New Eagle Hill Survey Finds HR's Problem Isn't Too Much Work -- It's Poorly Designed Work

Despite Strong Confidence in AI and Automation, HR Professionals Remain Burdened by Fragmented Systems, Inefficient Workflows, and Repetitive Administrative Tasks

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Human resources professionals overwhelmingly believe artificial intelligence and automation can improve their work, yet many remain trapped in inefficient processes that prevent them from focusing on strategic priorities, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting.

The Eagle Hill Consulting HR Technology and Service Delivery Survey finds that 86% of HR professionals surveyed say automation or AI helps them deliver better service to the business, and 91% say it makes it easier to access the information they need to do their jobs. Yet 51% report spending at least half of their workweek on routine, repetitive, or low-value administrative work.

Access the research. Register for a webinar on Wednesday, October 14 , 2026, at 12 PM ET for a discussion of the research and what it means for organizations pursuing HR transformation.

The findings suggest that technology alone is not solving HR's biggest challenges. Instead, poorly designed workflows, fragmented systems, and unclear processes continue to create friction across the HR function.

"HR's challenge isn't a lack of technology. In many organizations, it's the way work is designed," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. "Organizations have invested heavily in AI, automation, and other technologies, but too often those tools are layered onto disconnected processes that were never designed to work together. Technology can accelerate good work, but it cannot fix broken workflows."

The survey reveals significant operational challenges within HR organizations:

• 62% of HR professionals surveyed and 67% of senior business leader customers surveyed report frequent service delivery challenges, including slow response times, too many handoffs, inconsistent processes, unclear ownership, and manual work.
• 84% of senior leaders surveyed say HR requests often require additional follow-up or rework.
• 91% of HR professional respondents use two or more systems to complete a single HR-related task, while 43% use three or more systems.
• 78% regularly enter the same information into multiple systems.
• 68% rely on workarounds to complete their work, like spreadsheets, shared drives, or manual tracking, .
• 70% say time spent on HR administrative tasks often prevents them from focusing on more strategic priorities.

While confidence in AI is high, the research also points to gaps in governance and integration. Ninety percent of HR respondents trust AI at least somewhat to help them do their work. However, when using AI or automation in their work, 37% report frequent integration challenges, 36% say they are often or always unclear how AI-generated outputs were created, and 32% report frequent challenges with incomplete information.

According to Eagle Hill research, successful HR transformation begins with a cooperative approach that engages employees closest to the work. By identifying friction points, redesigning processes, and improving service delivery, organizations can better align people, processes, data, and technology to drive meaningful business outcomes.

"The organizations seeing the greatest return on technology investments are redesigning work itself," Jezior said. "They start by understanding how work actually gets done, where friction exists, and how employees experience HR services. Technology becomes far more effective when it supports better ways of working rather than simply automating inefficient ones."

The survey findings are detailed in Eagle Hill Consulting's new report, HR's Problem Isn't Too Much Work. It's Poorly Designed Work.

The Eagle Hill Consulting HR Technology and Service Delivery Survey was conducted by Ipsos from March 3-9, 2026, via an online survey in the U.S. For this survey, Ipsos recruited a sample of 200 HR professionals from various industries using B2B panel samples. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to be employed full-time and work for an organization with annual revenue of $100+ million. No post-hoc weights were applied to the data and the findings reflect the opinion of these respondents. 

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is an award-winning business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Organizational Performance, Business Intelligence, Technology Enablement, Talent, and Change Management. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global nonprofits. Eagle Hill has offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Boston, MA, and Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting LLC