Mercer 2026人员分析调查：仅9%具备预测或处方能力

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Total rewards | Talent & rewards

Advancing People Analytics Survey

Turn people data into decisions that move the business.

People analytics is now part of standard practice. The bigger challenge is making it trusted, connected, and useful across rewards, talent, and a workforce being reshaped by AI. The findings from the 2026 Advanced People Analytics survey show where organizations are making progress — and where more needs to happen.

Explore the findings

Ambition is high. Follow-through is still uneven.

Organizations want analytics to support better decisions. But most are still focused on reporting, benchmarking, and day-to-day HR activity. The real opportunity is to connect trusted data to the decisions leaders make every day.

Based on responses from 616 HR and analytics leaders across 75 markets and countries:

73%

invest in rewards benchmarking and optimization

55%

focus on attrition or retention strategies

50%

prioritize workforce planning

9%

report predictive or prescriptive capability

Where the next phase of people analytics will be won

The survey points to three connected priorities: making rewards insight more defensible, turning talent signals into action, and preparing the workforce for AI-enabled change.

1. 1 Workforce
2. 2 Rewards

AI is moving fast. Readiness still depends on strong foundations.

• Organizations are building stronger measurement foundations around AI’s workforce impact, skills, career progression, and ROI. The organizations that move most effectively will start with a few practical work redesign use cases and build a clearer view of the skills that support adoption and change. Only 30% currently prioritize AI-driven work redesign.
• 41% plan to measure AI’s impact on workforce skills within 12 months.

Starting small can build the capability, confidence, and readiness needed for broader change.

Benchmarking matters. Strategic impact is the bigger opportunity.

Rewards and compensation remain the strongest foundation for HR analytics. But the value story can go further than market comparison alone — into pay equity, workforce cost, retention, and business outcomes.

• 68% say external benchmarking is important or critical.
• 52% of operational leaders say pay equity analysis is a priority.

The foundation is already in place. The next step is using reward insights to inform broader talent and workforce decisions.

The maturity gap

The challenge is no longer recognizing the value of analytics. It’s creating the conditions for insight to drive action.

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Top four challenges This chart highlights the key challenges still affecting people analytics progress, with data quality emerging as the biggest barrier.

Five priorities for advancing people analytics

The survey points to a practical path forward: strengthen the operating model before expanding the promise.

1. Fix the foundations Improve data quality, integration, and automation before adding complexity.
2. Reach decision-makers Put insight in front of operational leaders and line managers.
3. Close the action gap Connect analytics outputs to business questions, decisions, and feedback loops.
4. Build a practical AI roadmap Start with two or three high-value workforce decisions where trust and impact matter most.
5. Invest in depth Build predictive, data engineering, and AI/ML capability where it will make the greatest difference.

Related topics

• Total rewards

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See what the data means for your organization

Read the full 2026 Advancing People Analytics Executive Summary for the complete findings, maturity model, and recommendations.

Download the executive summary →

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