2026年人力资源转型：从支持职能到价值引擎报告

CREATING

PEOPLE

ADVANTAGE2026Four

Power

MovesfortheCHROMarch2026By

Philipp

Kolo,

Jens

Baier,

Frank

Breitling,

Fang

Ruan,SuketuShah,

Peck

Kem

Low,AnthonyAriganello,Aida

Troncoso,

Lucas

van

Wees,Amy

Dufrane,

Ulrik

S.

Brix,and

Kai

Helfritz19Appendix1:

Regional

Variations21Appendix2:

HowCompany

SizeShapes

HR

Priorities22Appendix3:

Methodology24Appendix4:

Definitionsof

the

28

People

ManagementTopics26About

the

Authors27Acknowledgments28Supporting

Organizations30For

Further

Reading03ExecutiveSummary04Introduction05

Today,s

HR

Priorities09HR,s

RoleinCreating

BusinessValue12Leadingthe

Digital

and

AITransformation15Building

Workforce

and

LeadershipCapabilities17Four

Power

Movesforthe

CHROof

the

Future18ConclusionContentsInanincreasinglyfast-changingandcomplex

businessenvironment,CHROscan

makeor

break

businessperformance.The

bestCHROs

haveearnedaseatatthetableamong

leadershipteams,deployingdigitalandAIto

deliver

HRservicesefficientlyandeffectively)

buildingpeoplecapabilitiestodrivestrategic

priorities—including

enterprise-wideAItransformation—lookingaheadto

meet

rapidlyevolvingskillandworkforce

needs,and

ultimatelydriving

businessvalue.

But

many

HRteamsstillstruggleto

performatthat

level.Overthe

pasttwodecades,

BCG’sCreating

PeopleAdvantage

reports,in

partnershipwiththeWorld

Federation

ofPeople

ManagementAssociations(WFPMA),

haveprovidedcriticalguidancein

helpingCHROs

positionthemselvesinthefirstgroup.Thisyear’sanalysis—which

drewon

responsesfrom

morethan7,000

HRand

business

leaders—looksat28

people

managementtopicsandidentifiesthe

biggest

priorities.Keyfindings:•Stronger

HRcapabilitiesleadtogreaterbusinessvalue.Companiesthat

have

highercapabilitiesinareaslikeemployeeengagementandwell-being,

recruitingandonboarding,andsustainabilitycan

bettersupportbusinessobjectives,

by

helping

leadersshapeanddevelop

theworkforce

morestrategically.•However,

HRfunctionsarestrongerintraditional

areas.

Incontrast,companies

remainstronginsubjects

likecomplianceandemployee

relations,and

recruiting

andonboardingcontinueto

benefitfromautomationanddata-driven

processes.Theseareimportant,

but

theyarefoundationalandwon’tdrive

outstandingbusiness

performance.•CHROsaren’tyetcapitalizingondigital.

Digitalsolutions

madethe

biggest

jumpintermsof

futureimportanceamong

respondents—improving

13

ranksto

12th—butitshould

likely

be

rankedeven

higher.Current

capabilitiesinthisareaareamong

the

lowest

overall,underscoringthe

needforCHROsto

act.•Smallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)needto

catchupintheiradoptionof

digital.

Largecompanies

are

more

likelyto

prioritizetopics

likeGenAI,

peopleanalyticsandstrategicinsights,whereasSMEsstillrank

these

nearthe

bottomintermsof

futureimportance.The

results

pointtofour

movesforCHROs.•Deliverbusinessvaluethrough

HR.CHROsshould

notonlyimprovethe

performanceof

the

HRfunction

butexpandtheirfocusto

moredirectlyconnect

people

effortswiththestrategic

business

priorities.

Everything

theCHROdoesshould

beviewedthroughthis

lens—

doesthisservea

business

outcome?•Lead

the

digital

and

AI

transformation.CHROsneedtoembracethedualimperativeofmodernizingHRwithdigitalandAIto

bettersupport

business

units,

whilealso

leadingthe

broaderAItransformationof

the

entireenterprise,which

has

massiveworkforceandtalentimplications.•Build

workforce

and

leadership

capabilities.

In

achanging

businessenvironment,CHROs

mustdeveloppeoplecapabilitiesatall

levelsto

helpthe

company

win

inthe

market.Success

requiresdevelopingaskills-based

strategy,explicitly

linkedto

businessoutcomes,andrethinkingskillsand

roles.•Anchorthechange.

Finally,CHROs

needtoensurethatchangestake

root.That

requiressettingcleargovernanceandoperating

rhythms,embedding

newbehaviorsinto

performance

managementschemes,and

creatingacultureofaccountability.The

reportincludescasestudiesof

companies

puttingtheseideasintoaction.Theyillustratethatwiththe

right

approach,CHROsandtheirteamscan

evolvefrom

asupportfunctiontoadriverof

outsized

businessvalue.ExecutiveSummaryBOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO3Thisyear’ssurveydrew

responsesfrom

morethan7,000HRand

business

leaders,spanning115countriesandadministrative

regions)withdatafrom25differentindustries.•We

ranked

28

people

managementtopics

bytheirfuture

importanceandcompanies’currentcapabilities,toidentifythe

most

urgentareasfor

action.•Weconductedthreedeepdiveson

HR

priorities:

leading

thedigitalandAItransformation,

buildingworkforceand

leadershipcapabilities,andcreatingoutsized

businessvalue.•Basedonthat

analysis,

we

developed

practicalrecommendationsto

help

HR

leaderstranslatetheseinsightsintoimprovedorganizational

performance.Acentralthreadthroughour

reportisthe

needfor

HRleaderstogrowintermsofboth

business

anddigitalacumen.They

needtocomplementtheirdeepfunctional

expertiseto

meetthecurrent

peoplechallengesandbettercreate

businessvalue.The

results

makeoneconclusionclear:

HRis

no

longeran

enablingfunction

butadriverof

transformationandvalue

creation.

LeadingCHROsare

partneringdirectlywithCEOs

tosteerenterprisestrategyandsupport

business

leadersinexecutiontocreateoutsized

returns.

Every

HRteamshouldseektoearnandfulfillthis

rolewith

their

CEOs

and

leadershipteams.CHROsandtheirteamsfacea

range

of

challenges

right

now,

makingit

hardto

knowwheretofocustheirtimeandattention.

Disruptionand

uncertaintiesareemerging

thatdrive

bothoutsizedopportunitiesand

challenges.AI,andespeciallyagenticAI,is

reshaping

processesandworkstreams.Talentistougherthaneverto

recruitandretain.

Businessesareevolvingtheirstrategiestowininthisenvironment)which

requiresshifting

resourceallocations,

bolsteringand

building

newcapabilities,andpulling

backfrom

less-attractiveareas.CHROsandtheirteams

needto

beattheforefrontofhelping

leaders

deliver

ontheirambitious

businessagendas)throughfit-for-purpose

peoplestrategiesand

matching

HRcapabilities.Since

2007,

BCGandtheWorld

FederationofPeopleManagementAssociations(WFPMA)

havetrackedtheevolutionofHR

priorities.OurCreating

PeopleAdvantage

reportsover

nearlytwodecades,includingthe

previouseditionin

2023,constitutethe

largestand

longest-running

globalstudyon

HR

priorities.Theytracethechanging

role

ofHRfromfunctionaladministratortostrategic

partnerto

creatorofnewvalueforthe

business.(SeetheAppendices

fordetailsontherespondentbaseandmethodology.)IntroductionBOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO4Ouranalysisassesses

28

people-managementtopics,measuringeach

by

respondents’self-reportedcapabilityin

thattopicand

howtheyviewitsfutureimportance.Thisapproach

provides

bothasnapshotof

the

presentand

aviewof

wherethe

HRagendais

headingoverthe

next

two

tothreeyears,giving

HR

leadersaclearviewof

the

most

criticalcapabilitygapsthey

mustaddress.•HR

leaders

say

that

traditional

HR

topics

are

stillthe

mostimportant.

Rankingthe

28topics

bytheirfutureimportance,

peopleand

HRstrategy

remainsatthetop)

reflecting

pressuretotranslate

headcountintocapabilityandskillscapacity.

Strategicworkforceplanningand

leadershipdevelopmentareclose

behind.

Recruitingandonboardingandtalent

management

and

succession

remainelevatedaswell,

underscoring

how

thecompetitionforscarceskillsisa

defining

constraint.(SeeExhibit1.)Thetopicthatshowedthe

biggestincreaseisdigitalsolutions(suchas

HR

processautomation),

jumping

13

ranksto

12thinthe

latestanalysis.

HR

leadersincreasinglyexperience

pressureto

utilizedigitaltoautomate)deliveranalyticalinsights)and

offer

aseamlessemployeeexperience.

Ratherthan

beingan

objectivethemselves,digitalandAIare

a

meansto

an

endfor

HR)streamliningworkflowsand

helpingteams

supportthe

business

moreefficientlyandeffectively.Employee-centricthemessuchasengagementandpurpose

remain

highly

ratedaswell,yettheir

movement

in

rankingssuggeststheyare

becomingfoundationalratherthandifferentiatingfactors.Today’s

HR

PrioritiesBOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO5RankingFutureimportance

rankingResponsesof

“high”or“somewhat

high”

(%)Peopleand

HRstrategy4784

1

02Strategicworkforceplanning4139

803

Leadershipdevelopment4337

80–1

Employervalue

proposition3939

7805Recruitingandonboarding3939

784Purposeandcultureactivation3839

770Upskillingand

reskilling3839

7708Talentmanagementandsuccessionplanning3740

777

Performancemanagement3640761

10Employeeengagementandwell-being4036

76–7

Employeerelations3440

741

12Digitalsolutions(e.g.,

HR

processautomation)3637

731313Organizationaldevelopmentanddesign3240

725

14Rewardsand

recognition324172–6

Peopleanalyticsand

reporting3537721

HRcostandimpactsteering3339

72N/AN/A17Healthandsafety3834

72–6

18HRstaff

capabilities3239

71–519HR

ITarchitecture,software,anddata3338

71–5Policymanagement3039692

HRorganizationandgovernance40

68–1

22Deploymentof

GenAIandotheremergingtechnologies3431

665

Transformationmanagement(includingrestructuring)3664–2

24Flexibleworkschemes35

63–7

25Diversity,equity,andinclusionmanagement36

61–6

Staffingand

mobility

management37

61–2

27Sustainabilityand

ESG3259–4

HRsharedservices3558–2

EXHIBIT1HR

Priorities

ShiftTowardWorkforce

Capability,Talent

Infrastructure,

and

Digital

Enablement•Digital

capabilities

and

innovation

are

lacking.

Inoursecondsetofrankings,which

looksat

the

same

28HRtopics

bycurrentcapability

levels,companies

remain

strongincomplianceandemployee

relations,as

wellas

recruitingandonboarding.(SeeExhibit2.)

Strategic

areassuchasstrategicworkforce

planningand

peopleanalyticsand

reportingshowsteady

progress

butare

still

lowerthantheirstatedimportanceinthefirst

ranking.

+3pp

difference–3pp

difference

High

importance

Somewhat

high

importanceSource:

2026

BCG/WFPMA

proprietary

web

survey

and

analysis(n=

7,115).Note:“Other”and

“N/A”

responsesare

notincluded

in

this

overview.

Because

ofrounding,

not

all

sector

percentages

add

up

to

100%.

The

2023

topic

rankingwas

recalculated

basedontheaverage

percentageof“high”

and

“somewhat

high”

responsesconsidering

merged

topics.Thegreatestdeficit

liesindigitalfluencyand

analytics

maturity.

Many

HRfunctions

haveinvested

heavilyin

systems,yetfew

have

builttheskillsordataculture

to

translatethosesystemsintoinsightanddecisionsupport.Thisechoes

broaderfindingsthatwhilecompaniescontinueto

makesizableinvestmentsin

digital,onlyasmallsharetranslate

solutionsintosustained

businessvalue.BOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO637282928272023ranking262423change132518212723221928202123262417201116197643161247691125151415831026RankingCurrentcapabilitiesrankingResponsesof

“high”or

“somewhat

high”

(%)Healthandsafety2333

5610Employeerelations1836

5420Policymanagement1932

51304Recruitingandonboarding1535

50128

Employervalue

proposition16314750Peopleand

HRstrategy1631

474–2

Purposeandcultureactivation16284470Employeeengagementandwell-being142944809Flexibleworkschemes28

426–3Performancemanagement27

429–1

HRstaff

capabilities314110–1

HRcostandimpactsteering28

40N/AN/ALeadershipdevelopment2639141

Upskillingand

reskilling2639162

Strategicworkforceplanning27

39172

Diversity,equity,andinclusionmanagement26

3815–1

17HRorganizationandgovernance26

3811–6

Organizationaldevelopmentanddesign253718019Rewardsand

recognition263713–6

20Sustainabilityand

ESG24

35244Peopleanalyticsand

reporting25

3521022HRsharedservices24

3319–3Talentmanagementandsuccessionplanning23

3322–1

24Transformationmanagement(includingrestructuring)23

3220–4

HR

ITarchitecture,software,anddata213123–2

Staffingand

mobility

management223025–1

Digitalsolutions(e.g.,

HR

processautomation)21

2926–1

Deploymentof

GenAIandotheremergingtechnologies

6

162227–1

Thesecondcore

priorityforCHROsis

buildingworkforce

and

leadershipcapabilities.Thisincludestalentmanagementandsuccession,

leadershipdevelopment,strategicworkforce

planning,

upskillingand

reskilling,and

peopleand

HRstrategy.Thesecapabilitiesensurethatcompanies

havethe

rightskillsand

leadership

behaviors

in

placetotransformandcapitalizeontechnology.Together,theseclustersformtheagendafor

2026.CHROswhoconnect

bothwilladvance

HR’scontribution

fromfunctionalexcellencetoenterprise-levelvaluedriver.

Inthe

nextsection,wewilldiscussthesethree

topicsin

moredetail,startingwiththe

mostimportant

topic:

howCHROscancreate

more

businessvalue.•Urgentpriorities:the2026“need-to-act”

matrix.The

matrixcombiningcurrentcapabilitieswithfutureimportance

highlightsthe

biggestgapsandthetopicswhereCHROs

needtofocustheirefforts.(SeeExhibit3.)

Specifically)twoclustersof

topicsshould

becomeprioritiesforCHROs.Thefirstis

leadinginatwo-speedworld:supporting

the

AIanddigitaltransformationacross

the

broaderenterprise,whilealsodrivingtheirown

processesto

deliver

better,faster,and

moreaccurateservices

at

lowercoststhroughdigitization

andAI.

+3pp

difference–3pp

difference

High

capabilities

Somewhat

high

capabilitiesSource:

2026

BCG/WFPMA

proprietary

web

survey

and

analysis(n=

7,115).Note:“Other”and

“N/A”

responsesare

notincluded

in

this

overview.

Because

ofrounding,

not

all

sector

percentages

add

up

to

100%.

The

2023

topic

rankingwas

recalculated

basedontheaverage

percentageof“high”

and

“somewhat

high”

responsesconsidering

merged

topics.Capabilities

Lag

Behindin

Future-CriticalTopics,with

Limited

Progressin

Digital

andAIBOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO72023ranking1414131313EXHIBIT2121212121111101010999change9762625282118231421511216111058727313945181A212152631628202719142524172322Strongneedto

act2Talent

managementand

succession

planningDigital

solutions

(e.g.,HR

processautomation)4Strategicworkforce

planningLeadershipdevelopment6HR

ITarchitecture,software,and

dataUpskillingandreskilling8Peopleanalyticsand

reporting1ADeploymentof

GenAI

andotheremerging

technologies(largecompanies)1357Mediumneedto

act1BDeploymentof

GenAIandotheremerging10Rewards

andrecognition14Transformationmanagement(including17Staffing

and

mobilitymanagement21Recruitingandonboarding9technologies(smalland

medium-sizedenterprises)1Peopleand

HRstrategy11Organizationaldevelopmentanddesign

PerformancemanagementPurposeand

cultureactivation15restructuring)Employeeengagement

and

well-beingHRcost

andimpact

steering18EmployervaluepropositionHRorganizationandgovernanceHRstaff

capabilities26Employee

relations1219161320Sortingthe

28Topics

by

Current

Capabilities

and

Future

Importance

Identifiesthe

Biggest

Prioritiesforthe

HR

FunctionSource:

2026

BCG/WFPMA

proprietary

web

survey

and

analysis(n=

7,115).Note:

Ranked

by

highest

numberofresponsesin

“high”and

“somewhat

high”categories.1DeltacalculationforGenAIdeploymentsplit

by

company

size

due

to

significant

differences.

Large

companies

have

at

least

5,000

employees;

small

and

medium-sizedenterprises

havefewerthan5,000employees.High

CURRENT

CAPABILITIES

LowBOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO8Diversity,equity,

and

inclusion

managementFlexibleworkschemes27Policy

management28Health

and

safetyHRsharedservicesSustainabilityand

ESGFUTURE

IMPORTANCELow

needtoactEXHIBIT325232422HighLow1ocreateoutsizedvalue,

HRfunctions

mustaligncloselywith

business

leadersandtheiragendas,evenas

demands

onefficiencyandoperationalexcellenceconstantlyincrease.

Forexample,automationandsharedservicescan

make

processes

moreconsistent,improvetheemployeeand

managerexperience,andfree

up

HRcapacityto

playa

morestrategic

roleinshaping

business

performance.

More

broadly,

HR

leaders

needto

linkthecompany’s

peoplestrategydirectlytoinnovation)

productivity)andfinancial

performance,inwaysthatdelivertangible

resultstothe

bottom

line.HR’s

RoleinCreatingBusiness

ValueUltimately,companies

measurethesuccessof

the

HRfunction

bythevalueitcreatesforthe

business,

notthe

volumeofactivityitdelivers.

Inoursurvey,65%of

senior

leadersview

HRasa

key

businessenabler,yet51%

cite

administrative

loadasthe

primary

barriertothefunction

makinga

morestrategiccontribution.BOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOUR

POWER

MOVES

FORTHECHRO9Focusonbusinessmetricsover

HR

metrics.To

helpcreate

measurablevalue,

HRteams

needtodeeplyunderstandthe

businessandwhatdrivessuccessfulexecutionofbusiness

priorities.Todoso,

HR

must

move

beyondtraditional

metricssuchastime-to-hireorengagementscoresandquantify

howtalentdecisions

directlyaffect

profitability)growth)andinnovation.This

meanstranslatingworkforceanalyticsinto

predictiveinsightsthatanticipate

business

needs,identifyopportunities,andguide

resourceallocation.Measurecapabilityvaluetogaugethebusinessimpactofupskilling.Capabilityvalueisa

key

metricforassessingthe

businessimpactofupskilling.

Definedasthe

measurablevaluecreated

byinvestmentsinskills,

reskilling,

and

learning,it

linksworkforcecapabilitiesdirectlytooutcomessuchas

productivitygains,fasterspeedtomastery,improved

retention,and

progressagainststrategic

priorities

likeAIanddigitaltransformationandgrowth.Capabilityvalue

requiresorganizationstodefinetheintended

businessimpactofupskillinginitiatives

upfront,trackoutcome-orientedandinterim

metrics,andassesswhetherthatimpact

has

beenachieved.

Leadingorganizations

usecapabilityvalueasa

performance

metric

toelevate

upskillingfromacosttoa

strategic

investment,

makingthecontributionofHRtoenterprise

performance

explicitand

measurable.Investinpeopletoimproveretention.

Inourdata,organizationsthat

havethe

highestcapabilitiesinemployee-

centricareas

report

lowerturnover.(SeeExhibit4.)These

includetopics

likeemployeeengagementandwell-being,recruitingandonboarding,andsustainability—aclearsignal

thatinvestingin

peopleyieldsdividends.EXHIBIT4Companieswith

Stronger

Employee-Centric

CapabilitiesTendto

Have

LowerWorkforceTurnoverAnnualemployeeturnover

rate(%)

bycapability Low

current

capability

High

current

capabilitySources:SPSS

multiple

linear

regressionanalysis

usingthe

2026CPAdata

set;

BCG

analysis.Note:

Dependent

variable:Annual

employee

turnover

rate

(%).

Model

statistically

significant,

F(28,

3380)

=

13.65,

p

<

.001,

R²=

0.102

(Adj.

R²=

0.094),N≈3,409.Althoughthe

modelidentifiesseveral

HR

capabilitieswith

meaningful

associations

to

turnover,

the

overall

explanatory

power

remains

modest,

indicatingthatturnoverisalsodriven

by

broaderorganizational

dynamics

and

external

labor-market

conditions.14.811.514.611.516.210.9BOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA

FOURPOWERMOVES

FORTHECHRO10Employeeengagement

and

well-beingRecruitingandonboardingSustainability

and

ESG

–5.3pp

–3.1pp

–3.3ppEXHIBIT5Stronger

Capabilitiesin

Planning,Analytics,

Mobility,

and

Emerging-Tech

Leadto

Faster

Hiring

ProcessesAverage

days

tofill

critical

roles

by

capability Low

capability

High

capabilitySource:SPSS

multiple

linear

regressionanalysis

usingthe

2026CPAdata

set.Note:

Dependent

variable:Average

days

tofill

critical

roles.

Model

statistically

significant,

F(28,

3602)=

6.04,

p

<

.001,

R²

=

0.045

(Adj.

R²

=

0.037),

N

≈3,631.The

modeldemonstratesastatistically

reliable

relationship,though

effect

size

remains

modest,

suggestingtime-to-fill

is

influenced

by

a

broader

set

oforganizationaland

marketfactors

beyondthe

HRcapabilitiescaptured

here.Make

hiringasuperpower.Organizationswithstrong

capabilitiesin

planning,analytics,

mobility,andemerging

techfillcritical

rolessignificantlyfasterand

better.

(See

Exhibit5.)These

high-capabilityteamscuttime-to-fill

byroughly

17to

18daysonaverage

compared

to

peers.Anecdotally,the

besttalentacquisitionteamsare

notonly

faster,

but

betterat

matching

recruitedindividualstobusiness

needs.–175538–185436StrategicDeploymentof

GenAIandHRworkforce

planningotheremergingtechnologiessharedservicesBOSTON

CONSULTING

GROUP

+

WFPMA