Leadership Quality Now Rivals Salary in Attracting Top Talent

Leadership quality and organisational culture are emerging as nearly equal priorities to compensation when professionals choose and stay with employers, according to the Cpl Salary Guide for Ireland 2026. The findings reveal a fundamental shift in talent priorities, as employees increasingly evaluate opportunities based on values, work environment, and leadership behaviours alongside financial rewards.

The key findings from this year’s report are as follows:

While compensation and benefits remain the top priority at 35%, leadership and culture follow closely at 24% as the most important factor when choosing an employer. When examining both first and second most important factors combined, leadership and culture reaches 54% (24% first choice, 30% second choice), narrowing the gap with compensation and benefits at 62% (35% first choice, 27% second choice).

Within the leadership and culture category, employees prioritise culture, values and ethics (27%), work environment (25%), and leadership behaviours (24%). Cpl’s findings reinforce that leadership quality remains a critical driver of employee attrition.

Flexible Working: The Essential Benefit

Flexible working arrangements have evolved from a perk to a critical component of employee packages. After remuneration (32%), flexible working ranks as the second most important compensation and benefit factor at 26%. The research shows that 70% of employees now utilise some form of flexible working, with previous studies indicating that one in four candidates would not proceed with a job opportunity lacking flexibility.

The predominant flexibility model is hybrid working (over 54%), typically with a 3/2 or 2/3 home/office split. However, next-generation arrangements are emerging, with 12% working fully remote and over 7% utilising compressed work weeks. Organisations offering structured, design-led flexible working strategies gain a significant competitive advantage, particularly when recruiting for high-skilled roles where talent is scarce.

Work-Life Balance Takes Centre Stage

Within employee experience priorities, work-life balance dominates at 40%, followed by meaningful and stimulating work at 21%. While not yet surpassing compensation in importance, work-life balance, when considered alongside flexible working, represents a core pillar of any successful talent strategy.

AI Transitions from Specialist to Mainstream Capability

Cpl’s analysis found that, between 2022 and 2024, AI references in job titles and descriptions increased year-on-year, peaking in 2024. However, 2025 saw a correction as organisations moved beyond experimentation toward strategic implementation.

AI demand remains concentrated in IT (55% of AI-related hiring), Life Sciences (17%), and Customer Service (13%). Business Intelligence has emerged as a distinct growth category since 2023, signalling a shift toward insight-led decision-making. Regulatory roles now account for 3% of AI positions, reflecting growing governance requirements.

Cpl found that AI is becoming embedded within existing roles rather than creating new specialist positions. By 2024-2025, AI-related roles comprised just 3% of all jobs, yet within those roles, under 50% of job titles still referenced AI. References to AI in job descriptions have doubled compared to job titles, indicating that employers increasingly expect baseline AI literacy as a standard competency rather than a differentiator.

Limited Company Growth Signals Workforce Evolution

Ireland experienced near-record limited company incorporations in 2025, with approximately 25,000 new companies registered (a 5-6% increase on 2024). This growth reflects layoffs and slower permanent hiring for experienced professionals, prompting many to establish their own businesses providing specialist services across technology, life sciences, and financial services.

This trend signals a structural shift toward self-employment, fractional leadership, and contingent workforce models, offering organisations access to critical expertise with greater cost and workforce flexibility.

Organisation Stability and Career Pathways

Employees seek stable, well-structured organisations. Organisation stability and growth ranks as the most important factor at 34%, followed by organisation structure at 22%, and mission and purpose at 17%. Interestingly, CSR and sustainability ranked lowest at 5%, suggesting organisations must strengthen their positioning as net-benefit entities.

Investment in upskilling, reskilling, and internal mobility is accelerating as skills shortages make external hiring costly and competitive. Employees expect visible career progression, and organisations require resilient workforces to navigate economic and technological change. Those building clear career pathways and investing in learning reduce long-term hiring pressure while retaining critical skills.

Looking Ahead

Ireland’s 2026 talent market rewards organisations that adopt a holistic, long-term approach to employee experience. While not every organisation can compete on salary alone, those balancing compensation and benefits, career development, innovation, flexible working, and upskilling are best positioned to attract and retain top talent.

Lorna Conn, Cpl CEO ,said:

“Ireland’s labour market is undergoing a period of dynamic evolution. While economic and technological pressures continue to reshape how organisations operate, one fundamental truth persists: talent is the key differentiator for growth. This Salary Guide sits at the intersection of pay, skills, flexibility, and leadership, drawing on insights from Cpl’s Future of Work Institute, Ireland’s 2026 talent trends, and our latest analysis of AI’s impact on the workforce.”