News & Thoughts

International Women’s Day is a time for women around the world to reflect. The UN theme for 2026 is 'Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls'. It's a statement that stands to remind us that while progress is happening, we’re still miles from equality for women everywhere.

AI is no longer an experiment for UK businesses. It is a fast-moving investment priority. From record private funding to sharp rises in public sector contracts, AI spend is accelerating across industries and organisation sizes. But behind the headline growth figures sit important questions about ROI, talent, governance and long term value. In this article, we break down what AI spend looks like in the UK right now, where it is heading next, and the risks businesses need to navigate to make it pay off.

Hiring may be picking up in 2026, but so is risk. As confidence returns to the market, your best people have more options than ever. This blog explores why staff retention must sit alongside attraction, and how salary benchmarking, structured onboarding and proactive development conversations can protect the team you have already built.

Finding a leader who balances technical rigour with commercial vision requires more than a standard recruitment process; it demands a targeted, confidential approach.

Losing a perfect candidate at the final hurdle is frustrating. You've invested hours in interviews, the team loves them, and they seem keen - until the offer goes out. Then comes the silence, or worse, the rejection because a competitor offered 15% more. In the current market, relying on salary bands set two years ago is a guaranteed way to lose talent.

As we move further into 2026, you might be feeling like your organisation is facing a recruitment landscape that’s marked by rapid change and a bunch of uncertainty. Typically, permanent recruitment is the go-to, but what it can lack is the agility that businesses need at the moment to respond to the current market fluctuations we’re seeing. Temporary and contract hires can provide you with a powerful alternative; using interim talent can give you flexibility and control over the costs typically associated with hiring. They can also provide you with access to specialist skills that you might need to get through a specific project, or through a period of change in your organisation.

For years, hiring decisions been based on job titles, degrees, and predictable, usually linear, career paths. As we move into 2026, what our team here at Sewell Wallis is seeing is a shift. There’s pressure across the board – the business world is uncertain, and teams need to adapt quickly, which sometimes means they need to hire faster. This means that they need talent that can do the job, not just look good on paper. Enter skills-based hiring.

Discover proven strategies to retain women in senior workplace roles. Learn why outdated structures push women out, how allyship and flexibility boost retention, and why diversity drives better business outcomes. Practical, evidence-based insights for UK organisations aiming to improve gender balance and leadership diversity in 2026.