January is always a hotbed of activity in the HR world.

Thousands of new leaders step into roles. Companies go live with new software and benefit menus. And it can feel like almost every day one of your key prospects is promoted into a role leading new projects.

January 2026 was no different.

In just one month, there were thousands of buying signals for companies targeting HR buyers, including:

• 2,300 HR decision-makers starting new roles
• 2,025 promotions
• 117 funded companies
• 766 companies beginning international expansion
• 60 acquisitions
• 678 companies significantly increasing headcount
• 4,700 companies promoting new L&D schemes
• 1,313 companies promoting initiatives focused on employee mental health

And that is before you even get into the smaller, harder-to-spot changes happening inside HR teams every day.

Turning signals into real pipeline

On the surface, these look like statistics. But when you dig into them, you start to see what each signal actually represents.

Take a few real examples:

Swissport:

Stu Privett was promoted to Director of HR Systems at Swissport.

On its own, that is interesting. But when you look a little deeper, you can see Swissport expanding its HR function with senior hires, alongside the recent appointment of a new Head of IT Operations and HR Systems. That combination often points to systems change, consolidation, or new investment.

Caprice Holdings:

Natalie Tait joined Caprice Holdings, the group behind restaurants like Sexy Fish and Bacchanalia.

Look below the surface and you see growing workforces in Dubai and Manchester, likely to dominate her early priorities as the business scales internationally.

Sokin:

Then there is Sokin, which raised £37 million and is focused on UK-led expansion across Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Each of these signals tells a story. And each story points to a different type of opportunity.

These are just three of more than 6,000 potential buying signals in a single month.

They all matter, because every unexamined signal is a potential opportunity left on the table.

Signals without context are just noise

Most teams do not miss opportunities because they ignore them. They miss them because they never see them in the first place.

Most platforms do not track HR-specific signals. And even when teams do have access to some signals, they often cannot react quickly or well enough to turn them into meaningful conversations.

• A promotion without context is just a title change.
• A funding round without HR insight is just a headline.
• A new hire without understanding what the business is working on is easy to overlook.

Honch is built specifically for teams selling into HR.

We track HR-specific buying signals, not generic company events, and pair them with the context you need to act. That is how teams know who to contact, why now, and what to say.

Imagine your HR signals meeting their own AI agent

Just imagine giving your team a specialist HR assistant who uncovers buying signals, researches prospects, and writes first‑touch intros in your voice. That’s Bernard.

He can:

• Research prospects - Uncover which companies and which signals are most relevant for your business
• Write custom emails - In your voice addressing their challenges
• Prospect at scale - Target groups of prospects with completely customised outreach

January proved the point

January alone surfaced thousands of HR buying signals.

Right now, there is active HR spend being shaped inside businesses like DHL, Barclays, Dentsu, Kantar, Lenovo, Experian, Gartner, LSEG, Travelodge, Flutter and Millennium Hotels.

These are live opportunities, driven by real changes inside HR teams.

Some businesses will engage early, while priorities are being set and options are still open. Others will arrive later, once decisions are already underway.

The difference is rarely intent. It is visibility and timing.

2026 does not need to be about chasing deals after the fact. With the right signals and the right context, it can be about being present at the moments that matter.

If you want to see what January’s opportunities look like in practice, book a demo and we will show you live HR signals and Bernard researching and writing against them in real time.