HR & Talent Events to Check Out in 2018

2017 was a big year. Plenty of the disruptions predicted by Talent events in 2016 were cemented, and plenty were discarded. 2018 looms large now, and the biggest thing is the encroaching supremacy of new A.I. in Talent Acquisition.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Well, the best cure for that is a good conference. There is no lack of variety in upcoming Talent events in 2018, and no shortage of ways to grind your knowledge down to a cutting edge. But which conferences should you prioritise?
That’s where we come in. Here’s a list of the biggest and most important HR & Talent conferences coming up in 2018, in Australasia and abroad, and we’ll be adding to it all year, especially as more conferences start to come out of Asia and Africa!
Have a scroll:

Australia/New Zealand

Australasian Talent Conference 2018

20-21 June, Sydney, Australia
The 12th Annual Australasian Talent Conference (ATC), will be shining the light brightly on Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). ATC2018 will focus on three areas:

1. What A.I. is and how it will alter what you do
2. Examine how and where A.I. can be applied to your TA function
3. Explore the makeup of the new TA professional

If you want to get your hands on tools and tech never before seen in Australia, then make sure ATC 2018 is in your diary for June!

Contingent Workforce Conference 2018

September, Sydney, Australia
The Gig Workforce is here! These freelancers move from project to project inspired by the freedom to work where they want, when they want and for how much they want. It’s not just UBER drivers or part-time bloggers that are gig workers, in fact in 2015, 32 percent of Australians participated in some kind of freelance work and it’s predicted to rise. Globally, it’s a $300 billion exercise procuring non-employee workers. New technologies and online contractor marketplaces have arisen and laws are changing to accommodate the new style of worker.
Even for the most mature Contingent function, the landscape is changing. It is critical now more than ever that all businesses prepare themselves for the dawn of a ‘new world of work’.

HR Leaders Forum

20 & 21 February 2018, Swissotel, Sydney
The dynamics of consumers, economics, and technology are changing on a global scale, upsetting traditional business models whilst producing new opportunities for transformation. Designing robust, agile human capital systems are becoming an essential priority for decision makers determined to future-proof their organisations.
Combined with today’s competitive pressures, HR Leaders have to formulate a strategy that sets it apart and translates into real business value. Celebrating its 6th year, the HR Leaders Forum is the most senior gathering of HR professionals in Australia. Gathering the nation’s leading workforce decision makers from both private and public sectors, it is the ideal platform from which to formulate strategies to successfully overcome the challenges of the future and enhance business performance today.

National HR Summit 2018

14-15 March, Luna Park Sydney, Australia
The 13th annual HR Summit is the premium forum bringing elite buyers and sellers together. As an invitation-only event taking place behind closed doors, the summit offers chief HR executives and service and solution providers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of the key new drivers shaping corporate priorities and HR strategies.

AHRI National Convention & Exhibition 2018

28-30 August, Melbourne, Australia
The AHRI National Convention and Exhibition is an event for HR professionals and business leaders who are responsible for the people planning decisions in their organisation. The event attracts over 3000 attendees from around the country each year, inspired by local and global thought leaders on the big issues facing HR and business. Attendees can choose their experience by attending 1, 2 or all 3 days of the convention.

HR Tech Summit 2018

19 September, Sydney, Australia
HR Tech Summit brings together HR leaders from a wide range of industries to access the latest insight and best practices from the leading authorities on HR technology. A varied program of case studies, panel discussions and tech talks focus on how agile, productivity-focused HR systems can empower people in a changing world of work.

HR Tech Fest 2018

November, Sydney, Australia
If you’re looking for a new “end to end” HR saas platform and want to view them all under one roof then this is the event for you! HR Tech Fest brings together leaders and experts in the field, to help each other pinpoint new and different ways to transform business through HR & Technology.

IT18 Talent Conference

Date TBA, Melbourne, Australia
IT18 is the first and only event dedicated to talent management and recruitment in the IT sector. The event exclusively focuses on talent management in the tech sector, with a special focus on the attraction, recruitment and retention of IT professionals in Australia and NZ.

Africa

HR Tech Fest 2018

23-24 July, Johannesburg, South Africa
The same HR Tech fest as the event in Sydney, but tailored to a new audience in South Africa. The world has changed. Businesses are demanding. New technologies are emerging. The clock is ticking and the big HR shift is on. HR has moved beyond its operational role and is fast transforming into a core, focused, and disciplined strategic business function. Technology is the essential enabler of this transformation. HR Innovation & Tech Fest is in its second year, where a vibrant community of HR and technology people, thought-leaders and experts come together to share knowledge, experience and innovation.

Europe

The Global Recruiter UK Summit 2018

8 March, London, England
Following the success of The Global Recruiter UK Summit 2017, the fourteenth Summit will return to London on Thursday 8th March 2018. The Global Recruiter UK Summit was first held in 2005 and has now become a flagship event for the UK recruitment industry. This one day conference and exhibition attracts over 150 senior delegates including business owners, CEO’s, managing directors and in-house HR professionals with its unrivalled programme of relevant and current content.

UNLEASH (formerly HR Tech World)

20-21 March, London, England
23-24 October, Amsterdam, Netherlands
UNLEASH is much more than technology. It’s about unleashing the power and potential of people. The 4th industrial revolution, leadership crises, and rapid advances in technology coupled with fast paced innovation are now forever changing our world. Industries, jobs and ways of working are being disrupted and so is the role and relationship of people with work – people are back and they are taking centre stage! UNLEASH is the new name of what was previously HR Tech World, a five year old conference on HR Tech.

Sourcecon Europe

12 June, Budapest, Hungary
SourceCon Budapest is like a family reunion of brothers and sisters you never knew you had. We mix work and play with fun and engaging activities like test driving the latest tech in the innovation labs or honing and testing your skills against your peers in the after-hours hackathon. In the keynotes and breakouts, you’ll discover new, faster, and easier, ways of finding and engaging with the best candidates. Enjoy the networking events and after hour parties where you will meet your peers, uncover creative ideas, and get inspired. Don’t forget the amazing tech and service companies who make this all possible; stay competitive and learn about all the new and innovative solutions that can make you a sourcing Rock Star.

Beyond – The Global HR and Leadership Forum 2018

14-15 June, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BEYOND – The Global HR Leadership Forum 2018 will address the agenda and global themes facing the senior HR community in key business sectors and industries across the world. The speakers will focus on the future and the stake of HR in the changing economies, disruptive models, new stakeholders and roles. We will explore science in HR, learn about abundance and exponential organisations, impact of Artificial Intelligence, shifting workforce composition, consumerisation of HR and how traditional HR approaches are replaced by “the employee experience”,  we will check on how analytics is making progress and have a dedicated space for emerging trends such as “wellness and health”, social entrepreneurship, start-up corner, and much more.

Asia

HR Summit

9-10 May, Singapore
HR Summit & Expo Asia is the region’s most popular workforce management show bringing together the world’s most influential business thinkers, local and international solutions providers and top HR decision makers under one roof for two power-packed days featuring the latest case studies, trends and thought-provoking industry content.

The Americas

Social Recruiting Strategies Conference 2018

31 January – 2 February, San Francisco, USA
In just over 6 years SRSC has grown to become the conference leader for recruiters and talent acquisition professionals across all industries — offering the latest in global recruiting trends, data analytics, recruitment marketing, candidate experience, tools and technology. This year they have crafted an agenda with 4 new session track themes.

19th HR Metric and Analytics Summit

26-28 February, Florida, USA
It’s clear that metrics and analytics in HR is on the cusp of reinventing how HR does its business and that is only one of the reasons why the 19th HR Metrics and Analytics Summit, this February 26-28 in Orlando, is so important. These kinds of analytics are going ‘mainstream’ as executives continue to recognise its value. Organisations without analytics need to get off the sidelines — or risk losing competitive advantage and being LEFT BEHIND.

SourceCon Spring 2018 

26-28 February, Las Vegas, USA
Join your peers in Las Vegas for a next-gen level of sourcing information, training, and interaction. The tools and techniques used to find candidates will come from leading experts and previously untapped resources that you will be amazed to learn. Utilising social engineering techniques, we will harness the power of understanding people, and skilfully maneuver them to a response or action. We’ll also learn how to use a person’s digital trail to alter their perception of reality.

ERE Recruiting Conference 2018

2-4 April, San Diego, USA
The ERE Recruiting Conference is for TA leaders who lead their company’s recruiting function, manage a team or control the budget. For three days, you’ll share with, and learn from your peers – other TA leaders who face the same challenges that you do. You’ll return to your office with new ideas and a new list of personal connections to call on.

2018 HR People and Strategy

22-25 April, Scottsdale, USA
We live in an age where technology is shaping the way people live and work. From automation and AI to team collaboration, leadership, and social media, digitalization is creating unique expectations from employees and unprecedented challenges for HR. Today’s employees are adapting, learning, and growing alongside this massive technological shift, and increasingly, they expect their work experience to match their life experience.
The HR People + Strategy Annual Conference: Building Extraordinary Organizations—Human + Digital Collaboration will discuss the vital role of HR in leading the convergence of people and technology to build extraordinary organizations and the key elements shaping employees’ work expectations.

UNLEASH (formerly HR Tech World)

15-16 May, Las Vegas, USA
UNLEASH is much more than technology it’s about unleashing the power and potential of people. The 4th industrial revolution, leadership crises, rapid advances in technology coupled with fast paced innovation are now forever changing our world. Industries, jobs and ways of working are being disrupted and so is the role and relationship of people with work – people are back and they are taking center stage! Unleash Your People!

SHRM18

17-20 June, Chicago, USA
With Malala Yousef as key speaker, you know this conference is one to look out for! Over 200 concurrent sessions provide a complete education for HR professionals at every stage of their career, based on the SHRM Competency Model. You’ll be able to choose from a broad range of topics so you can customise the learning you need.  Concentrate on solutions designed to help your organisation become more compliant; delve into the cutting-edge trends that will impact your workplace in the next few years; build a strategic talent management plan to increase engagement and retention.

Talent42 Conference 2018

5-6 June, Seattle, USA
Talent42 is the first – and only – conference that brings together tech recruiters and leading technologists. We ask every speaker and every panel to bring their “A-game”. Talent42 is a rare opportunity for the tech recruiting community to come together to share new ideas.

HR Tech Conference 2018

11-14 September, Las Vegas, USA
HR Technology^® covers all the latest trends – SaaS, The Cloud, social, mobile, analytics, video, gamification, Big Data and MOOCs – as well as the more traditional technologies and processes that still compete for your attention. Whatever is changing the way work and HR gets done is what is featured. All sessions are created and delivered by senior executives from many leading organisations – no speaking slots are sold – resulting in a high-caliber learning experience with real-world lessons and practical takeaways.
If you’ve gotten this far, well done! You’ve got a pretty comprehensive idea of how the HR & Talent Management world is shaping up this year, and hopefully some of these events piqued your interest. Happy conferencing!
Images: Shutterstock

Updated: 14 December 2017

Talent Acquisition (TA) is on the cusp of a new wave of innovation and the 12th Australasian Talent Conference will be shining the light brightly on it – say hi to Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). Find out more.