Hello Community,
We just wrapped up three days of conversations at our Workforce Strategy and HR Budget Planning Summit, and one idea stayed with us:
The quality of our workforce decisions depends on the assumptions underneath them.
Headcount, budgets, skills, capacity, training, succession — all these things involve choices about what the business will need and what will actually help it deliver.
This week, we’re sharing a few takeaways from the summit that are worth carrying forward into those decisions.
Inside this Edition:
Key takeaways from our latest Summit
Access the post-event recordings, eBook, and HR credits
Learning programs and Bootcamps available now
Upcoming Workshop: Bring one workflow and improve it LIVE
Join BUILD 2027 with early-bird pricing
HR INSIGHTS
Before You Add, Ask What the Business Actually Needs
One of the clearest messages from the summit was how quickly organizations can jump from a business need to an HR solution.
A new strategy becomes a request for headcount. A capability gap becomes training. A capacity problem becomes another hire. But before choosing the solution, there’s a more useful question:
What is actually preventing the business from delivering?
One good example is capacity. When a team is overwhelmed, headcount may be part of the answer. But capacity is also shaped by priorities, how work is structured, whether people have what they need to deliver, and whether the current pace is sustainable.
That’s the thinking behind the PACE self-check.
If you think about it, the same discipline applies elsewhere:
Before adding headcount, connect the request to a concrete business milestone and the capability required to reach it.
Before defending an HR investment, be able to explain its cost, expected return, timeline, and connection to a business priority.
Before investing in training, determine whether the real constraint is skill, process, technology, decision rights, expectations, or the operating environment.
Before calling someone “ready,” look for evidence they can perform the work, beyond courses completed or names on succession lists.
The questions change depending on the decision. The discipline is the same:
Diagnose what the business actually needs before deciding what HR should add.
Want to dive deeper into this shift in thinking? Explore the summit ebook with the key takeaways!
Workforce Strategy & HR Budget Planning Summit
All Summit Materials Available Now
If you couldn’t join all the panels, or would like to revisit your favorite moments, everything has been recorded!
Log in to the Hacking HR LAB to access:
Full session recordings from the entire summit
An ebook gathering the key insights, plus bonus resources
A digital diploma and 13.5 HR Credits (SHRM + HRCI + IHRIM) for all attendees
Premium and Premium+ members of our community can also get a Pearson digital badge.
🌿 Three days covered a lot of ground: translating business strategy into workforce decisions, making the financial case for HR investment, and building the capability to deliver on both. If you want to keep working through that instead of leaving it at the last session, this is where it continues.
UPCOMING LEARNING PROGRAMS
Learning Programs Available Now — 100% Online
These 9 Week Live Certificate Programs are still enrollable (in progress; catch up via recordings)
Micro Certificate Program Starting Soon
Women Leading AI Transformation — Oct 14 – Nov 11, 2026
UPCOMING BOOTCAMPS
Build Your AI Skills
👑 Available for Premium and Premium+ members. *Free to attend.
And if you are thinking of redesigning workflows, we have an amazing workshop coming that you don’t want to miss!
UPCOMING WORKSHOP
FROM HR PROCESS TO AI AUTOMATION: BUILD BETTER WORKFLOWS, LIVE
Led by Kristjan Kristjansson, CEO of 50skills, this interactive workshop will explore everyday HR tasks ready for automation, from chasing people and sending reminders to checking documents, managing approvals, and moving information between systems.
You’ll work with other HR and People professionals to choose a real process you’d like to automate and describe how it should work: what starts it, who needs to be involved, what decisions need to be made, and what needs to happen next.
🎉 Then comes the fun bit. We’ll take selected processes from the group and build them live in 50skills!
📆 When: October 1st - 8:00 AM Eastern Time - 01:00 PM BST
⌚ Duration: 2 hours | 🌐 Virtual & Free to attend
OUR FIRST MAJOR IN-PERSON CONFERENCE
BUILD Conference 2027
March 10, 2027 | Scottdale Center for the Performing Arts
One full day of keynotes, practitioner-led breakout workshops, and curated networking, designed exclusively for HR leaders ready to build better organizations. Every session sends you home with frameworks, tools, and action plans you can use on day one — across talent development, organizational design, employee experience, people analytics, and HR technology.
Optional hands-on pre-conference workshops run on March 9.
Early Bird pricing starts at $199, with 10% off for groups of 4–6 and 15% off for groups of 7+.
PARTNER EVENTS
HRCore Academy Summit
October 7–8 · Amsterdam | 2 Conferences, 1 venue: Learning & Development and Talent Transformation. 👉 Register here →
FOR SENIOR LEADERS
The Hacking HR Executive Network
A curated peer circle for CHROs, CPOs, and VP People at organizations of 100 to 5,000 employees. Monthly intelligence reports, peer cohort groups, AI coaching, and full Premium+ access. Founding Rate: $2,000 per year. Payment plans available. Application required. 👉 Apply Now→
CERTIFICATION · NOW LIVE
PCSI-GSAIL — Strategic AI Leadership
The first global AI leadership certification for HR. Validates strategic leadership in AI adoption, governance, and workforce transformation. Included with Premium+ or $199 for a standalone attempt.
SPONSORSHIPS
For CMOs in HR Tech
If you are a CMO in the HR Tech space, we would love to connect. Every Friday we host a Hacking HR Live Webinar Planning session with Q&A at 8:30 AM Pacific Time. 👉 Register here→
Your budget meeting now has a mug.
And it might be the most honest person in the room. 😊
