HR transformation through AI: Insights from ET NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026
HR is moving from process to performance. AI is the catalyst. If you lead people, you're being asked to build smarter systems, better decisions, and a more human employee experience-at the same time.
The Economic Times NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026 arrives at the right moment. Held on 18-19 February 2026 at The Leela Ambience, Gurugram, the summit's theme "Minds & Machines" captures what HR must deliver next: clarity, speed, and empathy-without losing the human edge.
What makes NexTech matter
Over six editions, NexTech has become a meeting point for CHROs, digital leaders, policymakers, and the C-suite. It's not a product showcase. It's where ideas meet execution and leaders stress-test what will actually work in their organisations.
- AI is the central thread-applied across talent, performance, workforce planning, and employee experience.
- Sessions move beyond hype: case studies, hands-on workshops, and masterclasses built for operators.
- Reskilling takes center stage. India will be a major talent hub by 2040, and an estimated 375 million workers may need new skills to stay relevant. HR must plan for it now.
Agenda highlights HR leaders should prioritize
- AI-enhanced talent strategies: sourcing quality, fair assessments, and faster time-to-hire without bias.
- Predictive analytics for workforce design: scenario planning, skills forecasting, and headcount decisions tied to business outcomes.
- Ethical automation: transparency, consent, and auditability in people decisions.
- From skilling to reskilling: role-based pathways, internal mobility, and manager enablement.
- Employee experience with AI: service automation that cuts friction but keeps empathy.
- Change and adoption: playbooks that move pilots to scale with governance and guardrails.
Awards that set the bar
The HR Awards-spanning Innovation, Leadership, Excellence, and Corporate categories-recognise organisations and leaders who deliver measurable outcomes with people strategy and technology. These wins help surface practices worth replicating.
Why this summit stands out in 2026
There's no shortage of conferences this year. Few blend strategy, peer learning, and technology depth like NexTech. Expect debates on how AI intersects with inclusion, equity, and growth-topics that matter when machines start influencing human decisions.
How to prepare and extract value
- Define 2-3 business outcomes to target (quality of hire, retention lift, time-to-fill, skills coverage). Bring baseline metrics.
- Audit your data: access, quality, consent, and bias checks across hiring, performance, and learning.
- Start small, prove fast: pick one high-impact use case (e.g., internal mobility matching) and run a 90-day pilot.
- Upskill the HR team: AI literacy for all, analytics depth for a few, and prompt skills for daily workflows.
- Update policies: AI usage, human oversight, explainability, and escalation paths for model-driven decisions.
- Measure fairness: monitor drift, adverse impact, and explainability for any model that affects people outcomes.
- Network with intent: identify peers solving similar problems and schedule follow-ups before you leave the venue.
For broader context on job transitions and skills shifts, see the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs insights here, and high-level AI principles from the OECD here.
The human + machine mandate
AI should make work easier, fairer, and more meaningful. That requires clear outcomes, strong data practices, and human oversight for decisions that affect careers. Use AI to reduce friction and surface insight; keep humans in charge of context, care, and culture.
Event details
- Dates: 18-19 February 2026
- Venue: The Leela Ambience, Gurugram
- Audience: CHROs, HR leaders, policymakers, technologists, C-suite
- Format: Keynotes, case studies, workshops, masterclasses, and an awards program
If reskilling is on your 2026 plan, explore curated AI learning paths for HR and people teams here.
Bottom line: HR is being asked to deliver performance with intelligence and humanity. NexTech gives you the forum, the peers, and the practical playbooks to make that real.
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