South Africa’s business landscape is changing fast. Organisations are under pressure to attract and retain scarce skills, integrate younger and increasingly diverse generations, rethink traditional leadership structures, respond to AI, and maintain productivity while employees face growing pressure inside and outside the workplace.
But what happens when the strategies that worked yesterday no longer work tomorrow?
Taking place on 14–15 October 2026 at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg, The Future of HR Conference 2026, powered by SALGA, will bring together senior HR executives, business leaders, academics, transformation specialists and innovators for two days of practical, actionable insights focused on the people challenges organisations are facing right now.
Learn from people who have been there
The value of the conference goes beyond what happens on stage. HR leaders are often expected to have the answers while navigating unprecedented challenges themselves. The conference creates a space to share those pressures with peers facing similar realities, compare approaches and learn from what worked and what didn’t.
These peer-to-peer engagements offer an opportunity to challenge assumptions, exchange practical ideas and gain perspectives that can be taken back into the organisation and put into action.
The uncomfortable conversations HR leaders need to have
Across the two-day programme, leaders will tackle some of the most pressing questions facing organisations:
- The Governance Gap: Why Unstructured AI Adoption Is Undermining Trust and Productivity
- Skills Can’t Wait: Rethinking the Public-Private Partnership
- Are We Preparing Leaders or Promoting High Performers?
- Leading People Through Continuous Change Without Losing Your Culture
- From Reactive to Predictive: Why the Future of HR Lies in Workforce Foresight
Together, these insights tackle the realities shaping the future of work, from AI adoption and talent retention to leadership, workforce planning, employee experience and performance.
Can employee wellbeing actually improve productivity?
A key Day 1 feature will be Dis-Chem Pharmacies’ interactive breakaway workshop, “Building the Whole Employee Experience: Health, Belonging and Growth.”
The session will explore how health, belonging and growth can influence engagement, retention and performance, and why wellbeing should be viewed as a business priority. The link between wellbeing and business outcomes is becoming increasingly clear: CIPD research found that 39% of organisations reported higher employee engagement from investing in wellbeing, while McKinsey research links wellbeing interventions to a 10–21% improvement in productivity. The workshop will examine how organisations can turn this connection between employee experience and performance into practical action.
The people behind the difficult conversations
The conference brings together voices from business, government, academia, technology, transformation and HR, including:
- Sithole Mbanga, CEO, SALGA
- Dr. Shirly Zinn, Author, Chair and Non-Executive Director of Boards
- Kershini Govender, Programme Executive: COO’s Office, Nedbank
- Manini Molehe, Lead: Emerging Talent, Vodacom South Africa
- Thandeka Nkambule, Chief Transformation Officer, Sanlam
- Patience Mushungwa, Divisional Executive: Human Capital, IDC
- Amukelani Maphophe, People & Culture Director, bp Southern Africa (bpSA)
- Londiwe Mncube, Chief Human Resources Officer, Competition Commission South Africa
Their collective expertise brings different perspectives to a common challenge: how do organisations build workforces that are capable, productive and ready for what comes next?
Four weeks to go. The questions are real. So are the people who have found ways forward.
HR leaders can’t solve the future of work in isolation. It requires uncomfortable conversations, honest experiences and a willingness to learn from those who have already tackled the challenges others are now facing.
14–15 October 2026
Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg
View the full event factsheet and programme.
For tickets, sponsorships or more information:
📧 marketing@topco.co.za
🎟️ Secure your place
