Over the past few weeks, there has been a noticeable shift happening across the HR market globally. 

Not just in hiring activity, but in how organizations are thinking about the HR function itself. 

What many companies needed from HR leadership five years ago is very different to what they are looking for today. 

Historically, senior HR leaders were primarily measured on people leadership, culture, recruitment and operational stability. Those areas still matter, but increasingly they are becoming the baseline expectation rather than the differentiator. 

The conversation at leadership level has shifted. 

Boards, CEOs and investors are now asking different questions: 

• How does the workforce need to change to support growth? 
• Which roles will still exist in three years? 
• How should AI impact organizational design? 
• What capability gaps could slow transformation? 
• Is the current leadership structure fit for what comes next? 

That changes the role HR leadership plays inside an organization. 

Across global markets, HR is moving closer to transformation, business strategy and operational decision making. In many businesses, CHROs are now expected to contribute well beyond traditional people leadership responsibilities. 

Leadership Expectations Are Changing Fast 

Recent research from Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends report highlights how AI and workforce transformation are compressing traditional business cycles, forcing organizations to become significantly more agile in how they structure teams, leadership and decision making. The report notes that speed, adaptability and workforce orchestration are now viewed as core competitive advantages by senior business leaders. 

At the same time, McKinsey’s 2025 workplace AI report found that while almost all companies are investing heavily in AI, very few believe they are truly mature in how AI is embedded across workflows and business operations. One of the biggest barriers identified was not employee resistance, but leadership readiness. 

That is increasingly visible in HR leadership hiring. 

Some organizations are redesigning HR structures entirely. Others are reassessing leadership capability more quietly behind the scenes. In many cases, businesses are not necessarily looking for “better” HR leaders. They are looking for different ones. 

Leaders who can operate commercially, navigate transformation, influence organizational design and understand how technology will reshape workforce structures over the next decade. 

AI Is Reshaping Organizational Design 

AI is accelerating much of this. 

Not simply because of automation, but because it is forcing organizations to rethink how work itself gets done. 

That has broader implications than many people initially expected. 

It affects: 

• Workforce planning 
• Team structures 
• Leadership layers 
• Productivity expectations 
• Capability requirements 
• Decision making 

The result is that many organizations are becoming flatter, more specialized and more focused on impact than hierarchy. 

A recent Wall Street Journal report on AI and workforce transformation highlighted how HR and technology teams are now working far more closely together as companies reshape roles, operating structures and workforce strategies around AI adoption. The article also pointed to growing pressure on HR functions to lead cultural and organizational adaptation, not simply hiring activity. 

Japan Is Entering the Same Shift 

Japan is not immune to this shift. 

Historically, change within HR structures in Japan has often moved more gradually than in some Western markets. However, over the past year there has been a clear increase in conversations around transformation, global alignment, AI readiness and leadership capability. 

Particularly within international businesses and large domestic organizations undergoing change. 

At the same time, there is still a relatively small talent pool in Japan with deep experience across: 

• HR transformation 
• Global stakeholder management 
• Organizational design 
• Executive-level business partnering 
• Technology-enabled workforce strategy 

That gap is becoming more visible. 

There is also increasing evidence that while AI adoption in Japan is growing, execution and leadership capability remain inconsistent. A recent analysis referencing PwC data on Japanese enterprises showed that many organizations are still early in embedding AI into workflows and leadership structures compared to Western markets. 

The Real Question: What Should HR Look Like Next? 

One of the more interesting dynamics emerging is that many organizations are still trying to determine what their future HR structure should actually look like. 

In a number of senior searches recently, the conversation has started before the role itself has even been fully defined. 

The title may exist, but the mandate is still evolving. 

That changes the nature of leadership hiring. 

Increasingly, the discussion is not simply:
“Who is available?” 

It becomes:
“What capability does the organization actually need for the next phase of growth or transformation?” 

That is a much more strategic conversation. 

It also means the value of executive search is shifting. 

The market is moving away from transactional hiring and further toward advisory-led hiring, where organizations need external perspective on structure, capability and leadership direction before a search formally begins. 

This Feels Bigger Than a Trend 

From my perspective, we’re likely at the early stage of a multi-year transformation cycle - not a short-term trend. 

The HR market in Japan over the next five years will likely look very different from the market we have known over the past decade. 

Not only in terms of the roles themselves, but in the expectations placed on HR leadership and the profile of leaders organizations choose to invest in. 

For anyone operating in the HR or talent space, this is a shift worth paying attention to. I’m curious to hear how others are seeing this evolve in their organizations and how they plan to approach that transition from here.