— New report · HR Shared Services Trends 2026

HR Shared Services is at a crossroads. Are you ready for what comes next?

The most pressing challenges are not about ambition. They are about the practical ability to execute – and that gap between ambition and reality is widening.

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HR shared services trends report 2026 LACE Partners - cover

approximately

%

predict the HRSS workforce mix to shift to 60%-70% human and 30%-40% AI in the next 12-24 months

only

%

use generative AI. Adoption is still early and efficiency-focused

around

%

have a dedicated employee experience role or team within HR

only

%

measure benefits realisation, including ROI

Source: HR Shared Services Trends 2026 survey, LACE Partners.

The next phase of HR shared services will not be defined by technology alone. Future advantage will come from rethinking how service models are designed, governed and measured – shifting from activity to value, and from process delivery to intelligence and insight.

It requires deliberate choices, not incremental change.

— TOPICS WE EXPLORE

Four areas that define where HR shared services stands

Service offering and experience

38% plan to expand digital systems and AI, but 73% lack an enterprise-wide front door for employee queries.
Scope is expanding but not always strategically and service models are struggling to keep pace with workforce reality.

Structure, governance and continuous improvement

Organisations with integrated models deliver fundamentally different experiences. Operating models remain fragmented while AI reshapes delivery and planning and prioritisation is becoming a hidden operating model risk.

Digital enablers

The conversation about AI in HR shared services has shifted
decisively. AI adoption is rising fast, but most organisations lack the governance, capability and structural clarity to deploy it effectively.

Capabilities, behaviours and talent

Talent models are under strain and not keeping pace for an AI-enabled future. The task now is less about defining capabilities than finally embedding them.

— INSIDE THE REPORT

About the research

This is the latest in our series of bi-annual surveys dedicated specifically to the HR shared services market, which we started in 2020. This year’s data set includes responses from CPOs, GBS and HR shared service leaders across 45 global businesses.

Respondents shared their perspectives across strategic priorities, service offerings, people experience, structure and governance, talent and skills, digital enablers, and the future outlook.

45

global businesses represented

6+

topic areas covered in depth

Questions the report challenges you to ask

Are you building capability intentionally, or relying on external hiring?

Is your operating model designed for intelligence-led service, or still optimized for transactions?

What would happen if your organisation made experience design a leadership discipline rather than an improvement project?

Are you treating AI as a tool, or as a fundamentally different way of designing work?

When leadership teams prioritise HR work, are they making decisions based on genuine capacity data, or on confidence and influence?

What future roles or personas will sit in HR shared services?

Is your knowledge foundation strong enough for AI to be trusted at scale?

“From where I sit, HR Shared Services is at an inflection point, shifting from a transactional delivery model to becoming the operating engine that drives intelligence, experience, and execution for the broader People function. The real question now is less about what HR Shared Services does, and more about how effectively it enables better decisions, faster outcomes and a more intuitive employee experience at scale.”

Head of People Operations, Global Software Company