2027 Peer Benchmark Report Your peers are planning to grow. Are you set up to grow with them? See how 560+ US enterprise leaders in HR, Talent Acquisition, IT and Procurement are budgeting, hiring and buying for 2027, and where you stand against your peer group. Get the free report See how you compare
Peer Benchmarking Report The Growth Agenda How HR, TA, Procurement and IT leaders are planning for 2027 560+ leaders · United States · 2027 outlook Guidant Global
84% expect budgets to rise
The 2027 outlook A bullish year with one hard constraint: grow more, with less. Budgets and headcount are climbing across every function. So are the talent gaps, the vendor sprawl and the pressure to prove it all works. The leaders who pull ahead in 2027 will be the ones who see the gap first.
84% expect their function's budget to increase in 2027
57% cite AI and digital transformation as a top priority
59% cite talent and skills shortages as a major obstacle
56% manage contingent talent across four or more vendors
Inside the report Benchmarks you can take into your 2027 planning Not a trends piece. Hard numbers from your peers, cut by function and company size, so you can see exactly where you lead and where you lag.
01 Budget & headcount outlook Where the money and roles are going in 2027, and how your function compares.
02 Talent & hiring benchmarks Time to fill, cost per hire, attrition and the roles peers cannot fill fast enough.
03 AI's real effect on staffing Where AI is adding roles, where it is cutting them, by function.
04 Vendor & delivery gaps Vendor sprawl, SOW speed and governance, and what best-run peers do differently.
Selected findings Where leaders are putting their focus in 2027
AI and digital transformation57%
Revenue growth or market expansion42%
Cost reduction or efficiency40%
Talent attraction and retention35%
Improving delivery speed on strategic projects33%
Top 2027 priorities, share of leaders selecting each (up to three). Base: 560+ leaders.
By function The question your peers are already answering One figure from the report for each function, worth measuring yourself against.
HR Is your attrition normal, or quietly costing you? 1 in 3 HR leaders report 5 to 10% voluntary attrition, but 1 in 8 are above 20%, and 35% say AI is increasing the number of HR roles they need. 35% say AI is increasing the HR headcount they need
Talent Acquisition Are you paying more, and waiting longer, than your peers? The most common time to fill is 46 to 60 days, and 42% spend $5,000 to $10,000 per hire. Technology roles top the hardest-to-fill list at 63%. 65% say AI is increasing recruiter demand, not cutting it
IT How dependent is your tech workforce on contractors? 44% run 10 to 25% of their tech workforce on contract, and half take 30 to 60 days to fill specialized roles like cybersecurity and cloud. 54% say AI is increasing their need for technical contractors
Procurement Do you actually control your external workforce spend? 64% manage SOW engagements outside a central procurement office, and 56% of all leaders run four or more vendors. That is where tail spend and duplicate markups hide. 64% manage SOW spend outside a central procurement office
Methodology Grounded in senior decision-makers, not projections Independent research fielded in 2026 among senior decision-makers at US enterprises. No logins, no fluff, just what your peers told us.
560+ completed responses
Director+ and above only
$250M+ revenue or 1,000+ staff
4 functions benchmarked
2026 fielding year
Advisers and a client reviewing benchmark data together in a meeting
Benchmark review Don't just read where your peers are. See where you stand. Book a 30-minute benchmark review with our team. We'll walk through your function's numbers against the data and show you the two or three gaps worth closing first. No pitch. Book a benchmark review
Figures shown are from independent research fielded in 2026 among 560+ senior leaders (Director level and above) in HR, Talent Acquisition, IT and Procurement at US organizations with $250M+ in annual revenue or 1,000+ employees. Function-specific figures are drawn from that function's respondents; see the report for base sizes and full methodology.
The full report Get your copy of the 2027 benchmark The full benchmark, all four functions Budget, hiring, AI and vendor data across HR, Talent Acquisition, IT and Procurement. Your numbers in context Every metric cut by function and company size, so you can place your organization precisely. The gaps that matter for 2027 Where you lead, where you lag, and what to address before planning locks in.