What does 2026 have in store? We are looking back on the sluggish year of 2025, with little growth and not much investment in hiring, and we are seeing green shoots of momentum – phew! We love being stretched and filling impossible senior roles. Come on, 2026, give us a challenge!
We’ve been speaking to senior comms leaders across agencies and in-house teams, and the picture is nuanced: A desire to be valued, yet ‘value for money’ is more critical with ever-broadening responsibilities. AI has moved from a novelty to an everyday tool with all the promise and headaches that brings. Demand is outstripping the supply of roles available. On top of that, geopolitics, climate events, cyber risk and evolving regulation are adding new layers to the brief. These are the recurring themes, the realities people are living with, and the practical implications for teams and comms leaders heading into the year ahead.
The answer is mixed, leaning toward undervalued in several sectors. Restructures, leaner teams and pigeonholing into narrow roles have reduced the perceived strategic impact of comms in some organisations. That said, where value is clearest, it’s because communications is tied to commercial outcomes and treated as trusted counsel with direct senior access and ownership of results. Agency leaders often describe a double bind: high expectations to deliver plus persistent business development pressure, which can erode morale even when the work is high quality.
Board access varies by context. In-house leads with enterprise-risk mandates or those embedded in M&A and policy work report stronger C-suite and board touchpoints. Elsewhere, access is inconsistent or indirect. The pattern is clear: reporting lines and mandates matter. When comms is positioned as a reputation and risk function rather than an adjunct to marketing, influence rises. For hiring, board exposure is a significant draw; it’s a practical proxy for genuine influence and strategic responsibility.
AI in comms is now practical and pervasive rather than experimental. Typical uses include notetaking and transcription, research prompts, first-draft for press releases, and meeting summaries, all followed by careful human editing for nuance and tone. Agencies are building guardrails: fact-checking routines, voice and tone standards, disclosure norms, and baseline AI literacy expectations. From a comms and risk perspective, AI-driven misinformation and deepfakes are now part of issues and crisis planning.
Recruitment and workflow automation increasingly use AI for CV screening, especially with the larger companies for junior-level roles. Used for first-line screening, it raises concerns about bias and opaque rejections. We have seen and foresee that for now, professionals actively looking for work are having to rely more on networks and direct outreach.
Senior communicators see several pressures as the bar keeps rising — faster cycles, more metrics, and integrated skills expected as standard.
Budgets are cautious and tight in the near term. Approvals are slower, signoffs are staged, and prioritisation is sharper. But money hasn’t disappeared, it’s being redeployed to the clearest outcomes: issues and crisis readiness, regulatory-sensitive communications, investor narratives, and integrated digital/content work with measurable KPIs. Senior hiring is disciplined and tied to transformation or high-stakes mandates, and salary bands are under scrutiny.
They are looking to move into roles with broader impact and ownership, joining high-energy environments where they can learn fast and grow. Many want meaningful scope, a strong culture fit, and clear progression paths as the most significant draws.
Standout communications leaders pair sharp strategic judgment with measurable business impact, translating brand, reputation, and narrative into outcomes like pipeline, policy wins, or talent. They operate as cross-functional influencers who simplify complexity for the C‑suite, execute through integrated channels, and bring credible crisis readiness with clear decision frameworks. They’re deeply audience-led: data-fluent, insight-driven, and able to craft stories that travel - internally and externally - while building high-trust teams that scale quality and speed. Finally, they demonstrate product sense and commercial acumen, using creativity and metrics to strengthen messaging, proving value beyond vanity metrics and earning their seat at the strategic planning table.
2026 will be a year of choices: where to double down, where to simplify, and how to make the case for comms as a measurable, strategic function. The organisations that win will be those that treat communications as a revenue and risk-aware discipline, invest in governance around AI, and give leaders the space to counsel the business at pace. For stand-out corporate communications professionals, the demand for integrated skills is real, but so is the opportunity to shape outcomes and earn a seat at the table.
Happy New Year!
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The Works Search: a search consultancy specialising in PR and corporate communications. We have unrivalled matching abilities and are known for finding the top 5% performers in the industry - the ones who deliver and make your reputation great. For more advice or market insights, do get in touch with us on 0207 903 9291 or email: sarah@the-works.co.uk.
