Europe’s leading human resources and leadership conference will take place on Thursday, March 12th at Dublin’s RDS.
Founded by Sigmar Recruitment more than a decade ago, Talent Summit is now firmly established as the place for human resources (HR) professionals, talent advisers and business leaders to gain insights into the latest thinking.
This year’s theme, The Future at Work, focuses on how HR professionals and executives are responding to a future powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that is impacting workplaces right now.
Featuring expert addresses from more than 20 national and international speakers, it gives delegates a front-row seat on everything from skills development to AI in the workplace and organisational culture.
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“For the past two years we have discussed the potential of AI,” says Julia Purcell of Sigmar Recruitment and founding director of Talent Summit. “That theoretical phase is over. What we are seeing now is a ‘great disconnect’. Boardrooms are pushing for digital acceleration, but the frontline is stalling under the weight of it. At Talent Summit we are no longer asking, ‘What if?’ The question is, ‘How do we make this work for humans?’”
Demand for tickets is greater than ever as HR and talent leaders turn to Talent Summit to provide them with the practical playbook they need “to thrive in a world where the future is already here”, she says.
Among the themes to be explored is: Bridging the Disconnect, how to close the gap between C-suite strategy and frontline reality. A panel discussion entitled HR: The Architects of AI Strategy will look at how HR can better partner with IT to lead digital transformation, ensuring AI implementation that is not just effective but also ethical and human centric.
A forum, Surviving Digital Intensity, will suggest ways to combat the intensity of digital overwhelm, showing how to build cultures that protect human cognitive capacity and prevent the growing risk of burnout in an AI world. Future-proofing Skills will look at transitioning to a dynamic skills-based organisation that can adapt rapidly and effectively to the shrinking shelf life of professional capabilities, where skills become outdated in the blink of an eye.
Yet again Talent Summit brings top national and international speakers to Dublin to provide fresh thinking about the future of HR.
Among this year’s speakers is workplace expert and author Christine Armstrong. Armstrong has spent the last decade researching the disconnect between business strategy and employee experience, becoming a trusted adviser to company executives navigating the transition to hybrid and digital models.
In her keynote speech, The Future at Work: Mind the Gap Between Strategy and Reality, she will set the stage for Talent Summit 2026, addressing the productivity paradox wherein, despite billions spent on AI and digital transformation, employees report record levels of exhaustion and stalling output.
Comedian, mental health campaigner and bestselling author Ruby Wax, who is also a specialist in neuroscience, will address the critical collision between human biology and the digitally accelerating workplace. Wax challenges the traditional wellness approach and argues that resilience is not about enduring more stress, but about understanding the neuroscience of the brain. Wax urges leaders to look beyond individual fixes and instead focus on redesigning the “coal mine” – the organisational cultures that are overheating their human talent.
Accidental activist and master of storytelling Rory O’Neill (aka Panti Bliss) is one of Ireland’s most compelling voices on social change and civil rights. In a fireside interview entitled Radical Authenticity: Why Being Human is Your Best Strategy in an AI World, O’Neill will address the high cost of “covering” – performing a safe version of ourselves at work. He argues that in an AI world, the courage to be truly seen is the ultimate catalyst for genuine connection.
Talent Summit’s packed programme of seminars and panel sessions also includes Grace Lordan, author of Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want, and founding director of The Inclusion Initiative at The London School of Economics. Her talk, Redefining Inclusive Leadership so Managers get a Break, will argue that well-intentional management styles are leading to burnout, urging a return to leading with accountability.
Delegates will also hear from Jean O’Sullivan, chief executive officer of Bus Éireann; Rossa Mullally, director at Sigmar Recruitment; Oonagh Kelly, chief people officer at the National Treasury Management Agency and Amy Burke, chief people and sustainability officer at VHI.
As well as international orchestral conductor Karen Ní Bhroin, delegates will hear from Eoin Fleming, head of security, IT and business application at Swords-based ecommerce leader ESW, formerly EShopWorld.
With up to 1,500 people set to attend, this year’s Talent Summit is a red-letter day for Ireland’s HR leaders, particularly at a time when workplaces are facing unprecedented challenges and employees are struggling with the accelerated pace of change.
“In some organisations, we’re seeing new digital tools tested every week, yet productivity isn’t rising,” says Julia Purcell, the founding director of Talent Summit. “Employees are overwhelmed by the expectation to reskill constantly and we’re seeing higher levels of disengagement, change fatigue and burnout as a result.
The future is here. You can’t opt out of it. Even if your organisation doesn’t have an AI strategy, your employees are already using AI, which brings a whole raft of risks with it and Talent Summit: The Future at Work is all about what we are going to do about it.”
Talent Summit takes place on Thursday, March 12th. Book tickets at talentsummit.ie
