
Note for readers: We’ve refreshed this article with the latest 2026 HR trade shows and events to help you plan ahead.
Participating in HR conferences is a crucial tool for ongoing learning, helping to tackle current challenges and foster innovative HR methods in a dynamic business environment.
These conferences primarily focus on addressing prevailing trends and issues in the industry.
While these conferences are highly beneficial, attending them all is not feasible. Thus, selecting the most valuable event for your organization is essential for a fruitful experience.
Explore this compilation of top HR conferences for 2026, designed to energize and inspire you to implement positive changes in your organization.
Below is a list of the top HR conferences to attend in 2026. We continually update this page with the most recent HR events, conferences, HR trends, and learning opportunities for your industry.
You may see a friendly face from AvaHR at many of the conferences listed below. Make sure you come to say hello and pick up some swag!
⚠️Disclaimer: This list is for informational purposes only. Event details, including dates and locations, may change, so be sure to visit each expo’s official website for the most up-to-date information before making travel or registration plans.
HR conferences are a great opportunity to learn from today’s top industry thought leaders. Although other industry conferences may be a bit vendor-heavy with content, HR conferences tend to be highly focused on quality educational resources. You will be learning from real HR professionals who are out in the field doing the work and learning to adapt to today’s rapidly changing work industry.
One of the top reasons HR professionals choose to invest in HR conferences is to avoid legal risk before an issue arises. Attending these conferences can help you stay up to date on relevant issues as changes in labor compliance continue to occur.
HR conferences can help you attain two major certification credits. The continual learning credit systems you will find represented at HR conferences are SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, and HRCI. Many of the conferences listed here offer dual credit hours, so you will be able to obtain credit hours for both. Make sure you check with the conference you’re attending to find out if they’re offering what you need!
You will often find many of the HR industry’s best vendors in the exhibit hall of HR conferences. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about new technology and resources, as well as receive tips and recommendations. Staying up to date on the best tools will help you remain competitive in your industry and ensure you’re leveraging the best products for your organization.
HR conferences are a great way to build certification hours for the two primary continuing education programs. HCRI is the more globally known and recognized certification. They have a search page where you can search the conference you attended and request for your continuing learning credit to be applied.
The other certification is run by SHRM, which offers both SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP. Recertification is required every three years and professionals will need to earn 60 professional development credits. HR conferences offer a great opportunity to build those certification hours!
As much as HR conferences are an opportunity to learn, they are also a great opportunity to meet up with peers, find mentors, and grow your network.
One of the highlights of attending HR conferences is the connections you’ll make and the relationships you’ll build while you’re there. You’ll definitely want to bring some business cards so you can start networking and connecting with other professionals in attendance.
The number of professionals in attendance will vary between conferences, but the ones listed on this page will have anywhere from 800 to 10,000 attendees. If you attend national conferences, they can sometimes have up to 15,000 HR professionals in attendance, and the virtual conferences may host as many as 30,000.
Each of these categories of HR conferences will specialize around the current pain points your employer may be facing. Some of the larger conferences will have breakout sessions for each of these categories, but you will gather more depth at a dedicated conference educating around a very specific niche.