HR Planning for 2026: What to Keep, Kill, and Rethink

Key Takeaways:

• Strategic HR planning requires rigorous pruning, not just the layering of new initiatives

• Effective audits identify policies, vendors, and programs that are outdated, duplicative, or misaligned

• Sustainable HR functions are modular, insight-driven, and anchored to evolving business realities

• This framework equips HR leaders to drive value creation, not just operational continuity
  

As 2025 closes, HR executives face the real work of recalibrating strategy, not by adding more noise, but by eliminating what no longer delivers value. Growth, compliance, and workforce expectations have all shifted. Yet many organizations remain weighed down by legacy programs, fragmented systems, and policies that reflect past priorities rather than current needs.

Strategic HR planning for 2026 begins with an honest audit: What should we keep, kill, or rethink?

This guide outlines a structured framework HR leaders can apply across all core areas—from vendor management to compliance infrastructure—to create clarity, reduce waste, and position HR as a value-generating function.

A Strategic Framework for Year-End HR Audits

Category	Definition	Example Actions
Keep	Still delivering measurable value and future-fit	Scale, deepen, or optimize
Kill	Legacy, redundant, or low-ROI initiatives or systems	Sunset, retire, or consolidate
Rethink	Partially effective or increasingly misaligned	Redesign, reassign, or modernize

This model is adapted from systems thinking and prioritization frameworks used in enterprise planning. It challenges HR leaders to assess their current ecosystem with brutal honesty and strategic clarity.

1. Talent Programs: Shift from Activity to Impact

HR often inherits legacy initiatives that once served a need but now dilute focus. A training module introduced in response to 2020 remote work disruptions may no longer reflect how hybrid collaboration truly functions in your environment.

• Keep: Programs that show a consistent correlation to internal mobility, reduced regrettable attrition, or performance outcomes—validated through data.

• Kill: Development initiatives with low completion, unclear learning objectives, or duplicated content across platforms. These consume resources without moving the dial.

• Rethink: Diversity and inclusion programs that are awareness-focused but lack embedded accountability. Integrate DEI into performance metrics, recruitment workflows, and leadership evaluations.

  
  

Tip: Layer in your turnover and promotion data to evaluate what programming actually drives career progression or role stability.

2. Policy Infrastructure: Clarity Over Coverage

Excessive policy documentation can create confusion, delay decision-making, and introduce compliance gaps—particularly in organizations spanning multiple jurisdictions.

• Keep: Policies that are actively used, regularly updated, and embedded into manager workflows (e.g., accommodations, harassment, and hybrid work expectations).

• Kill: Dormant or duplicated documents created in response to transient concerns, such as outdated pandemic leave language.

• Rethink: Time-off and remote work policies that unintentionally reinforce inequality or create logistical friction. Modular policy frameworks can improve flexibility and maintain control.

Legal experts emphasize the importance of maintaining audit-ready policy language tied to current case law—not boilerplate templates.

3. HR Tech and Vendors: Rationalize Your Stack

The average mid-sized company uses over 10 HR-related platforms, according to a 2023 report by Sapient Insights Group. Yet many lack integration, cost visibility, or user adoption.

• Keep: Platforms with cross-functional integration (e.g., HRIS syncing with ATS and payroll), configurable workflows, and reliable service support.

• Kill: Tools with duplicate functionality, low adoption rates, or vendor lock-in that restricts adaptability.

• Rethink: Outsourced partnerships for recruitment or learning where in-house capability has matured. Consider hybrid models to increase internal ownership while preserving scalability.

  
  

Use a total cost of ownership model to assess tech—not just licensing fees. Include admin time, vendor management, and data reconciliation.

4. Employer Branding and Internal Communication

Culture is shaped by what is consistently communicated—both internally and externally. Messaging must evolve alongside the workforce and reflect lived experience, not aspirational language.

• Keep: Authentic messaging reinforced by real stories and practices. Internal Slack channels with executive transparency or recurring AMAs can be powerful culture signals.

• Kill: Recruitment brand statements that contradict exit interview feedback or Glassdoor trends.

• Rethink: Career sites, onboarding welcome kits, or EVP narratives that emphasize outdated motivators. Rethink toward belonging, purpose alignment, and growth narrative.

  
  

If your top performers say culture is flat, no amount of rebranding will mask structural gaps.

5. Performance Enablement and Metrics

Annual reviews and generalized KPIs are increasingly disconnected from how performance and potential are identified in agile, matrixed environments.

• Keep: Performance frameworks that enable timely feedback, track qualitative and quantitative indicators, and tie goals to business outcomes.

• Kill: Check-the-box performance templates or once-a-year review cycles. These are being replaced by continuous dialogue in most progressive firms.

• Rethink: Career pathing models. Replace rigid level-based ladders with flexible growth tracks that reward project impact and strategic contributions.

  
  

Use heatmaps to analyze goal alignment, promotion velocity, and performance conversations by team or function.

FAQ: Year-End HR Planning

Q: How do we determine if a program is worth keeping?

A: Use outcome-based KPIs such as engagement impact, retention improvement, or skill acquisition speed. Do not rely on participation alone.

Q: What risks arise from not eliminating outdated policies or vendors?

A: Misalignment leads to legal exposure, employee confusion, and increased administrative load—particularly during restructuring or growth.

Q: How should we communicate "kills" to stakeholders?

A: Anchor messaging in business value: freeing resources, reducing complexity, and aligning with updated strategic priorities.

Sample HR Audit Map

Function	Initiative or Tool	Action	Reason
L&D	E-learning platform A	Kill	Low usage, replaced by in-HRIS learning modules
Policy	Hybrid Work Policy (2021)	Rethink	Not aligned with current team structures
Recruitment Vendor	External RPO contract	Rethink	Evaluate hybrid in-house model for cost and control
Internal Comms	Weekly CEO video updates	Keep	Strong engagement, reinforces transparency
DEI Program	Monthly awareness newsletter	Kill	Low readership, no tie to performance or decision-making

Final Thoughts

Strategic HR planning is not a wishlist exercise. It is a disciplined review of what deserves continued investment and what no longer moves the organization forward. The most effective HR teams in 2026 will be those that operate lean, integrated, and forward-looking, building systems that are easy to scale and hard to break.

At Stoppler Hughes, we help mid-sized companies run enterprise-grade HR audits that streamline complexity and unlock capacity. Whether you are restructuring, planning for growth, or reevaluating vendors and systems, we provide the strategic partnership to transform HR from a support function into a value generator.