As Q4 begins, HR leaders are balancing two competing goals: closing out the year’s programs and planning for the next. Budgets are being finalized, open enrollment is in full swing, and year-end reviews are about to fill every calendar. But the most effective HR teams aren’t just wrapping things up. They’re using this final quarter to strengthen employee support, retention, and readiness for 2026.
Here’s where to focus before the clock runs out.
1. Reconnect HR priorities with business goals
Strategy shifts fast. So should your workforce plans. Gartner research shows that only 15% of companies engage in strategic workforce planning, leaving a significant gap in HR’s ability to align talent with long-term business goals.
Before budgets lock, schedule quick alignment meetings with business unit leaders. What goals are still on track? What roles or skills will be critical for next year’s priorities? Use those insights to adjust headcount planning, reskilling needs, and leadership development focus areas.
This exercise not only benefits your workforce, it ensures that you enter next year positioned as a strategic business partner, not a support function closing out paperwork.
2. Rethink benefits, especially for family care
As open enrollment kicks off, benefits strategy should be front and center. It’s where HR can make one of the biggest year-end impacts. And where small changes can yield outsized returns in engagement and retention.
A few data points from our latest Future of Benefits Report tell the story:
- 73% of U.S. workers are balancing some form of caregiving responsibility for a child, parent, partner, or another loved one
- Nearly one in five employees (19%) have left a job because their employer did not offer family-care benefits
- 72% of employees and 78% of employers agree that companies have a responsibility to help reduce the cost of care
Caregiving has become a core talent issue, not a “nice to have” benefit. Programs that address family care, mental health, and everyday life logistics aren’t just wellness perks; they’re retention drivers.
This is where we can help HR leaders like you deliver meaningful, high-impact support before year-end. Our platform connects employees to:
- Membership to Care.com, expanding their access to trusted care providers.
- Backup Care for children, adults, and seniors to reduce absenteeism.
- Concierge-style care experts, providing one-on-one guidance for complex caregiving needs and time-consuming personal tasks.
- Discount programs that help out with your employees’ financial well-being.
Q4 is the time to audit utilization data and identify gaps. Are certain benefits underused because awareness is low? Are your caregiving and wellness resources being communicated clearly?
Even small comms efforts like reminder emails, portal banners, or manager toolkits (available as plug-and-play resources for all our clients) can drive higher utilization and ROI before the year closes.
3. Strengthen manager readiness before the review cycle
Managers are under pressure to deliver results and support their teams. Yet most don’t feel equipped to do both. According to Deloitte, only one in five managers feel confident helping employees manage burnout or work-life challenges. That’s an issue, especially as end-of-year reviews, deadlines, and family obligations converge.
Use Q4 to re-equip your leaders. Offer quick, focused training sessions on empathetic feedback, navigating performance conversations, and connecting employees to resources
A single manager reminder like “you don’t have to solve every issue; connect your team to their benefits” can make a measurable difference in employee stress and retention.
4. Keep an eye on retention
The beginning of a new year brings one of the largest spikes in job-search activity. Many employees use year-end reviews to reassess their goals. And if they don’t see a clear path forward, they leave.
Get ahead of it.
- Run a short pulse survey to identify retention risks.
- Encourage managers to discuss career paths during performance check-ins, not just performance outcomes.
- If learning budgets risk expiring, use them to fund microlearning or mentorship programs that build future-ready skills.
Retention is the outcome of connection. When employees see growth opportunities and support at home and work, they stay.
5. Modernize performance and development for a new year
Traditional year-end reviews often look backward, not forward. It’s no wonder so many organizations are rethinking their approach; Deloitte found that 61% of managers and 72% of workers don’t trust their organization’s performance-management process.
This year, shift the narrative. Tie your review process directly to development and well-being:
- Ask what’s next, not just what happened.
- Integrate well-being and career growth goals into review templates.
- Use data from benefits usage and engagement metrics to guide supportive conversations (for example, “I see you’ve been using our Backup Care program. How’s that working for you?”).
Performance management should feel like an investment in people, not an administrative task.
The takeaway: Finish well, start stronger
Q4 doesn’t just close the books. It defines the story you’ll tell in Q1. The decisions HR leaders make now around benefits, budgets, and workforce planning shape how resilient, supported, and ready their organizations will be in 2026.
By leading with care, and making it a measurable part of your strategy, you turn benefits from a cost center into a competitive advantage. When employees have access to the right support systems, from child and senior care to everyday life management, the results show up in every metric that matters: retention, engagement, and productivity.
If you’re rethinking your care strategy for 2026, connect with our team to explore how we can help you build benefits that truly work for your workforce.
