The Smart HR Leader’s Guide to Ending the Year Right

For HR leaders, December isn’t just about tying up loose ends, it’s the perfect opportunity to reset, reconnect, and set the stage for a successful 2026.

Here are some ways to finish strong, set your people up for success, and start the new year with confidence and a new start.

1) Help your team celebrate safely, without the aftermath

Holiday celebrations can be a highlight. But when alcohol and frivolity are involved and the usual guardrails and professional context are missing, things have the potential to go off track. Now is the time for a quick but important reminder of your workplace conduct policies.

Be sure to clearly communicate:

• Behaviour expectations at events
• Alcohol use
• Credit card policies
• Harassment and bullying guidelines

“We want people to be safe and have a good time, but we’re always thinking about the contingencies so it’s important to have those policies and precautions in place to make sure employees know what’s expected of them when they’re out celebrating,” says Emily Johnston, People Partner at ELMO.

A quick reminder of official policy may also be in order. Are you still tracking policy acknowledgements manually? ELMO Learning automates the entire process, from reminders to real-time dashboards, so you can spend less time chasing and more time leading.

2) The 2025 data you can act on

ELMO spent 2025 conducting our quarterly Employee sentiment Indexes (ESIs), and of course, our flagship HR Industry Benchmark report (HRIB). Collectively, these form a treasure trove of information. Absorb this data to better understand the HR and workforce landscape as you move into 2026. 

For the full year in review, read our 2025 wrap blog.

3) Take your people’s pulse before you pause

The end of the year presents a unique chance to understand how your people are really feeling with a quick pulse check. Are they energised or exhausted? Connected or checked out?

In our recent ESI we found that 40% of Aussie employees are feeling burnt out. This should tell you something about the necessity of pulse checks, especially when it comes to retaining and energising your people ahead of 2026.

“An engagement or a pulse survey is a really good indicator leading into the New Year to understand how people are feeling,” Emily says. “For example, if a company is launching a new strategy in the New Year, how are employees feeling about it and what support do they need from their managers?”

With ELMO Survey, launching short, targeted polls is not only simple, but helps turn insights into action.

4) Career conversations should be front and centre

The festive break is a notorious period for sparking career reflection. If your people return in January feeling unclear about their professional and personal growth, they may well start looking elsewhere.

According to ELMO’s latest ESI, caution continues to shape the labour market (positive for attrition), with job security now favoured over exploration. Fewer employees are considering a career change (18%, down from 23% last quarter), while more are taking on additional responsibilities (29%, up from 23%).

While this is surely positive news for HR, retention and job security should not be taken for granted.

As Emily points out, “every organisation struggles with the January and February period when employees decide to move on because they want a fresh start,” Emily says. “That’s why career conversations are so important.”

“Ultimately, most employees want feedback”, explains Emily. “They want to know what they need to achieve. That’s why it’s so important that we have the metrics in place so people know what they need to be doing to get to the next stage in their career.”

Make sure managers are confidently conducting regular check-ins and asking about goals, growth, and what support they need next. ELMO Performance helps keep career pathways clear and connected to real development opportunities.

5) What worked and what didn’t?

This is the perfect time to run through the laundry list of wins and failures. Before you hit save on your ‘out of office’ notification, reflect critically on the big picture. What worked in 2025? What stretched your team? What opportunities lie ahead for HR, your people, and the organisation at large?

Use this time to:

• Audit your HR tech stack to look for inefficiencies and opportunities
• Interrogate your usual workflows for any holes or extra steps
• Review and identify policy and compliance gaps
• Re-align HR strategy with business priorities
• Use all available data to spot emerging trends that will need attention in 2026
• Plan for upskilling and reskilling, especially in areas like AI

At this stage it’s likely time to rethink your systems. ELMO’s HR platform is both built to fit where you’re at right now and grow with you. From Learning and Performance to Payroll and Surveys, it’s everything you need, and nothing you don’t.

6) Make 2026 your most effective year yet

Seize this time of year to moment to sharpen your focus and set HR up for a faster, cleaner start to 2026. Here are practical, high impact moves that will tee up your January.

Run a “no surprises” briefing

Give your HR team and managers a straight talking download and leave the fluff at the door. What’s changing, what’s staying, and what will matter most in Q1? This isn’t a presentation, it’s a quick and useful alignment. Fifteen minutes now can save weeks of prepwork through January and February.

Fix a couple of longstanding issues everyone complains about

Every team has a few pet issues that seem to linger longer than they should. The approval loop that drags on, the form no one can find, the workflow that breaks every January. Pick the top two operational headaches and either resolve them before the break, or prepare to knock them off first thing in the new year.  You’ll feel the impact immediately, and so will everyone around you.

Clean up HR ‘debris’ so January doesn’t sting

Instead of carrying clutter into the new year, it’s time to clean house. Use this time to:

• Archive legacy workflows
• Close off redundant reports
• Tidy onboarding templates
• Remove or refresh policies that should no longer exist

A clean system sets your team up to move quickly while others are still warming up.

Choose one capability your team must master in 2026

Not five, one. Whether it’s AI literacy and capability, people analytics, strategic workforce planning, or stronger performance conversations, choose the capability that will create the most value for HR and the organisation.

Set your three big wins for the year ahead

What will success look like in December 2026? On top of your one main capability, choose three outcomes that matter the most. These could be culture uplift, stronger leadership capability, reduced admin load, or improved people insights. Steady your sights so you can own them in the new year.

Truly ready for 2026?

A few smart steps now can reduce risk, increase engagement, head off attrition, and set the tone for a confident new year. Wherever you are in your HR journey, ELMO is here to support you, from recruitment to compliance and career conversations and everything in between.