Based on an extensive survey of over 1,000 HR and people professionals, this report serves as a key resource for guiding informed decisions on your organisation’s talent strategies.
The competitive landscape for talent acquisition remains complex, but there are signs the market is beginning to soften. The CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Report 2026, supported by Omni RMS, highlights the key trends and challenges shaping the talent market, offering valuable insights into how organisations can adapt and thrive. We’ve summarised the report’s findings here, with a focus on the major challenges and the strategies to address them.
The CIPD Report finds that while talent attraction pressures are easing, the challenge of finding the right talent remains. Over half (53%) of organisations experienced difficulties attracting candidates over the last year, down from 64% in 2024 and 77% in 2022, reflecting lower vacancy levels and a softer labour market. However, this improvement masks a growing issue. 58% of employers report an increase in unsuitable applicants, while just 33% have seen a rise in suitable candidates. As application volumes grow, talent teams are spending more time screening, slowing hiring decisions and putting candidate experience under increasing pressure. The challenge is no longer simply attracting candidates, it is identifying the right ones efficiently.
Recruitment is getting more expensive for the first time since the 2015 CIPD report. The median cost of recruiting senior managers has risen to £3,500, and £2,000 for other employees, reversing the downward trend of recent years. Cost pressures are set to grow, with 54% of employers expecting the Employment Rights Act to increase their costs and 26% expecting to recruit fewer roles as a result. In this environment, getting recruitment right the first time has never mattered more.
With external recruitment still difficult for critical roles, more organisations are improving talent from within. 48% of employers have increased their efforts to develop talent in-house over the last year. Increasing learning and development opportunities is now a common response to retention challenges which affects 44% of employers. Skills-based hiring, upskilling and clear internal pathways are becoming increasingly important in order to future proof organisations, along with ensuring internal mobility is a core resourcing strategy.
Despite talent management remaining a top priority for CEOs, recruitment on the ground tells a different story. The CIPD Report shows some conflicting data with 49% of organisations stating they have a workforce planning strategy grounded in a robust understanding of current and future needs, yet 46% are still taking an ad-hoc approach; and only 19% measure the ROI of their hiring. There are encouraging signs of medium-term thinking, with the proportion taking a short-term view falling to 24%, down from 31% in 2024 yet only 16% are planning over two years, and 36% are still not collecting data in any of the areas explored. Good quality data underpins effective planning, and those who shift from reactive hiring to a strategic, insight-led approach will be best placed to close skills gaps and secure the talent needed for growth.
Selection practice remains firmly rooted in the familiar. Almost all organisations (96%) still rely on some form of interview, with competency-based (60%) and CV-led (56%) formats leading the way. Testing and assessment sit at 63%, little changed since 2024. Yet the context around us is shifting fast. Advances in technology and the demands of the Employment Rights Act call for fairer, more predictive and more efficient approaches, but the appetite to innovate looks thin. Self-selection tools (11%) and pre-application assessments (21%) remain marginal, even as unsuitable applications rise, and just 7% track the predictive validity of their methods. The question is uncomfortable but pressing: do we know our assessment processes actually work?
Adoption of recruitment technology is growing, but AI is being introduced with caution. The CIPD Report, supported by Omni, find 76% of organisations using technology report their use has increased over the last 12 months, yet AI remains at the margins of the process. While 44% report using AI in some form, only 8% use AI-enabled sourcing tools and 16% use it for screening. Nearly half (48%) of those using AI say it has increased the availability of useful information for resourcing planning. 35% of employers now attempt to monitor jobseekers’ use of generative AI. The opportunity lies in using AI to streamline and create efficiencies, rather than replacing the human judgement that should sit at the heart of every hiring decision.
By adopting the targeted strategies set out in the report, organisations can better navigate a shifting labour market and ensure they attract, retain and develop the talent needed to underpin growth. As the market softens, the advantages will go to those who plan proactively, understand how to assess validly and reliably, and turn insight into action.