Human Capital 2026: Companies Face a Battle for Talent. Success Will Depend on Leadership, Company Culture and the Ability to Respond to Demographic Change

One of the conference's central themes was demographic change and its far-reaching impact on the labour market in the years ahead. Labour market analyst Tomáš Ervín Dombrovský from Alma Career Czechia warned that the challenge is much closer than many realise. "In just 12 years, we'll hit a demographic wall." He also pointed to one of today's biggest paradoxes: "We complain about young people, yet they are the group we want most in the labour market."

Understanding the new generation of employees will be one of the key success factors for organisations. Petr Kousal from AERO Vodochody highlighted that Generation Z has fundamentally different expectations from previous generations. "People from Generation Z are highly ambitious. You have to give them opportunities, they want to be heard and they want to make a difference." According to him, companies also need to rethink how they present career opportunities. "Career pages are essentially an e-commerce site selling jobs."

Employer branding is no longer just a marketing discipline. It is becoming an integral part of overall business strategy. Daniel Bradáč of Generations explained why building an attractive employer image externally is no longer enough. "Seventy-seven percent of CEOs see HR as their own responsibility. No employer branding project can succeed without them. Employer branding is a top-down process." He added that a clear corporate vision is what unites the entire organisation. "Vision brings all departments together. Vision is the compass."

The conference also explored how to build an authentic company culture. In an interview, Adriana Jahňáková of the LEGO Group shared insights from a company that has long history of investment in innovation and people development. According to her, nurturing talent is one of the defining challenges for modern organisations. "Young and talented people require a great deal of care." She also emphasised that effective leadership begins with understanding people. "Every employee is first and foremost a human being. As a leader, you first need to connect with them."

The role of managers is evolving as well. Simona Zábržová of Soulmio discussed how expectations of leaders have changed. "A leader is not someone who has all the answers, but someone who creates a safe environment where we can find the answers together. Leaders used to be more directive. Today, collaboration is the key."

A strong company culture is equally important in areas traditionally viewed as purely technological. Jindřich Kalíšek of Regfor highlighted the leadership dimension of cybersecurity. "The problem isn't IT or compliance. It's people management."

Employer brand communication was another major topic. Magdaléna Vrťová shared how Dr. Max Slovakia successfully connects HR, marketing and PR. "Slogans and lofty words don't resonate with pharmacists. We communicate values and purpose." Jan Kyselý of Future Sales built on this by emphasising the importance of authentic employee advocacy. "When employees communicate company values on LinkedIn, it always has a greater impact than messages published through a corporate profile."

The programme also featured practical lessons from managing large-scale organisational change at Notino, the latest developments in Czech labour legislation, the use of artificial intelligence in internal communication, a panel discussion on labour market trends, and perspectives on employer branding from both C-level executives and HR leaders.

Human Capital 2026 presented HR as a strategic business discipline that connects leadership, company culture, innovation and the long-term competitiveness of organisations.

The next edition of the conference will take place on 17 February 2027 in Prague.

For more information:
tereza.ordonez@blueevents.eu

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