HR strengthens its strategic role but faces the challenge of demonstrating its impact on business performance
HR has gained a stronger voice in corporate leadership, but its ability to measure the impact of people policies is advancing at a different pace. This is one of the findings of the first People Strategy & Business Impact Barometer, produced by Esade Executive Education and Peoplematters with the participation of 50 organizations across 11 sectors. The study finds that 94% of the organizations surveyed have their senior HR leader on the executive committee, while only 17% report rigorously evaluating the impact of their policies using quantitative measures. The results suggest that the ability to demonstrate this contribution depends on the combined development of talent management, analytics and measurement mechanisms.
Managing critical talent
One of the report's conclusions links critical talent management to unwanted employee turnover. Among organizations without a formal approach, 57% report high turnover, compared with 12% of those with either partial or systematic management practices. This difference underscores the importance of identifying business-critical roles and planning their development and succession at a time when certain professional capabilities are in short supply.
Greater analytical capability than evidence of impact
A total of 68% of participating organizations have a dedicated People Analytics team or function. However, the executives surveyed indicate that access to data and dashboards is not always accompanied by shared criteria for interpreting them and connecting them with business priorities.
The barometer places the average maturity level of the HR function at 64 points out of 100, based on an index combining seven practices, including talent management, people analytics and impact measurement. Scores range from 11 to 99, reflecting significant differences among the participating organizations.
In addition, 64% of respondents rate their function's perceived contribution to business performance as high or very high, with an average score of 3.9 out of 5. This perception is more closely linked to overall HR maturity than to the function formal position within the organization.
“To make progress in measuring impact, organizations should begin with a specific policy and define the outcome they expect to achieve, identify success indicators and establish a process for monitoring progress. This exercise helps determine what works, what needs to be adjusted and what information senior management needs in order to make decisions,” said Fernando Morán, director at Peoplematters and co-author of the barometer.
Training and leadership in response to emerging needs
The barometer's findings position the development of internal capabilities as a vital link between business strategy and people policies. Executives describe the need to anticipate the skills the business will require, update their teams' knowledge and prepare leaders to guide change.
“One of the next challenges is to assess how training translates into real capabilities for the organization. This means looking at what people apply in their work and how leaders facilitate that change. Connecting learning with business needs is essential to guide investment in development,” said Carlos Royo, associate professor in Esade's Department of People Management and Organization and co-author of the study.
About the barometer
The first edition of the People Strategy & Business Impact Barometer combines a survey of senior HR leaders from 50 organizations operating in Spain across 11 sectors, six in-depth interviews and a panel of sector-level financial data. The survey was conducted between April and June 2026 among organizations with 250 or more employees. The analysis covers three dimensions: HR maturity, the contribution that HR leaders believe their function makes to the business, and its relationship with observable outcomes.