The SHRM 2026 Annual Conference & Expo runs June 16-19, 2026 at the Orange County Convention Center, West Building, in Orlando, Florida, with pre-conference workshops starting Monday, June 15. SHRM is projecting 25,000+ HR professionals across 9 content tracks, 375+ expert-led sessions, and 650+ exhibitors, with 28+ Professional Development Credits available toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification.
Standard registration is open through May 15, 2026 at $2,595 (member) and $2,995 (nonmember), per the official SHRM26 rates page. Final-tier pricing of $2,695 / $3,095 runs from May 16 through onsite registration. Headline keynotes include Oprah Winfrey (Friday, June 19, Main Stage), Simon Sinek, John Maxwell (Tuesday, June 16), Christina Aguilera, and BambooHR CEO Brad Rencher.
This guide covers what HR and talent acquisition professionals need to plan a productive trip. Inside: the schedule, the venue logistics, the registration math, the keynote and track lineup. We also map how the SHRM Conference 2026 sits next to SHRM’s other 2026 events (Talent Conference, AI+HI Project). Every detail comes from SHRM’s official conference site as of April 2026.
How Does SHRM 2026 Actually Look on the Ground?
SHRM26 in Orlando is the flagship event in SHRM’s 2026 conference portfolio. It sits one tier above the spring SHRM Talent Conference (which already wrapped April 19-22 in Dallas) and the AI+HI Project conference (SHRM’s standalone AI and human intelligence event in San Francisco). At 9800 International Drive, the Orange County Convention Center West Building sits roughly 11 miles and a 20-minute drive from Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Five days of programming run Monday through Friday, with the main conference body concentrated June 16-19. Pre-conference workshops start Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM and continue Tuesday morning through 12:00 PM, billed separately from the main pass. From there, Tuesday’s main orientation begins at 12:15 PM, the first breakout block opens at 1:45 PM, and John Maxwell delivers the opening general session at 3:15-4:30 PM. The Expo Opening Reception then runs 4:30-7:00 PM, followed by Tuesday Night Entertainment from 8:00-10:00 PM.
What Happens Wednesday Through Friday?
Wednesday and Thursday concentrate the densest learning. Each morning opens with a 9:00-10:00 AM general session on the Main Stage. After that, multiple breakout rounds run across the 9 tracks. Lunch service runs 11:00 AM-1:00 PM both days. Wednesday’s expo hall stays open 8:30 AM-4:30 PM; Thursday’s hours run 8:30 AM-3:00 PM.
Thursday night closes with SHRM26 After Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios from 8:00-11:00 PM. Every paid in-person registration includes admission, and shuttle service runs from the official hotel block. Friday is a half-day: Oprah Winfrey takes the Main Stage at 9:00-10:00 AM, final breakouts run through 11:45 AM, and registration closes at noon.
For a quick visual tour of the event scale before reading further, SHRM’s own 60-second SHRM26 overview lays out the program in headline form:
SHRM26: The World's Largest HR Conference
Key Takeaways
- Mark June 16-19 in Orlando. SHRM26 lives at the Orange County Convention Center, West Building, with pre-conference workshops on June 15 and the Disney’s Hollywood Studios after-hours event on the night of Thursday, June 18.
- Standard pricing closes May 15, 2026. Member rate is $2,595 / nonmember $2,995 through that date, then jumps to $2,695 / $3,095 for final and onsite. Housing deadline is May 29 via the official mcievents.com booking portal.
- 9 tracks, 375+ sessions, 28+ PDCs. AI, Data, & Tech is the standout track in 2026. SHRM’s own data shows 39% of HR organizations have now adopted AI and 92% of CHROs anticipate greater AI integration (SHRM 2026 CHRO Priorities).
- Six confirmed keynotes anchor the program. Oprah Winfrey closes Friday, John Maxwell opens Tuesday, plus Simon Sinek, Christina Aguilera, BambooHR CEO Brad Rencher, and SHRM Board Chair Betty Thompson.
- Don’t conflate this with SHRM Talent. This recruitment trends 2026 guide covers the spring TA event separately. The Annual Conference is the full-discipline flagship; the Talent Conference (Dallas, April 2026) is a separate, recruiter-focused spring event.
- For talent acquisition pros, the highest-ROI track is Talent Management & Acquisition, paired with selective sessions from AI, Data, & Tech. According to Pin’s 2026 user survey, recruiters using the platform save 12 hours per week on sourcing and outreach combined, so AI session selection should be aggressive.
What’s New for the SHRM Conference 2026 vs. SHRM25?
SHRM25 in San Diego drew 20,000+ in-person attendees from 80+ countries, with a Main Stage address from former President Joe Biden, per SHRM’s official press release. Chicago’s 2024 event set the all-time attendance record at roughly 26,000 total, including ~2,200 virtual passholders (SHRM press release). SHRM26 targets that range again, with the official in-person page projecting 25,000+ attendees.
Three things are visibly different in 2026:
- AI is structurally embedded, not bolted on. “AI, Data, & Tech” is now its own dedicated track, not a sub-theme inside Talent Management. Future Forward sessions from the WorkplaceTech Accelerator anchor Thursday’s expo programming, and several Wednesday breakouts target AI ROI specifically (e.g., “Return on Intelligence: Move AI ROI Beyond Cost to Competitive Advantage”).
- BambooHR is the presenting sponsor, with CEO Brad Rencher delivering a general session. Year-over-year, the HR-tech presence at SHRM has scaled noticeably as AI vendors compete for HR mindshare.
- Disney Hollywood Studios After Hours replaces typical Thursday-night entertainment. Park-wide access, included with the standard pass. It is the largest closed-park event SHRM has organized recently.
This AI emphasis maps directly to SHRM’s own 2026 research. Per SHRM’s State of AI in HR 2026 report, based on 1,908 HR professionals surveyed, 27% of organizations now report recruiting as the #1 AI use case in HR. Among HR director-level and above, 73% have adopted AI by 2025. SHRM also notes that AI’s organizational impact is 5.7x more likely to shift job responsibilities than to displace jobs.
What Will SHRM 2026 Registration Actually Cost?
Five rate tiers govern SHRM26 registration, all visible on the official rates page. Both Preview Special and Early Bird windows have already closed (they ended in February 2026). What remains:
| Tier | Member | Nonmember | Effective Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $2,595 | $2,995 | Feb 14 - May 15, 2026 |
| Final Rate | $2,695 | $3,095 | May 16 - June 15, 2026 |
| Onsite | $2,695 | $3,095 | June 16, 2026 onward |
| Student Member | $695 | N/A | Flat rate |
| Chapter Advisor | $895 | N/A | Flat rate |
| Group (5+ members from same company) | ~$2,335/person | N/A | ~10% off individual |
Three things worth knowing about the pricing:
- Nonmember registration includes one year of SHRM membership. That partly closes the $400 gap between member and nonmember pricing (annual SHRM membership runs around $264).
- Virtual passes exist but aren’t publicly priced on the rates page. SHRM gates that information behind the registration flow itself. In-person to virtual transfers are permitted as a courtesy; virtual to in-person requires an additional fee.
- Housing deadline is May 29, 2026, booked through
mcievents.com/shrm2026/. Hotels in the official block sell out quickly given the 25,000-attendee forecast, and Orlando’s June peak-tourist pricing makes off-block bookings considerably more expensive.
What Sessions and Tracks Does the SHRM 2026 Schedule Include?
SHRM26 organizes its 375+ sessions into nine official content tracks, per the program overview:
- AI, Data, & Tech - The track most reshaped year-over-year. Expect sessions on AI bias mitigation, ROI frameworks, and integrating AI agents into recruiting workflows.
- Talent Management & Acquisition - The home track for recruiters and talent acquisition leaders. Pair this with the AI talent acquisition guide for pre-conference prep.
- Compensation & Benefits - Total rewards, pay equity, salary benchmarking, equity compensation.
- Legal & Compliant HR - Employment law updates, EEOC guidance, AI regulation (the EU AI Act has full-year implications for global teams in 2026).
- Global Workforce Trends - Cross-border hiring, remote workforce, international compliance.
- Health & Wellness - Mental health, recovery-friendly workplaces, employee well-being.
- Modern Employee Experience - EX, engagement, retention.
- Leadership & Development - Manager development, executive coaching, succession.
- Strategic HR, Organizational Design, & Change Management - Workforce planning, transformation, restructuring.
Each track runs across all three main conference days, so you can either go deep on one track or sample two-to-three. Talent acquisition professionals typically pair Talent Management & Acquisition with selective sessions from AI, Data, & Tech and Legal & Compliant HR.
Who Is Keynoting the SHRM 2026 Conference?
Six keynote speakers are publicly confirmed for SHRM26:
| Speaker | Role | Confirmed Session |
|---|---|---|
| Oprah Winfrey | Global media leader and philanthropist | ”Leading with Vision” - Friday, June 19, 9-10 AM (Main Stage) |
| Simon Sinek | Authority on purpose-driven culture | General Session (date TBA) |
| John Maxwell | Best-selling author and leadership coach | ”Lead Where It Matters Most” - Tuesday, June 16, 3:15-4:30 PM |
| Christina Aguilera | Grammy Award-winning artist | Keynote slot announced; format TBA |
| Brad Rencher | CEO, BambooHR | General Session (date TBA) |
| Betty Thompson | Chair, SHRM Board; Former CHRO, Booz Allen Hamilton | Co-presenter with Oprah, June 19 |
Beyond the keynotes, named breakouts already on the program include “From Stigma to Support: How HR Shapes Employee Mental Health” (Tuesday), “The Hidden ROI of Mental Health: Building Recovery-Ready Workplaces” (Wednesday), “The Global Employee Experience” (Wednesday), “Return on Intelligence: Move AI ROI Beyond Cost to Competitive Advantage” (Wednesday), “Future Forward: Insights from WorkplaceTech Accelerator” (Thursday), and “AI, Automation, and Job Transformation in U.S. Employment” (Friday).
How Should Talent Acquisition Pros Plan Their Days?
Pin’s take: most TA professionals overbook their SHRM schedules and burn out by Wednesday afternoon. The conference is large enough that no one walks the full expo, attends every breakout, and still has the energy to network. A working approach is to pick one anchor session per day, three-to-five exhibitor conversations from the 650+ vendor floor, and one networking event per evening. Treat the rest as optional. Based on what we hear from recruiters who’ve attended past SHRM events, the highest-ROI conversations almost always happen at the expo or the after-hours events, not in the breakout rooms.
For Tuesday, anchor on the Maxwell keynote and the Expo Opening Reception. That reception is the cleanest networking window of the week because attendees are fresh and the expo is new. On Wednesday, prioritize the AI ROI sessions and any Talent Management & Acquisition breakouts that feature live customer panels. Thursday’s Disney Hollywood Studios after-hours event is the social capstone of the week. On Friday, the Oprah keynote is mandatory and registration closes at noon, so plan an early-afternoon flight.
State of talent acquisition in 2026 data should shape what sessions you prioritize. AI sourcing, candidate experience, and compensation transparency are the three TA themes most aligned with what hiring teams actually report struggling with in the current market. The talent acquisition specialist guide is also a useful pre-read for early-career attendees still mapping their role.
What Does the Data Say About the SHRM Conference 2026 Backdrop?
The themes SHRM26 is programming around are not abstract. They map directly to where HR professionals say they need help.
Recruiting and AI adoption. 43% of HR teams now use AI for HR tasks, up from 26% the year prior, per the SHRM 2025 Talent Trends report (n=2,040 HR professionals). Recruiting is the #1 AI use case at 27% of organizations, per SHRM’s State of AI in HR 2026 report.
The hiring grind isn’t easing. Average time-to-fill stretched to roughly 44 days in 2024-2025, up from 33 days in 2021, per SHRM’s 2025 Recruiting Benchmarking report. Average cost-per-hire sits at $5,475, with executive-level hires up 113% since 2017.
Manager development is the top CHRO priority for the second consecutive year. 46% of CHROs cite manager development as their #1 priority for 2026, and 92% anticipate greater AI integration in workforce operations, per SHRM’s 2026 CHRO Priorities and Perspectives report (n=129 CHROs, surveyed Oct-Nov 2025). 57% of CHROs expect “reducing bias in AI hiring tools” to grow in importance through 2026.
The competitive backdrop is intensifying. Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends report (n=9,000+ leaders across 89 countries) finds 7 in 10 business leaders saying their primary competitive strategy is to be “fast and nimble.” Nearly 8 in 10 organizations have deployed AI in at least one function, though only 1 in 5 have rebuilt their work processes around it.
These four data points explain why SHRM26’s track design weights AI, leadership, and TA the way it does. For broader context, the recruiting in uncertain economic times 2026 guide maps how teams are navigating the same data outside the conference walls.
SHRM’s own thought leadership team walked through the underlying State of the Workplace research on the All Things Work podcast. It is a useful primer for what the SHRM26 main-stage data sessions will reference:
The State of the Workplace in 2025: Key Trends & Strategies
How Many PDCs Can You Earn at SHRM26?
SHRM26 awards 28+ Professional Development Credits toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification, per the official recertification page. Sessions auto-populate in the SHRM certification portal when the email used at registration matches the holder’s SHRM membership account. No manual submission required.
For HR practitioners on a 3-year recertification cycle (60 PDC requirement), SHRM26 alone delivers nearly half the cycle’s credits in a single week. A practitioner holding a SHRM-CP completes roughly 47% of the full cycle requirement from one SHRM26 registration. Pair it with the spring SHRM Talent Conference or fall AI+HI Project, and one year’s conference attendance handles the entire cycle.
PDCs are not awarded for time spent in the expo hall, though Expo Theater sessions (live vendor product demonstrations during expo hours) often count. The certification page is the authoritative source for what does and doesn’t count.
How Does the SHRM Conference 2026 Compare to Other 2026 HR Events?
SHRM26 sits inside a busier 2026 HR conference calendar than past years. The relevant comparison set:
- SHRM Talent Conference 2026 (already wrapped) - April 19-22, Gaylord Texan, Dallas. Recruiter-focused, smaller scope, separate ticket. The closest sibling event.
- HR Tech Conference 2026 (fall) - Las Vegas. Vendor-heavy, technology-focused. Less HR-discipline breadth, more product depth.
- LinkedIn Talent Connect 2026 (fall) - LinkedIn’s own event, recruiting and TA focused, smaller.
- RecFest USA 2026 - Recruiting-focused festival format.
- SHRM AI+HI Project 2026 - SHRM’s standalone AI conference in San Francisco.
For HR generalists, compliance professionals, total rewards specialists, and L&D leaders, SHRM26 is the only annual event that covers the full discipline at scale. For pure recruiting and sourcing focus, the spring SHRM Talent Conference is more concentrated. For HR tech evaluation, HR Tech Conference is denser. SHRM26’s value is breadth and the 25,000-person network.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the SHRM 2026 Annual Conference?
The SHRM 2026 Annual Conference & Expo runs June 16-19, 2026, with optional pre-conference workshops beginning Monday, June 15. Friday’s program closes at noon, and registration desk hours end at the same time. All dates are confirmed on the official SHRM26 site.
Where is SHRM26 being held?
The conference takes place at the Orange County Convention Center, West Building, in Orlando, Florida (9800 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819). The venue sits about 11 miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO), roughly a 20-minute drive. SHRM has secured an official hotel block via mcievents.com/shrm2026/, with a housing deadline of May 29, 2026.
How much does SHRM26 cost?
Standard registration runs $2,595 for SHRM members and $2,995 for nonmembers through May 15, per the official rates page. Final-tier and onsite pricing rises to $2,695 / $3,095 from May 16 onward. Student members pay $695, chapter advisors $895, and groups of 5+ from the same company qualify for approximately 10% off. Nonmember registration includes one year of SHRM membership.
Who are the keynote speakers at the SHRM 2026 conference?
Six keynote speakers are publicly confirmed for the SHRM 2026 conference: Oprah Winfrey (“Leading with Vision,” Friday, June 19, Main Stage), John Maxwell (“Lead Where It Matters Most,” Tuesday, June 16, 3:15-4:30 PM), Simon Sinek (general session, date TBA), Christina Aguilera (keynote announced, format TBA), Brad Rencher (CEO, BambooHR; general session date TBA), and Betty Thompson (Chair, SHRM Board; co-presenter with Oprah on Friday).
How many PDCs can I earn at SHRM 2026?
Attendees can earn 28+ Professional Development Credits toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification at the conference. Sessions auto-populate in the SHRM certification portal when the email used at registration matches the holder’s SHRM membership account, per the recertification page.
Is the SHRM Annual Conference 2026 the same as the SHRM Talent Conference?
No. The SHRM Annual Conference (June, Orlando) is the flagship event covering the full HR discipline - compliance, total rewards, DEI, leadership, culture, global workforce, AI/tech, and talent acquisition - for 25,000+ attendees. The SHRM Talent Conference (April 2026, Dallas) is a separate spring event specifically for recruiters and talent acquisition leaders, with a smaller footprint and different programming. Different tickets, different dates, different audiences.
Where to Start
If SHRM26 is on your calendar, three things matter most this week. First, book registration before the May 15 standard-rate deadline. Second, lock the official hotel block before May 29. Third, pre-build a Tuesday-through-Friday session shortlist using the 9-track program before the schedule gets crowded. Talent acquisition pros should weight the Talent Management & Acquisition track plus 2-3 sessions from AI, Data, & Tech, and treat the Disney’s Hollywood Studios after-hours event as the week’s primary networking moment.
For teams using the conference as a learning checkpoint on AI sourcing and recruiting automation, the practical work starts before Orlando. Pin is the most accessible AI recruiting platform for in-house TA teams scaling outbound: 850M+ candidate profiles aggregated from professional networks, GitHub, Stack Overflow, patents, and the broader web; 5x better outreach response rates on automated multi-channel sequences; and a free tier with no credit card required. That means you can pressure-test the workflows you’ll see at SHRM against your own pipeline before flying home. According to Pin’s 2026 user survey, recruiters using the platform fill positions in an average of 14 days, the fastest time-to-fill of any AI recruiting platform.
