#HRBC26 RECAP – Why I Keep Coming Back to Berlin

Marcus
Feb 14
3 min read

This week marked one of my personal highlights of the year: the mother of all HR barcamps — HRBC in Berlin.

I’ve been attending since the very first one back in 2012, which was still hosted in Sarah Wiener’s restaurant. And every year, the event quickly reveals whether HR is in a comfort or an orientation phase.

This time it was clearly the latter. And honestly, it was more interesting than it has been in years. Crises sometimes have their upside.

Even the session pitches showed a shift in the discussion: less on recruiting optimization, New Work, and social media hype — more on separation processes, risk, and decision quality. Topisuch as layoffs, termination conversations, change management, and AI accountability dominated the board agenda. That fits almost perfectly with today’s reality, marked by economic uncertainty and technological acceleration.

What made it even better: Christoph and Jannis brought the event back to its roots: A well-organized one-day conference returned to a 1.5-day gathering for HR people by HR people. I know that means far more effort and improvisation for the organizing team — but the qualitative gain is noticeable.

It remains my favorite event precisely because there is no predefined agenda. The community shows what truly matters. Even if that occasionally involves singing questionable warm-up songs.

Day 1 — Reality instead of recruiting romance

I started with the Employer PR session moderated by Raoul Fischer.

The key takeaway: don’t chase reach — earn relevance. PR only works when it explains something meaningful. Not when it polishes employer branding messaging. A good reminder in a time when trust is scarcer than attention.

Then straight into heavier territory: “Layoffs: creating perspective instead of just reducing headcount” — Robindro Ullah.

The discussion made one thing obvious: organizations need to relearn how to manage transitions, not just numbers. Reputation isn’t defined by the separation itself — but by what happens afterwards.

Which led perfectly into: “The perfect termination” — Jannis Tsalikis

Provocative title, but essentially a conversation about professionalism. Terminations are no longer exceptional events. They are part of organizational communication—and many companies still struggle with it. The group even drafted a rough “termination playbook” together.

In the evening, the traditional get-together at vor Wien, a cool lounge with a disco Basement, where Marcel showcased his DJ skills. A man of many talents...

As always, arguably the most important part of the barcamp: speaking with long-time colleagues and yes… it got late. Every minute was worth it.

Day 2 — Psychology and technology catch up with HR

The second day started with: “Narcissism in organizations” — Linda Bahm

Linda caught me with her Pitch: "Do you know your TCA?" based on Bob Suttons Total costs of A*******.

Less personality test talk, more organizational dynamics.

In uncertain times, certain leadership patterns intensify — HR needs to detect them long before KPIs reveal the damage.

Final session: “AI in recruiting — beyond hype and compliance” — Jan Kirchner

For me, this captured the entire barcamp spirit.

Sharing experiences, live hacks, honest exchange — discussing potential without killing every idea through compliance reflexes. AI is no longer theoretical. Colleagues are already deeply using it in their daily work.

The Recall — the beloved classic returns

A great comeback: the Recall session, where participants vote again on missed topics. My choice: “The seven most expensive words in the world: fear in organizational change” — Ola Weintraub

Essentially about change communication. Or more precisely: organizations rarely fail because of resistance, but because of unspoken expectations.

The seven words?

“We’ve always done it this way.” Everyone knows them.

What made this HR Barcamp different

Two dominant themes emerged:

Technology & AI — present everywhere, but neither blindly enthusiastic nor dismissive. Good. It’s here to stay and will reshape our work.

Economic reality — even more interesting. HR now faces topics many teams haven’t dealt with for years. Painful, but full of learning potential.

HR talked more about consequences than campaigns. Also at #HRBC26.

Thank you & personal conclusion

Great to see the barcamp back close to its roots: exchange instead of staging — competence combined with fun.

Huge thanks to:

Christoph Athanas & Jannis Tsalikis and the organizing team
Diakonie Deutschland for hosting
Bella & Bona for arguably the best catering any barcamp ever had
and all partners and sponsors: Gradar, Talk’n’Job, FINN/JobAuto, HR for good, d.vinci, Meta HR