By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO

We are awash with information but desperately short of knowledge.

That’s why AIM places such importance on its annual HR Practices Survey, which provides an opportunity for you and other association members to report on evolving workplace trends in compensation, policies, and priorities. The survey results are more than just a bunch of numbers – they offer a compelling roadmap as to the ways in which changes in technology, business practice and society itself affect Massachusetts workplaces.

The 2020-2022 surveys, for example, were dominated by concerns about COVID lockdowns, remote work and chaotic supply chains. More recent surveys have underscored concern about affordability and the adoption of artificial intelligence.

The 2026 HR Practices Survey is currently available. Companies that participate receive the survey results at no charge, but the knowledge is priceless – average projected salary increases for 2027, innovate approaches to managing health-insurance costs and trends in recruiting and retaining talented workers.

Last year’s survey found that Massachusetts employers are navigating a rapidly shifting workplace landscape shaped by economic uncertainty, new regulatory mandates, and evolving employee expectations. Employers listed employee morale and talent retention as their priorities for 2026, while the percentage of companies integrating artificial intelligence into their human-resources operations nearly doubled.

“Recent results show a workplace in transition: employee morale is slipping, AI adoption is accelerating, and health-plan premiums are rising at the fastest rate in years. Together, these shifts are prompting organizations to rethink how they attract, support, and retain talent,” said Kyle Pardo, Executive Vice President of AIM HR Solutions, the human-resources and training unit of AIM.

The 2026 survey takes place at a moment of steady economic growth framed by profound uncertainty about issues such as inflation, tariffs and geopolitics. Gus Faucher, Chief Economist of PNC Financial Services Group, told AIM last week that resilient consumer spending, technology infrastructure investment and a strong job market have so far counterbalanced the multiple factors weighing down the economy.

The bottom line is that the HR Practices Survey paints a vivid picture of the ways in which companies are responding to the developing economy around them. It’s useful knowledge in a sea of scrolling and well worth your time.