Nearly all HR leaders surveyed by workforce technology provider isolved said their teams are viewed as strategic, even as repetitive employee questions and skills gaps constrain their capacity. The company released its 2026 HR Leaders Report on Oct. 14.
The report is based on a second-quarter survey of 1,005 U.S. HR decision-makers in management roles or above. It found that 99% said their HR team is viewed as strategic, up from 94% in 2025. Eighty-eight percent said they are optimistic about the profession.
Yet 47% of respondents said they spend at least four hours a day answering repetitive employee questions. Seventy percent said they would use time recovered from those tasks for strategic initiatives.
The survey also found that 59% see a workforce skills gap, compared with 48% in 2025. Meanwhile, 89% reported facing at least one cost pressure, and 34% said they are increasing investment in AI or automation instead of hiring.
For HR teams, the findings point to a practical tension: respondents report rising strategic expectations, but many also describe routine work and resource pressures that compete for their time. The survey reflects the views of those polled, not independently verified measures of the wider workforce.
