2026 HR benchmarks: 5 signals where Top Employers are pulling ahead in the U.S. and Canada

The latest benchmarks reveal what leading employers are standardizing, and what HR leaders should prioritize next.

Top Employers 2026 data: how HR is scaling metrics, skills and responsible AI in North America.

In North America, HR leaders face dual pressures: optimizing productivity now while building future capabilities. Amid rapid changes in technology and workflows, Top Employers Institute offers insights from certified employers across the U.S. and Canada, highlighting strategic shifts in HR priorities.

Top Employers Institute is the organization behind the Top Employer certification. Through its certification process, it evaluates excellence in people practices and provides participating organizations with data and benchmarking to understand where they lead, where to improve, and which people practices most connect to business performance.

“The advancements we’re witnessing in North American HR are not just incremental; they represent a fundamental shift towards a more strategic, data-informed, and human-centric approach,” says Jake Canull, Regional Director, Top Employers Institute. “Our certified Top Employers are not merely adapting to change; they are actively shaping the future of work by embedding purpose, leveraging data and artificial intelligence, and fostering leadership that drives both employee well-being and exceptional business performance.”

Here are five signals that stand out in the 2026 numbers, and why they matter for HR teams that want to move from activity to impact.

1) Measurement is becoming an operating rhythm, not a reporting exercise

Among North America’s Top Employers, 67.5% consistently use key HR metrics and scorecards in 2026 (up 12.3 points year over year). The U.S. reaches 70.0% (up 18.2 points), while Canada sits at 63.6% (up 1.7 points).

More broadly, HR data-driven decision guidance is already embedded at scale: 89.2% across North America report it is consistently done in 2026 (up 3.3 points). The U.S. is at 91.7% (up 4.2 points) and Canada at 81.8% (up 0.9 points).

The implication for leaders is clear: people data is increasingly being used to support real decisions like workforce planning, capability building, and change execution, rather than simply describing what happened.

2) Skills-based selection is moving from ambition to infrastructure

As work evolves, employers need hiring systems that prioritize capability and potential. In 2026, 84.3% of North America’s Top Employers consistently apply a skills-based selection framework (up 6.1 points year over year). Canada rises to 86.4% (up 10.2 points), while the U.S. is at 83.3% (up 4.8 points).

For HR executives, this is a structural shift: once selection becomes skills-based, it becomes easier to align hiring with development and mobility, so talent can be built systematically, not sourced ad hoc.

3) Leadership as a measurable execution lever

Leadership strategy shows strong momentum in 2026. A comprehensive leadership strategy is consistently in place at 79.5% across North America, up 16.7 points year over year (U.S.: 80.0%, up 19.3 points; Canada: 77.3%, up 10.6 points).

Data-driven leadership selection and promotion is also rising, reaching 79.5% across North America (up 5.2 points). The U.S. stands at 80.0% (up 6.8 points), and Canada at 77.3% (up 1.1 points).

That growth reflects a view that leadership quality is not “soft” but one of the most direct levers for consistency, speed of execution, and resilience during change.

4) Learning is becoming more collaborative, and more viral

A learning and development strategy remains widely adopted: 88.0% across North America say it is consistently done in 2026 (up 4.6 points). But the biggest signal is how learning is being shared. Peer-to-peer learning reaches 83.1% in 2026, up 15.2 points year over year.

This points to an evolution from learning as scheduled programming to capability as a network where knowledge moves faster across teams, functions and geographies.

5) Responsible AI is scaling, with Canada leading on full integration

Responsible AI deployment is now a fully integrated practice at 30.1% of North America’s Top Employers in 2026, up 13.5 points year over year. Canada leads at 40.9% (up 17.1 points), compared with 25.0% in the U.S. (up 12.5 points).

Ethical AI frameworks show similar momentum: 31.3% across North America report they are fully integrated (up 13.4 points), with Canada at 36.4% and the U.S. at 28.3%.

What all this means for HR executives and the business

Taken together, the 2026 data tells a bigger story than any single trend: HR in North America is increasingly being run like an operating system. The organizations pulling ahead are building repeatable mechanisms: metrics that leaders actually use, skills-based talent decisions that scale, leadership practices that improve execution, and governance that enables responsible innovation.

For executive teams, that’s the signal to watch. When people practices become measurable and consistent, they stop being stand-alone initiatives and start becoming a source of management reliability, especially in environments where change is continuous and trust is fragile. Benchmarking can help leaders focus attention and investment: what to standardize, where to scale, and what must be strengthened now so the organization can move faster later.

Call to action: Where do you stand? Take the HR Health Check

Top Employers 2026: United States & Canada

Table with Visible Borders