The Secret Chamber every HR must enter in 2026

Iryna Glashan
1 hour ago
4 min read

HR insights and trends influencing hiring processes

Every end of November, HR starts to feel a bit like Hogwarts in exam season. The pressure builds, unfinished projects pile up, and worries about annual performance reviews and what comes next hover in the air like anxious little ghosts. So instead of waiting for the unknown, we’re inviting you into the secret rooms that reveal the trends every HR leader must know.

Chamber One. Employees Want More Than a Payslip

Stepping into this chamber feels a bit like hearing Moaning Myrtle echoing somewhere in the background. Employees today are vocal, determined and perfectly willing to make sure they get what they want.

Forget free fruit bowls and casual Fridays. The chamber makes the point sharper: people no longer want surface level perks. They want work that genuinely fits their lives.

Modern workplaces must offer meaningful work, real flexibility, honest communication, wellbeing support, opportunities for growth and a culture that genuinely values people.

Around 70% of employees say flexibility is a major factor in job decisions, and values matter too, with 1 in 3 prepared to leave if the organisation’s purpose no longer aligns. 92% of millennials and 70% of UK employees say flexible working makes a role more attractive.

The return to office debate adds another layer. While many companies have pushed for office attendance, employees remain unconvinced. 51% want fully remote roles, 46% prefer hybrid and only 3% want to be fully in the office. 63% would take a pay cut for remote work and the majority say home working improves both their mental and physical health. Perhaps that could influence the cost of workplace mental health issues, which still cost the UK economy £56 billion a year.

Chamber Two. The Ministry of Automation

Entering this chamber feels like entering a chaotic wizard’s workshop. Papers fly, quills scribble on their own and payroll scrolls creep out of drawers. It is not a monster, just bureaucracy and manual work... and it can be defeated with AI and modern technology.

HR teams still lose about 14 hours each week to admin. Automation can return a third of that time. It can process CVs, checks vetting, runs workflows and manage compliance like a helpful phoenix lifting you out of the paperwork.

Generative AI has dominated headlines, but agentic AI is the real breakthrough. This new technology can plan, think and complete multi step tasks. Nearly half of large organisations have already adopted it, compared with just 25% of midsized and 4% of small businesses. Of course, power comes with caution. Seventy nine percent of IT leaders say AI introduces new security challenges, and 55% are not confident their guardrails are strong enough yet.

The use of virtual workspaces will become more popular each year. The Metaverse Workplace is predicted to reach 27.7 billion dollars by 2030. Yet only 30% of companies will be ready for it by 2026.

Smart technology is not replacing HR. It is empowering it.

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AI isn’t here to take HR’s job - it’s here to take the admin that overwhelms it. But HR professionals who understand how to use AI will be the ones who move ahead.

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Julian Parker, Managing Director, IDGateway

Chamber Three: HR’s Data Crystal Ball

Data, data, data... This chamber whispers it like a spell.

Data is becoming HR’s daily language. Modern analytics tools are shifting from lagging reports to leading indicators that show what is coming, not what has already passed. By 2030, analytics will sit at the centre of every major workforce decision. HR leaders who cannot read numbers or understand business performance, risk being pushed aside like wizards who never mastered their basic spells.

Imagine having a crystal ball that tells you which hires will thrive and which changes will boost engagement. HR teams are moving from spreadsheets to predictive dashboards.

94% of business leaders say they have people data, and 60% of executives are not using it to make decisions.

In the near future, data skills will be non negotiable. If you are not using it yet, this is your moment.

Chamber Four. HR’s Generational Puzzle

Stepping into this chamber feels a bit like walking into Hogwarts at breakfast time. Five generations, all at the same table, all wanting something different. Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z and now Gen Alpha are reshaping the workplace faster than you can post a new job advert.

Older generations in the UK built their careers in a workplace defined by stability, long term roles, clear hierarchies and full time office hours were the norm. Younger workers expect flexibility, autonomy and purpose. They move between roles more freely, prioritise wellbeing and look for employers whose values match their own.

To manage a multigenerational workforce effectively, HR needs to work with how people think, not just how they work. While generational differences exist, research cautions against pigeonholing people by age. Clear communication reduces uncertainty for every age group, and it is worth understanding the psychology and expectations of each generation.

Chamber Five. Dumbledore’s Wisdom

The chamber opens with a piece of timeless wisdom. HR work is a flow, and no one knows everything. What matters is having a growth mindset, the willingness to keep learning and evolving. Those who stay open to learning are the ones who shine.

It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.

Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Technology runs fast, but human skills decide whether HR can keep pace. AI can automate tasks, analyse data and streamline workflows. But emotional intelligence, judgement, creativity and adaptability remain uniquely human - and more crucial than ever.

The combination of: human-centred soft skills + digital hard skills is what prepares HR for the future.

VettingGateway supports HR teams with fully compliant background checks, from DBS and Right to Work to employment references and FCA screening. The biggest names in recruitment, security and aviation trust us with their vetting. Add vetting magic to your recruitment.

Sources

CIPD Labour Market Outlook and CIPD People Profession 2030 Research, published under the Open Government Licence and CIPD research permissions; McKinsey & Company, Future of Work Report 2025 and AI Investment Outlook 2025; Workday, Top Tips for Managing Multigenerational Workforces (2024); Statista, Metaverse Workplace Market Data 2024–2030; ADP Research Institute, Agentic AI Workforce Report 2025; Yale Budget Lab, Labour Market Impact of Generative AI (2025); Pew Research Center, AI and Work Survey (2025).