Last week, more than 2,400 senior HR leaders from 86 countries gathered at RAI Amsterdam for HR Tech Europe 2026 – one of Europe's largest meeting places for HR technology and the future of work. This year's edition, held under the theme "Be the Change: Drive HR Transformation," brought together speakers from organisations including Pandora, Marriott International, Mentimeter, H&M, Philips, Samskip, HiBob and Wieden + Kennedy.

Leading analyst Josh Bersin opened Thursday with a keynote on how AI is reshaping work, organisations and the HR function itself. His message echoed throughout the conference in different formats: technology alone doesn't create change – the leadership around it does.

The shift in tone was captured succinctly by Anders Holmberg, CRO at Swedish HR-tech company Eletive, in a comment after the conference. Just a year ago, he noted, conversations centred on what you could even do with AI in the first place. This year, virtually everyone is using AI in some form, and the question has moved on to how you take the technology to the next level. It's a shift from curiosity to practical applicability – and that explains why implementation, leadership and change ran as recurring themes throughout the programme.

Four themes to take home

1. From experimentation to implementation

This year, the contrast with previous editions was striking. Delegates weren't looking for theoretical case studies – they wanted proof of what is practically achievable in their own organisations. Which AI tools are actually in production, and what do the results show? How do you build an AI strategy without locking yourself in with a single vendor? The questions shifted focus from the possibilities of the technology to the maturity of the organisation.

2. Pace versus readiness

The tension between speed and readiness was highlighted as the defining challenge for the HR function in 2026. Technology is evolving faster than organisations' ability to make grounded decisions about it. Several speakers pointed to a new dimension of the CHRO role: acting as an "ambiguity absorber" – someone who can navigate uncertainty with confidence while ways of working, roles and skill requirements are all in flux.

3. Leadership quality is the new performance equation

In one of the most talked-about sessions, Mercer's Kate Bravery and Stefan Mauersberger presented Global Talent Trends 2026, a study based on interviews with more than 12,000 executives, HR leaders, employees and investors. The conclusion: technology doesn't determine performance – leadership does. As AI takes over parts of the operational work, the ability to lead people through change becomes the variable that separates successful organisations from the rest.

4. Responsible AI – from principle to practice

One of the most debated topics this year was responsible AI and automation in HR. Think tanks and panels returned again and again to the same questions: What does responsible AI in HR actually mean in practice, and who is genuinely accountable for it? The discussions moved away from abstract ethical principles toward concrete questions of governance, data readiness and transparency in decision-support systems.

"So many of my conversations with other HR practitioners end up in the same place: how do we move from learning about AI to actually using it consistently across the entire organisation? At its core, this is about change management and psychological safety – the technology itself is no longer the biggest challenge. Both on the exhibition floor and in the startup competition, there were companies thinking in completely new ways about performance, skills and learning – in ways we haven't quite seen in the Nordics yet. You get a different point of reference when you step outside your home market. That alone makes the trip worthwhile."

– Anna Carlsson, founder of HR Digi and speaker at HR Tech Europe 2026

New formats in 2026

This year's edition introduced several new elements that reflect the industry's shift toward more practice-oriented content:

AI Lab – a hands-on environment where delegates could try AI tools in real use cases rather than watch them demonstrated from the stage.

HR Tech Intensives – three in-depth, masterclass-format full-day tracks covering themes such as culture, AI strategy and data-driven HR.

Pitchfest 2026 – a live competition where HR-tech challengers pitched their solutions and competed for prizes worth up to €20,000.

Think Tanks – small roundtable conversations among senior HR leaders on topics including the skills-based talent economy, AI governance and the future HR operating model.

Swedish presence

A strong Swedish contingent was present, both on stage and in the audience. Anna Gullstrand, Chief People & Culture Officer at Mentimeter, was among the speakers, as was Melissa Shelley Höjwall, Manager of Digital People Life Cycle at H&M, who took part in a session on how HR technology and AI translate into real business value. Johannes Sundlo, founder and AI Adoption Advisor at Prorio AI, Alex Tidgård, Chief Product Officer at Jobylon, and Anna Carlsson of HR Digi were also on hand and contributed to the programme.

About HR Tech Europe

HR Tech Europe is one of Europe's largest gatherings for senior HR leaders working with technology-driven change. The conference is held annually at RAI Amsterdam and brings together representatives from organisations including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, LEGO Group, Coca-Cola, IKEA, Spotify, Netflix and BBC. More information at www.hrtechnologyeurope.com.

For more information, please contact: Kristina Bexelius, Juno PR, representative for HR Tech Europe in Sweden Kristina.b@junopr.se or +46 735 186163