For decades, HR Tech has been a destination for forward-thinking HR leaders to learn and connect. This year’s conference, which took place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from September 24 to 26, welcomed nearly 7,000 attendees.
AI was front and center, making its way into all three keynotes as well as scores of vendors across the expo. The conference also featured more than 175 sessions covering topics ranging from DEI initiatives and leadership growth to talent strategies and financial well-being benefits. And with so many great minds in one place, HR Tech was sure to leave for one-on-one meetings and networking opportunities.
Why attend HR Tech
If you couldn’t make it to HR Tech year and want to see what you missed out on, or you went and want to provide your team with a recap, this blog is a great place to start. First, let's dive into biggest reasons to attend.
See the latest in HR technology
Why spend months of research online and scheduling calls to get virtual demos, when you can walk the expo at HR Tech and see them all in a few days? With hundreds of vendors showing off their solutions, you can quickly dive into the latest technologies and compare solutions. You also get the opportunity to uncover some new and hidden gems you may not have come across scrolling through the web or talking to your peers.
Learn from leading companies and executives
HR Tech always attracts a healthy collection of high-profile brands, and you get a front-row seat to hear their stories. This year, leaders from the likes of CVS Health, Delta Air Lines, Hyatt, and Microsoft shared how they are staying at the forefront of HR innovation.
Discover all the ways AI augments HR
With so much buzz around AI, it can be hard to distinguish what’s significant and what’s smoke and mirrors. HR Tech put on an impressive display of AI technologies with a wide array of applications. Established companies showcased how they are integrating AI into their existing offering to provide more value to their customers, while emerging organizations unveiled new and exciting use cases for AI in HR.
Access the hottest trends
Every year, analysts release new research at HR Tech. You’ll leave the conference with your finger on the pulse of the latest HR trends, including what new solutions are hitting the market, where organizations are investing, and how different industries are performing.
Network with your industry peers
While many of us enjoy the flexibility of remote work, there is no denying the benefits of meeting in person with our peers every now and then. HR Tech does a great job of fostering both formal and informal networking opportunities for attendees. And with all of the insightful sessions throughout the week, you’ll never be short on topics to discuss.
Keynotes
Each day of the conference featured a keynote. As you'll quickly see, AI was a huge focus of this year's event.
Unlocking the Future: Transform HR with Generative AI
Best-selling author Charlene Li took the stage Tuesday afternoon to discuss how AI is poised to reshape HR as we know it. She explored the many ways generative AI is already impacting HR, and how it's set to transform employee experiences, boost productivity, and drive significant cultural shifts within organizations.
She discussed practical strategies for aligning AI initiatives with both business and HR objectives and stressed the importance of educating employees about AI’s potential. Charlene also provided actionable insights on establishing an AI Center of Excellence and reimagining roles in an AI-augmented workforce. One key takeaway was her emphasis on the ethical considerations of leading with AI, urging us to move beyond basic implementations and truly harness its potential to innovate HR practices.
HR Technology 2025: An Existential Change Driven by AI
Josh Bersin, global industry analyst and CEO of The John Bersin Company, kicked off Wednesday morning by highlighting how AI is rapidly redefining the HR technology market. He discussed not just the explosion of new AI-driven tools, systems, and solutions, but also how some of the long-standing HR tech vendors now face significant disruption.
Josh walked us through the major trends reshaping the HR tech landscape, showing how AI is transforming everything from core HR systems to learning and development technologies, recruitment, and even the employee experience. It was fascinating to hear about how deeply AI is influencing the entire HR ecosystem, including some areas you might not anticipate being greatly impacted by AI.
The Skills-Powered Organization: How to Design and Activate the Enterprise for the “Next” of Work
Global thought leader and author Ravin Jesuthasan rounded out the week with an inspirational keynote on what it takes for businesses to stand the test of time. The world of work is evolving, driven by rapid changes like AI, climate change, and geopolitical shifts. He argued that in order for organizations to remain agile and resilient in this disruptive era, they need to shift their focus from traditional jobs to skills as the new currency of work.
Drawing from his book Work without Jobs, he emphasized that this transition will require us to rethink nearly everything about how we approach work. He explained that the future lies in skill-powered organizations — ones that can adapt and thrive amid constant change. He outlined the HR architecture necessary to support this shift, offering clear strategies for building more flexible, responsive enterprises.
OneSource Virtual at HR Tech
We had an action-packed agenda at HR Tech. In addition to attending sessions and checking out the expo, we had a booth, presented a session, and partnered with Workday, Paradox, and Techwolf for an event at Skyfall Lounge on Wednesday evening.
Our booth
We had a blast chatting with attendees about how we help elevate HR operations with technology and services for payroll, benefits, and employee financial well-being.
We tested attendees’ payroll and benefits knowledge with a game of higher or lower, where we would provide a statistic, and they would have to tell us if the real stat was higher or lower. There were prizes, of course, including our beloved Cards Against HR game and Ember Travel Mugs!
Our session
On Thursday, Carl Madaffari, SVP of product at OneSource Virtual, delivered our session, “Beyond the Paycheck: How Innovative Pay Solutions Create Value for Employees and Practitioners.”
Carl discussed how organizations can improve payroll efficiency and enhance the employee pay experience without compromising the power and simplicity of a single system of record. Attendees learned how to streamline operations, improve employee financial well-being, and stay ahead of evolving payroll trends through technology, service partnerships, and employee-centric design.
About OneSource Virtual
OneSource Virtual (OSV) delivers in-tenant technology and expert services to automate the administrative, transactional tasks of Workday payroll, taxes, payments, and benefits. With over 1,000 customers and 95% customer retention, OSV is the leading exclusive provider of Business-Process-as-a-Service solutions for Workday customers.
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