HR Tech Europe 2026 is closing out its two-day run in Amsterdam as a genuinely partaking occasion.
Not solely did 1000’s attend, however virtually each session, not simply the keynotes, was oversubscribed, displaying simply how keen attendees are to soak up as a lot perception as attainable.
That’s as a result of, like many capabilities, AI stands to remodel HR considerably. Gartner helps the prediction that by 2030, as much as 60% of HR duties might be dealt with by clever brokers.
The opening keynote from Byron Clayton, Chief Folks and Planet Officer at Pandora, made clear that AI is a central focus for the HR sector. Nonetheless, it additionally highlighted how complicated that dialog has grow to be. For instance, Pandora set itself a objective of producing 200 million euros in measurable worth via its folks perform.
With so many layers now shaping the AI dialogue, and new challenges rising, we compiled the core themes from our conversations that stood out at this time, together with one that would quickly take middle stage.
Proving HR’s Worth to the Enterprise
The strain on HR to show industrial influence dominated conversations throughout a number of periods. Laura Fink, Folks and Tradition Director at HiBob, argued that the shift to AI has made the necessity to show influence extra pressing, not much less:
“There has by no means been extra concentrate on industrial influence. If we wish a seat on the desk, we have to guarantee these packages proceed to obtain funding.”
She inspired HR professionals to work backward from enterprise priorities, linking folks initiatives on to income, productiveness, price, and velocity to worth.
Clayton bolstered this with knowledge. Pandora’s recruitment transformation, Olivia, constructed with AI hiring platform Paradox and evaluation software Harver, delivered a 64% discount in recruitment administration, diminished time to rent from 38 days to fifteen, and generated 35 million euros in further worth within the US alone. Attrition has since fallen by 25%.
“This isn’t a narrative about folks packages. This can be a story about creating tangible, measurable enterprise worth,” he mentioned.
AI Adoption and Actual-World Impression
The AI dialog has matured considerably in comparison with earlier years, and HR is not any exception. Anders Holmberg, CRO at Eletive, famous the shift: “Final 12 months, folks had been asking what they might do with AI. Now everyone seems to be utilizing AI to some extent, however asking how you can take it to the following stage.”
Gianpaolo Barozzi, VP and CTO for Folks, Coverage and Goal at Cisco, supplied one of the vital detailed accounts of large-scale AI adoption. Cisco has deployed AI instruments throughout greater than 80,000 workers utilizing a federated method. Crucially, Barozzi reframed AI’s function:
“AI isn’t impacting abilities. It’s impacting work, after which the talents it’s worthwhile to try this work.”
Cisco constructed an engine that maps each job function in opposition to core work actions, figuring out the place AI will be utilized instantly and making a shared language for discussing work throughout the group.
Michael Neefs, Nation Gross sales Supervisor for Belgium and Luxembourg at Cornerstone OnDemand, pointed to the same shift. Cornerstone has developed a Workforce AI stack able to consolidating knowledge from third-party methods, together with CRMs and ERPs.
“We’re absolutely conscious that it isn’t about one system doing all the pieces,” he mentioned.
Worker Engagement and the Human Aspect
Regardless of the concentrate on expertise, the significance of the human aspect remained a constant theme.
The backdrop is regarding. A latest Gallup report discovered US employee engagement at a decade low. This issues within the context of AI, as any measurable positive factors from AI might be undermined by declining engagement.
Georgia Portwain, Tradition and Engagement Strategist at O.C. Tanner, mentioned this concern dominated conversations on the stand:
“Expertise is an enabler, however we are able to have all of the tech on the planet and nonetheless have folks feeling disconnected. Workers must really feel seen, acknowledged, and psychologically secure. These are issues AI can’t construct.”
Isha Smith, World VP of Whole Rewards at SoundCloud, mentioned rebuilding engagement after a interval of decline. Following a management change in 2023, SoundCloud launched a centered effort to enhance engagement. Its engagement rating has since risen by 19 factors, reaching 75% by December 2025, whereas common tenure elevated from round two years to 4 years.
Accountable AI and Governance
Governance emerged as a constant undercurrent, with audio system emphasizing that accountable deployment is as essential as velocity.
Barozzi was direct. “You could begin constructing your accountable AI rules. You could determine what you’ll permit AI to do and what you’ll not.” He really useful beginning with routine processes however urged organizations to maneuver shortly past them. “After getting completed this, it’s worthwhile to perceive how AI is essentially altering how your folks work.”
Cornerstone’s Neefs famous that his group is among the many first HR tech corporations licensed below the EU AI Act, which can grow to be a key consideration for patrons when it comes into power in August.
The Future: Why HR Will Not Simply Deploy, However Handle AI
A lot of HR Tech Europe centered on how HR will help people navigate AI-driven change. Nonetheless, one dialog pointed additional forward and received the occasion’s startup award.
Michael Beygelman, Founder and CEO of Insygna, offered a imaginative and prescient of what the following section of AI in HR may seem like. AI brokers at the moment are executing duties inside enterprise methods, making selections, dealing with workflows, and interacting with clients, typically with out human involvement. But they exist largely outdoors the accountability buildings organizations have constructed for human employees.
Beygelman’s idea, Agentic Workforce Administration, goals to provide HR better management over these brokers:
“Corporations have already got a governance infrastructure for how you can handle folks, and so we’re primarily making a doppelganger infrastructure to do comparable for brokers, which then permits the CIO to be the financial purchaser, however HR to be the system proprietor.”
This highlights not solely how the AI dialog in HR is evolving, but additionally how HR is changing into a key stakeholder not simply in AI deployment, however in its ongoing administration.
The rise of AI can also be creating authorized dangers that HR is chargeable for mitigating. For instance, Workday is presently embroiled in a US courtroom case over allegations that its AI acted in a discriminatory method when evaluating candidates for a 3rd occasion.
The broader theme of the occasion was HR adapting to the brand new AI actuality. Corporations like Insygna, nevertheless, are starting to ask how AI will change what HR is chargeable for.
