Gartner: How HR Leaders can Succeed in the AI Era

New research from Gartner has revealed that Chief HR Officers face several challenges as they move into 2026 and beyond, including growing responsibilities within the organisation, rapid technology adoption and pressure to add value and contribute to growth. 

The research, carried out to understand the workplace challenges and forces transforming the role of HR leaders, sets out nine key trends to address as a priority. 

Discussing these trends in a press release from Gartner, Emily Rose McRae, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner HR practice, says: “This year’s predictions address significant workplace forces CHROs must navigate in 2026: HR’s changing – and expanding – mandate, the AI-enabled workforce, mounting pressure for growth and the shifting employment deal.”

Prioritise necessary talent over technology

Consulting firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that 55,000 job losses in the US alone were due to advancements in AI infrastructure, with major companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and IBM reducing headcount due to the increase in productivity from AI. 

But Gartner warns business leaders to avoid making cuts before AI returns materialise, as some companies have had to begin the process of rehiring human workers after making redundancies. 

CHROs being asked to make cuts on the basis of AI must work closely with other business leaders to ensure proposed changes will be capable of supporting their organisation’s strategic goals, says Gartner.

Managing cultural dissonance

According to the firm, growing numbers of high profile companies face cultural dissonance, with friction between the way a company presents its values and the lived reality, leading to unsatisfied employees.

To combat this, CHROs need to ensure candidates are aware of challenges they may face in their roles during the hiring process, whether that be longer hours or high workloads. 

Kaelyn Lowmaster, Director in the Gartner HR practice, says: “This year, the most successful CHROs will be clear and explicit about the reality of their employee value proposition (EVP), including what they expect from employees (output, hours, location, etc.) in return.”

Protect employee mental fitness

By 2030, half of enterprises will face irreversible skill shortages because of unchecked AI use, according to Gartner. 

It recommends that CHROs work with managers in their organisation to ensure employees are correctly using AI tools in the context of their work.

To preserve human skills, HR leaders should also encourage peer and review learning, and development strategies across their organisations. 

The most successful organisations, Gartner suggests, will be those with CHROs who proactively work with legal and IT teams to devise a plan to prevent and respond to AI-related psychological injury.

Effort over quick wins

In working environments where employees have hard-to-reach targets, they’re more likely to rely on work produced by AI – particularly in organisations that deploy the technology to improve employee productivity. 

According to Gartner, this leads to a surplus of poor quality work that, over time, may damage an organisation’s brand. 

To ensure AI tools bring the most value, Emily says: “The best CHROs will focus on saving employees effort, not just time, by aiming AI at the most arduous, friction-filled moments in employee work, rather than quick wins. 

“Effort, rather than time spent, is the most reliable indicator CHROs should use to understand where AI should reshape work and provide value.”

High touch recruiting 

With more candidates using AI to finetune job applications and game ATS systems, recruitment is becoming more challenging. 

Gartner suggests that people need to play a bigger role in the hiring process with a personalised ‘high-touch’ approach that combines in-person hiring tools such as interviews and skills assessments with AI tools. 

The organisation recommends hiring leaders use the technology in the initial stages of recruitment, with a human-first approach for more complex work.