2026 HR & Talent Leader Strategic Planning Summit (Virtual)

learning experience design and career and talent development

2026 Talent & HR Leader Strategic Planning Summit (Virtual)

HR & Talent Leaders: Start 2026 with Focus, Connection, Learning, and thoughtful Planning. Join us for an inspiring, interactive, and goal-centric virtual learning experience featuring accomplished practitioners and leaders in a rare convening of brilliant minds and hearts in the HR & Talent space:

2026 HR & Talent Leader Strategic Planning Summit

January 23, 2026 11AM – 3:30PM CST

**EARLY BIRD Registration** Open until 12/31/2025 ($185, After 12/31/25: $225)

***Save on registration for teams of 2+*** ($185 per person)

Learn, Connect, Plan, Focus

Start the year by investing in dedicated time to learn, connect, plan, and focus your 2026 HR & talent initiatives with this virtual, live strategic planning summit. Join HR & Talent leaders to cut through the noise:

–> Zero in on critical topics like workforce development and talent pipeline, and learn about impactful strategies for employee recognition, engagement, retention, and internal mobility from people-centric organizations

–> Get up to speed on legal AI considerations to reduce risk, plan for the future, and protect your organization, data, and workforce

–> Explore talent acquisition through the lens of an AI-savvy job seeker and advisor

Hear from:

Ebony Thomas, Managing Partner, Grads of Life/Year Up United
Mark Decker, Esq., Staff Attorney, Employers Council
Maddy French, AI Thought Leader and Recent Job Seeker, DigitalOcean
Kenrica Sands, People Programs Manager, Pendo.io
Gabriale Payne, AVP, People, Culture, & Engagement, Meritrust Credit Union
Jennifer Amy, Head of People and Culture, Fair Trade USA
Rebecca Otis Leder, Founder of Opportunities Knock and bestselling author and narrator of KNOCK

For HR Leaders: COURSES

Whether you’re looking to elevate connection, inclusion, and collaboration within your organization, or your students, members, or teams are looking to develop skills they can apply at any point in their meaningful career to build and deepen career relationships, this course will help you achieve your goals. The Knock Method®: Outreach for Success blended online and live synchronous course, empowers learners by building the skills and strategies needed to confidently build intentional relationships using The Knock Method® research-backed career communications and outreach framework.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, learners will able to apply these skills to craft intentional outreach messages that “open doors” and build meaningful professional connections in their careers. Include the add-on option for learners to earn a digital badge that demonstrates their skill application and mastery to showcase within your organization, on Linkedin, or in the digital workforce landscape.

Invest in your students, job seekers, teams, and emerging and growing leaders to help them gain and develop the skills that open new doors to build meaningful career connections, achieve heightened levels of collaboration, grow their careers, and deliver successful business and customer outcomes through the research-backed and nationally-recognized and adopted communications framework: The Knock Method®.

Set Your Learners Up for Success in Minutes

There are 2 delivery options to enable your learners to access this training:

1) EASY ACCESS: Each learner receives a login to an external learning platform.

2) SEAMLESS LEARNING: License and import SCORM compliant files for seamless publishing to your existing Learning Management System (LMS).

In 5 hours, with 3 hours of self-paced online learning, and 2 live facilitated sessions to share, gather feedback, and connect, learners will build and develop the following skills:

Strategic Communications
Digital Communications
Networking
Relationship-Building
Business Writing
Corporate Communications
Email Communications
Connection & Inclusion
Customer Success and Service

Explore Workshops & Professional Development Training Programs

If you’re looking for professional development workshops for your group on:

Breaking the Barriers to Meaningful Connection at Work
Confident Connecting with Colleagues for New Hires
A New Take on Personal and Team Branding
Meaningful Strategies to Design Your Mentoring Relationship
10 Ways to Activate and Inspire Inclusion in Your Career & Community

Explore workshops and download the 2024 Opportunities Knock Learning Services Catalog.

Host a Workshop for Your Work Team to Cultivate Deeper Connection (yes! even in a virtual world) Ready to shake up remote work? Are you looking to bring more meaningful connection and inclusion strategies to your work team, non-profit board, or student group? Bring a KNOCK workshop to your group! Not your average Zoom calls, we’ll have an immersive, hands-on experience that aligns with your team and company culture. Attendees will walk away with lasting strategies to open doors to more meaningful connections at work – internally among teams and externally with clients and partners, their own copy of KNOCK, and 10 free resources. Designed for remote and in-person teams, The Knock Method® has been taught to over 700 students and professionals at:

Global organizations including Aon, Amazon, and Salesforce
Workforce development organizations including YearUp and PINK Careers
Non-profits including JewishColorado, Silicon Valley Jewish High Tech Community, Israel on Campus Coalition, Denver Jewish Chamber of Commerce, and
Student groups including University of Texas American Marketing Association and University of Wisconsin-Madison

Think this might be a fit for your group or want to chat about a custom workshop that jives with your team and company culture? Submit a form and let’s chat about a workshop that fits your group’s needs.