My Biggest Takeaways from HR Tech 2025 (and What the Future Might Look Like)

Last month, I attended the HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas. My goal was simple: check it out, see what all the hype was about, and decide if Zipdev should exhibit next year. It didn’t take long to realize this event was massive. Every major HR tech player was there, and the energy felt like a glimpse into the future of how we’ll work, hire, and lead.

The first day was packed with sessions, workshops, and people everywhere. Some sessions were insightful, others felt more like product pitches, which I get. If you’re paying to be on stage, you’re there to sell. But between all the noise, there were a few ideas that really stood out and got me thinking about what’s next.

1. Agentic AI: The Next Evolution of Work

The biggest buzzword of the entire conference was “Agentic AI.” Everyone was talking about it.

If you’re wondering what that means, think of it as an AI-powered digital coworker, an agent that can execute a task from end to end without any human intervention. It’s not a chatbot, and it’s not just generative AI.

One speaker shared an example that stuck with me: imagine getting a text saying your flight was canceled. An AI agent would automatically rebook your flight, secure a hotel for the night, book you a taxi, and even make a dinner reservation. No human needed.

In theory, it sounds incredible. In practice, it’s still early days. From what I gathered, these systems are a blend of LLMs, automation platforms, and integrations that make everything work safely and at scale. The possibilities are endless, especially for recruiting and HR. Imagine an AI agent that sources candidates, screens profiles, and schedules interviews, all while your team focuses on relationships and strategy.

At Zipdev, we’re already using a mix of automation and human touch to vet candidates, but seeing how far this technology is moving definitely sparked some ideas for what’s next.

2. AI and the New Face of Fraud

Another big topic was AI-driven fraud.

We all know that candidates are using tools like ChatGPT to polish their resumes and tailor them perfectly for job descriptions. It’s smart, but it’s also going to make it harder to tell who’s genuinely a fit.

Pretty soon, every resume you see might look flawless. So how do you tell who’s real? That’s the next challenge.

The key takeaway here is that technology can make processes faster, but we can’t lose the human element. Conversations, behavioral interviews, and soft skills will matter more than ever. Maybe the next wave of innovation will be AI agents that conduct video interviews or simulate human conversations, but for now, people still want to talk to people.

3. The Rise of the Onboarding Orchestration Specialist

One of the most interesting roles I heard about was something called an “Onboarding Orchestration Specialist.”

This person will manage all the AI agents a company uses, the ones that source candidates, schedule interviews, handle onboarding paperwork, and so on. Basically, they make sure all the digital coworkers are doing their jobs correctly.

It’s wild to think about, but it makes sense. Just like the industrial revolution created mechanics, engineers, and train conductors, this new AI revolution will create people who manage and optimize digital workflows.

This feels like the next big role to emerge in the HR space, and it’s one we’re already exploring internally at Zipdev.

4. The Future Isn’t Jobless, It’s Different

There was a lot of talk about job loss and automation. But as several speakers pointed out, we’ve seen this movie before.

Every major shift, industrial, technological, digital, replaced certain jobs but created new ones too. The same will happen here. Yes, AI will take over repetitive tasks. But it’ll also create roles that don’t exist yet.

The real challenge isn’t whether AI will take jobs, it’s whether leaders will help people reskill fast enough to take on new ones.

5. Humans Still Belong at the Center

This was another common theme throughout the event: keep humans at the center of the equation.

Even as AI becomes more advanced, people drive creativity, empathy, and leadership. Some sessions even showed how companies like IBM are balancing both. They shared how they introduced AI into HR operations years ago, faced resistance, took a few hits, but stuck with it because they believed it was the future.

Their lessons were gold:

• Don’t let FOMO drive your AI decisions.

• There’s no “best practice.” Only what fits your business model and culture.

• Never automate a bad process, fix it first.

• Start small, measure, and scale what works.

• Culture always wins.

That last one hit home. You can have the best tech in the world, but if your people don’t buy in, it’s never going to work.

6. My Takeaway: Blend Curiosity with Caution

I left HR Tech feeling both excited and grounded. The technology is incredible. The innovation is real. But the biggest differentiator will still be how we use it.

At Zipdev, we’re already thinking about how to blend AI tools with human connection to create better hiring experiences. Our focus has always been on people, on building relationships, finding the right fits, and helping our clients grow with culturally aligned teams.

The future might be full of digital coworkers and automated systems, but the companies that win will be the ones that still care about people.

Would I go back to HR Tech? Absolutely. Next time, I’d bring my systems and operations team with me. They’re the ones running our tech stack, building automations, and exploring new tools that keep us efficient. They’d geek out over what’s coming.

Vegas was fun, but the real takeaway is this: AI is here to stay, and it’s evolving fast. Stay curious, experiment smart, and don’t forget the human side.

If you were at HR Tech this year, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What did you see that stood out? What tools are you experimenting with?

Drop me a note or connect, I’d love to swap insights.

Best,

Daniel