlines five realities shaping HR in 2026, but one theme runs through all of them: change is accelerating faster than organisations can absorb it.

HR teams are now expected to:

• Act as strategic partners on skills, workforce planning, and AI readiness
• Manage constant organisational change
• Support employee well-being through uncertainty
• Make sense of new technology while still running the day job

At the same time, nearly 75% of HR leaders report increased stress, with less than 1.5% seeing any reduction at all. That stress isn’t because HR teams lack ambition or capability. It’s because the work keeps piling up, often on top of processes that were never designed to scale.

How AI is outpacing HR foundations and what it means

One of the most striking findings in the report is how quickly AI experimentation is growing, while AI maturity remains low.

AI use cases have nearly doubled year on year, yet most organisations are still stuck at the testing stage. Few have moved into responsible, integrated use that actually changes how work gets done 

This gap shows up when HR is asked to automate workflows that are:

• Poorly documented
• Split across disconnected tools
• Owned by no one end-to-end
• Designed for exceptions rather than consistency

Automating these processes doesn’t remove friction. It locks it in.

Why HR process design is essential before introducing AI automation

This is where the difference between useful automation and frustrating automation becomes clear.

When HR teams redesign workflows before introducing AI, the results are fundamentally different. Automation does not create behaviour. It reflects it.

If a process is unclear, AI will scale confusion.
If a process is transactional, AI will make it colder.
If a process is thoughtful, AI will make it smoother.

That principle closely aligns with the findings in the Achievers Workforce Institute’s 2026 Engagement and Retention Report. Organisations that struggle with engagement and retention are often dealing with unclear ownership, inconsistent processes, and fragmented systems. Adding AI into that mix does not fix the problem. It accelerates it.

By contrast, teams that take the time to define purpose, expectations, and outcomes before automating create workflows that feel supportive rather than mechanical. In those environments, AI becomes a practical co-pilot, handling repetition and coordination while people focus on judgment, context, and human connection.

This is why process design is not a preliminary step to automation. It is the work that determines whether automation will help or hinder the employee experience.

How HR automation supports meaningful engagement beyond efficiency

The report reinforces that retention and engagement are tied to meaningful experiences, not just efficiency. Employees who feel recognised and supported are dramatically more likely to stay.

That doesn’t happen because HR automates faster. It happens because:

• Feedback loops are clear
• Expectations are explicit
• Managers are supported, not overloaded
• Processes guide people instead of chasing them

AI helps when it removes admin from these moments, not when it replaces them.

Where HR teams can realistically start their AI automation journey

You don’t need to fix everything at once. Most HR teams in the report are spending a large share of time on operational work, leaving little room for redesign.

The most sustainable starting point is to:

• Pick one high-friction workflow
• Map what actually happens today
• Decide what behaviour the process should encourage
• Introduce AI only where it removes repetition or improves clarity

Performance reviews, onboarding, employee requests, and approvals are often the quickest wins because the pain is already visible.

HR teams can seize the automation opportunity

The report makes one thing clear: the pace of change isn’t slowing down. But HR teams that invest in readiness over reaction will feel the difference.

That means:

• Fixing processes before automating them
• Using AI as support, not replacement
• Designing workflows people trust and understand
• Reducing cognitive load, not adding to it

AI won’t lighten HR’s workload on its own. But paired with clear, intentional processes, it can give teams back time, headspace, and confidence.

If you’re curious what that looks like in practice, starting with a real workflow template is often easier than starting with a blank page. And if you want to talk through where AI could genuinely help rather than add noise, having a grounded conversation is usually the best first step.