Choose your outcome: An HR leader's guide to Dayforce Discover 2026

Today’s HR leaders are under pressure to rethink how work gets done, as AI, compliance, workforce readiness, and business demands change faster than traditional operating models can handle. Together, these forces are accelerating the reinvention of HR, giving HR leaders a once-in-a-career opportunity to redefine their role in the organization. 

That’s exactly why Dayforce Discover 2026 is a lot more than a conference agenda. It’s a chance to step back, get clarity, and focus on the people outcome that will bring most value to your team. 

Maybe your priority is a clearer workforce strategy. Maybe it’s preparing your team for AI-enabled work. Maybe it’s strengthening talent and retention, or turning people data into stronger executive insight. Whatever your focus, Dayforce Discover 2026 can help you plan with purpose and do the work you’re meant to do. 

Register for Dayforce Discover 2026 and start with the outcome that matters most. 

Register now 

Why HR leaders need a clearer outcome 

Without a clear outcome, Discover can feel like a list of sessions. With one, it becomes a way to sharpen your point of view and plan your next move. 

As you build your agenda, you’ll have plenty of ways to explore that outcome, like: 
 

• Dayforce FIT: Pre-conference, hands-on product training tracks for Dayforce power users, with small class sizes and dedicated instruction from subject matter experts.  

• Hands-on Labs: Guided, interactive sessions where attendees can build skills, try practical scenarios, and learn by doing.  

• Product Spotlights: A closer look at specific Dayforce capabilities, product innovations, and the thinking behind what we’re building.  

• The Customer Support Zone: Direct access to support experts who can answer questions, share best practices, and help troubleshoot real challenges.  

• Certification opportunities: Opportunities for attendees to build their Dayforce knowledge and pursue credentials they can take back to their teams.  

• The Dayforce Exploration Expo: Product experiences, expert conversations, and partner connections that help attendees explore what’s possible across the Dayforce ecosystem.  

And that’s all on top of our showstopping inspiration keynote, executive keynotes, Demos with Dayforce founder David Ossip, community experiences, user groups, and peer meetups. 

The real value comes from knowing what you’re trying to bring back before you set your agenda. So let’s get started.  

“Getting to talk with the product team leads is the must-attend for me.  It's so helpful to be able to be face to face with the people actually working on the changes to the platform.”  

—Vice President, People + Culture (2025 Discover attendee) 

Choose your HR outcome 

Before you build your agenda, choose one primary outcome. You can still explore multiple tracks, but your outcome should be the lens that helps you decide where to spend your time. 

Outcome 1: Build a clearer workforce strategy 

Choose this outcome if your organization needs a clearer view of where the workforce is headed and which capabilities it will need next.  

For many organizations, this means closing the gap between workforce strategy and frontline reality. A plan that works on paper can break down quickly when scheduling pressure, hard-to-fill shifts, burnout, manager readiness, and employee trust aren’t part of the conversation. 

This outcome might be right if you’re asking: 
 

• What does our workforce need to become? 

• Where are we still planning around headcount instead of capability? 

• How can HR help the business make more confident workforce decisions? 

Outcome 2: Prepare HR for AI-enabled work 

Choose this outcome if your organization is trying to understand how AI will affect work design, decision-making, skills, governance, and employee trust. AI isn’t just a technology question. For HR leaders, it’s a workforce question. 

This outcome might be right if you’re asking: 
 

• Who owns AI-influenced workforce decisions? 

• How do we preserve human judgment? 

• What does psychological safety look like as employees learn new AI-enabled ways of working? 

Outcome 3: Strengthen talent, skills, and retention 

Choose this outcome if your priority is building stronger talent pipelines, improving retention, supporting managers, or helping employees grow through change. Discover can help you look beyond isolated talent programs and think about the workforce systems that support development, mobility, and performance. 

This outcome might be right if you’re asking: 
 

• Are we developing the skills our organization will need? 

• How are managers supporting employees through change? 

• What talent risks are hiding in our current ways of working? 

Outcome 4: Turn people data into executive insight 

Choose this outcome if your team has workforce data but needs a stronger business story. The opportunity isn’t just to see what’s happening; it’s to understand what the data means for labor cost, skills, productivity, retention, compliance, and employee experience. 

This outcome might be right if you’re asking: 
 

• What story should HR be telling with data? 

• How can we partner more effectively with finance and IT? 

• What insights would help leaders act sooner? 

Build your Discover plan around your outcome 

Once you’ve chosen your outcome, use it to create a balanced agenda. You can look to the HR and Talent track, AI at Dayforce track, Workforce Management track, Planning and Analytics track, Platform track, and Customer Experience and Services sessions depending on the outcome you choose. The full session catalog is now available, so you can review the sessions, spot the best-fit sessions for your goal, and build a more focused plan.

For example: 
 

• If your outcome is workforce strategy, prioritize sessions on planning, analytics, skills, and capability.  

• If your outcome is AI readiness, look for sessions on AI governance, adoption, psychological safety, and workforce decision-making.  

• If your outcome is transforming talent and retention, explore HR & Talent, frontline workforce, leadership, and employee experience topics.  

• If your outcome is data-driven influence, look for Planning & Analytics and reporting-focused experiences. 

Then add the experiences that help you turn ideas into action: Product Spotlights for roadmap clarity, Dayforce FIT for practical skill-building, the Expo for demos and partner conversations, and community meetups or user groups for peer perspective. 

“As a new user of Dayforce, this experience provided the educational opportunities I needed to build a strong foundation. I also had the chance to network with peers and ask insightful questions that will enhance my understanding and proficiency within the software.”  

—HR professional (2025 Discover attendee) 

Turn your outcome into a post-Discover plan 

A strong Discover outcome should be practical enough to act on when you get back. 

Before the event, write down your outcome and three questions you want answered. During Discover, listen for three things: 
 

• One new idea  

• One peer example  

• One internal conversation you want to start after Discover  

That simple structure can help you leave with more than inspiration. It can help you return with a plan: what to explore, who to involve, and what decision you’re ready to move forward. 

So start with one question: 
What people outcome would make Dayforce Discover 2026 worth it for your organization? 

Choose it before you build your agenda. Bring it into the sessions, product experiences, peer conversations, and follow-up meetings that matter most. Then use Discover to do the work you’re meant to do. 

Register for Dayforce Discover 2026 and bring your most important people outcome with you. Come ready to learn from peers, explore new ideas, and leave with a clearer plan for what HR can help move forward. 

Register now