As we move into 2026, the talent landscape is shifting faster than many organisations can keep up with. Remote work expectations, skills shortages, AI integration, and changing employee priorities are reshaping what it means to attract, develop, and keep great people.
The leaders who’ll thrive aren’t the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones asking the right questions—and acting on what they discover.
The Talent Challenge in 2026
Let’s be honest: talent management has never been more complex. The old playbooks don’t work anymore. Employees want flexibility, purpose, and growth opportunities. Skills are evolving rapidly, competition for talent is fierce, and the cost of getting it wrong is higher than ever.
The organisations succeeding right now aren’t trying to predict the future. They’re asking thoughtful questions about their people, their culture, and their market—then using those insights to build something better.
10 Key Questions
With that in mind, here are the 10 questions every leader should be asking about talent in 2026:
1. Do we know why our best people stay, and why others leave?
Understanding what keeps your top performers engaged is just as important as knowing why people walk out the door. Don’t wait for exit interviews. Have regular, honest conversations with your team about what’s working and what isn’t. The patterns you discover will tell you where to focus your energy and investment.
2. What’s our employee value proposition, really?
If you asked ten employees why they stay, would you get ten different answers—or a clear theme? Your employer brand needs to be more than a careers page. It should reflect genuine culture, real opportunities, and authentic leadership.
Think about what makes your organisation different, and whether that difference actually matters to the people you want to attract.
3. Are we hiring for skills or potential?
Traditional hiring focuses on experience and qualifications. But in a fast-changing world, yesterday’s skills might not solve tomorrow’s problems. Skills-based hiring—looking at what people can do and learn, rather than just what they’ve done—opens up talent pools and builds more adaptable teams. It also makes your recruitment fairer and more inclusive.
4. How well do we understand our talent data?
Data isn’t just for finance and marketing. Understanding turnover patterns, engagement scores, skills gaps, and performance trends helps you spot problems before they become crises.
Good talent data tells you where to invest, who’s at risk of leaving, and where your future leaders are coming from.
5. Are we developing leaders internally—or just hoping they’ll emerge?
Leadership development can’t be accidental. The managers and leaders you’ll need in two years are in your organisation now. Are you investing in their growth through management and leadership development, or are you waiting until there’s a gap to fill?
Intentional leadership development builds bench strength and shows people they have a future with you.
6. Is our culture genuinely inclusive—or just on paper?
Diversity policies are a start, but inclusion is about lived experience. Do people from all backgrounds feel they can speak up, contribute ideas, and progress? Inclusion drives innovation, retention, and performance—but only if it’s real.
This means examining your processes, listening to your people, and being willing to change what isn’t working.
7. Can people grow their careers here without leaving?
Internal mobility is one of the most underused retention tools. When people feel stuck, they look elsewhere. But when they can explore new roles, learn new skills, and move across teams, they stay longer and contribute more.
People development strategies that prioritise internal movement create a more engaged and capable workforce.
8. Are we prepared for the skills our business will need next year?
The skills that got you here won’t necessarily get you there. Technology, customer expectations and market conditions are all evolving. What capabilities will your teams need in 12 months? Are you building them now, or assuming you’ll hire them later?
Forward-thinking organisations invest in learning and development before the skills gap becomes an urgent problem.
9. How well are we supporting team performance—not just individual performance?
Most work happens in teams, yet many organisations still focus solely on individual goals and assessments. Team performance frameworks that encourage collaboration, clear communication and shared accountability drive better results.
High-performing teams don’t happen by accident—they’re built through deliberate support and structure.
10. What would make our best people leave—and are we doing anything about it?
Don’t wait for exit interviews to learn why people go. Have honest conversations now. Is it lack of flexibility? Limited growth? Poor management? Burnout?
Understanding what matters most to your top talent means you can act before they start looking elsewhere.
What the Research Tells Us
Before you dismiss these questions as theoretical, consider what’s actually happening in organisations right now:
The Cost of Inaction is Rising
Replacing an employee typically costs between 50-200% of their annual salary when you factor in recruitment, lost productivity and training. For leadership roles, that figure climbs even higher. Yet many organisations still treat retention reactively rather than strategically.
Skills Are Expiring Faster Than Ever
The half-life of professional skills continues to shrink. What took a decade to become outdated now happens in just a few years. Organisations that aren’t actively reskilling their workforce are falling behind competitors who are.
Internal Mobility Drives Retention
Employees who’ve made an internal move are significantly more likely to stay with their organisation long-term, compared to those who haven’t. Yet many organisations have no formal internal mobility strategy, losing talented people who simply wanted a new challenge.
Leadership capability gaps are widening
As businesses face increasing complexity—from hybrid work to AI integration and rapid market changes—the leadership skills that worked five years ago are no longer enough.
Organisations investing in intentional leadership development are building the capability to navigate uncertainty.
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
The most common reason people leave isn’t pay—it’s culture and leadership. Toxic environments, lack of recognition, poor management, and limited growth opportunities drive more departures than salary alone.
The organisations winning the talent war have realised that culture isn’t a soft issue—it’s a competitive advantage.
How to Use These Questions: LTT’s Approach
Questions are only valuable if they lead to action. Here’s how to make these questions work for you:
Start With an Honest Assessment
Gather your leadership team and work through each question. Don’t rush to answers—sit with the discomfort of what you don’t know.
Listen to Your People
These questions shouldn’t be answered in a boardroom alone. Talk to employees at all levels. Their perspective on culture, opportunity, and leadership is often very different from yours.
Prioritise Ruthlessly
You can’t fix everything at once. Choose two or three areas where the gap between where you are and where you need to be is largest—or where the risk is highest.
Build a plan with milestones
Vague intentions don’t create change. Assign ownership, set timelines, and track progress. Whether it’s improving your leadership development or reimagining your recruitment approach, make it concrete.
Review Regularly
Talent challenges don’t stand still. Make these questions part of your quarterly or biannual planning, not a one-time exercise.
At Let’s Talk Talent, we work with leaders to turn these questions into practical strategies that strengthen teams and future-proof organisations.
Shape Your Talent Future for 2026—Act on These Questions Today with LTT.
Ready to move from questions to action?
Let’s talk about how we can help you audit your talent strategy, develop your leaders, and build high-performing teams.
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