The 2026 State of HR Service Report

Five shifts redefining HR Service Delivery.

This report distills the findings of original research into five trends shaping HR service in 2026. Each trend is broken down with the following:

• Insight
• What it means
• The direction forwards

It gives HR leaders a clear view of what’s changing — and practical steps to deliver faster, more human support.

In late 2025, Applaud partnered with Censuswide to survey 1,000 UK employees at organizations with 2,000+ staff to understand today’s HR service: how often people need help, where they go, how fast they get support, and how confident they feel using HR tools.

We also analyzed time, cost, and productivity benchmarks to gauge wider impact.