%
name employment legislation changes among the biggest impacts on their role
What HR leaders are preparing for in 2027
564 HR professionals told us where pressure is building, where budget is moving and how far AI has reached their teams. Here is what the numbers show.
Key findings at a glance
%
put retaining and engaging employees in their top three HR priorities
%
say their HR team is at least fairly comfortable with AI tools
%
say HR leads AI adoption in their organisation
Legislation is the pressure HR feels most
Employment legislation is the change HR leaders feel most. 61% name it among the biggest impacts on their role over the past year, ahead of AI and new technology at 50%. Asked about their 2027 worries, 24% name employment law and compliance among their top three.
Biggest changes affecting HR roles
Base: 472 respondents who answered. Select all that apply, so totals exceed 100%.
Source: HR Pulse 2027 (fieldwork September 2026)
Employment law and compliance tops the list of worries
When asked for their top three worries for 2027, 24% name employment law and compliance. Attracting talent follows at 16%.
Employment law is the only worry named by more than a fifth of respondents. Engagement (15%), economic pressures (11%) and wellbeing (9%) also feature.
What to do next: list the legislative changes due in 2027, check which ones touch your contracts and policies, and give each one a named owner.
Base: 472 respondents who answered. Up to three answers each.
Keeping people now matters more than finding them
Retention is the top HR priority for 2027. 60% put retaining and engaging employees in their top three HR priorities, ahead of building leadership capability (42%) and compliance (38%). Where budget is growing, manager development and learning and development lead at 17% each.
Top three HR priorities for the next 12 months
Retaining and engaging
Building leadership
Compliance and employment law
Attracting talent
Upskilling the team
Wellbeing
Embedding AI
Data, analytics and reporting
Base: 444 respondents who answered. Respondents could choose up to three priorities.
Source: HR Pulse 2027 (fieldwork September 2026)
Managers and L&D lead planned investment
Manager development and learning and development each draw 17% of respondents as areas where they plan to increase investment.
Behind those two, HR technology (15%), recruitment (8%) and wellbeing (7%) draw the most planned investment. Headcount and analytics sit at 4% each, and 28% have no plans to increase spend.
What to do next: ask managers which skills their teams will need most in the year ahead, and build one development goal into each team plan.
Base: 444 respondents who answered. Select up to three.
AI comfort is high. Ownership is not.
76% say their HR team is at least fairly comfortable with AI tools. Only 15% are very comfortable and already use them regularly. HR leads adoption in 7% of organisations, while most adoption is organic (30%) or led by IT (29%).
How comfortable is your HR team with using AI tools day-to-day?
Base: 410 respondents who answered. Percentages are rounded.
Source: HR Pulse 2027 (fieldwork September 2026)
Who is driving AI adoption?
30% say adoption in their organisation is organic, with no clear lead. 29% say IT leads it. Only 7% say HR does.
Senior leadership drives adoption in 21% of organisations, and a dedicated AI team does so in 9%. Taken together, 58% say adoption is either led by IT or has no clear lead.
What to do next: agree who makes the decisions on AI tools, data use and training before the next tool arrives.
Base: 410 respondents who answered.
HR is consulted more often than it leads
Just over a quarter of HR leaders (26%) describe HR as a true strategic partner that shapes business decisions. Four in ten say HR is consulted but does not always drive strategy, and 30% say HR is mainly operational.
How much influence does HR have on business decisions?
0
Consulted but doesn't drive decisions
0
Mainly operational
0
True strategic partner
0
Undervalued
Base: 410 respondents who answered. Percentages are rounded.
Source: HR Pulse 2027 (fieldwork September 2026)
Where to start in 2027
Build a 2027 compliance calendar
Legislation is the most-named change. Map the changes that land in your year and agree who owns each one.
Find early warning signs in your data
Retention is now a top priority. Look for early signals in the data you already hold, before resignations start.
Agree who owns AI decisions
Comfort is high, but HR leads adoption in only 7% of organisations. Settle ownership before choosing tools.
About the research
564 HR professionals completed the HR Pulse 2027 survey in September 2026. All respondents are PeopleHR customers, and most work at small organisations: 72% have fewer than 250 employees. HR managers and business partners (33%) and other roles (22%) make up the largest groups.
Percentages use respondents who answered each question. Multi-select totals can exceed 100%, so treat those results as indicative.
The 2026 comparison in Future-Ready HR in 2026 used a different sample (171 HR leaders, YouGov, fieldwork 31 December 2025 to 19 January 2026) and different questions. Read any year-on-year comparison as directional.
Read the full HR Pulse 2027 report
Get the complete findings, the year-on-year comparison and the practical next steps for your team.