Workday Rising 2026 is almost here. 

From October 12–15, the Workday community will take over Las Vegas for four days of product announcements, customer stories, hands-on learning, peer conversations, and a closer look at what is next across the Workday ecosystem. 

And if you have been to Rising before, you already know: there is a lot happening at once. 

More than 400 sessions. Product updates. Customer stories. Hands-On Labs. Partner conversations. Braindates. Rising Central. Keynotes. Networking. And probably more meetings than you originally planned to take. 

The best Rising experience is rarely about trying to do everything. 

It is about knowing what matters to your organization before you arrive, building enough structure into your schedule to find it, and leaving enough room for the conversations you did not know you needed. 

Here is how to make the most of Workday Rising 2026. 

Start with the questions you want answered 

Before building your agenda, start with something simpler. 

What do you actually need to learn? Whatever the priority, write it down before you start adding sessions. Rising offers hundreds of options across Financials, HCM, Planning, Analytics, AI, Spend, Payroll, Talent, Platform, and more. Without a few clear questions guiding the week, it is easy to leave with plenty of notes and very little direction. 

A useful starting point is to choose three things you want to understand better by the time you head home. 

Then build around them. 

Build an agenda, but leave room in it

The Workday Rising Session Scheduler is live, and it is worth using before you arrive. 

Some sessions offer reserved seating, while others are available on a first-come basis. High-interest sessions can fill quickly, especially those focused on major product announcements, roadmaps, AI, and customer case studies. 

But there is another side to agenda planning: do not fill every minute. 

Some of the most useful moments at Rising happen after a session, in Rising Central, over coffee, or during a conversation with another customer who happens to be dealing with the same challenge your team is working through. 

Think of your agenda as the structure for the week, not the entire week. 

Protect the sessions that matter most. Leave some breathing room around them. 

Choose different ways to learn 

Not every question is best answered in a breakout session. Workday offers several ways to learn, from keynotes and Product Strategy and Vision sessions to customer-led Leading Practices sessions and Hands-On Labs. Explore the full Workday Rising 2026 Session Catalog to start building your agenda. 

And if there is something very specific, you are trying to understand, look for smaller conversations, Meetups, Braindates, or Customer Reference Conversations. 

Pay attention to where AI becomes practical

AI will be one of the biggest themes at Rising this year, but interesting conversations will go beyond whether organizations are using AI. 

They will focus on where it actually fits. 

Workday is expected to showcase its evolving agentic AI capabilities, including how AI agents can operate within existing Workday data, permissions, and business processes.  For attendees, the opportunity is not simply to see what is new. It is to understand what your organization would need in place before those capabilities become useful. That means asking about data quality, ownership, process design, governance, adoption, and operating models alongside the technology itself. 

Give Monday a purpose

The conference officially begins Monday, October 12, with welcome activities starting at 5:00 PM. But Monday can also be one of the best opportunities to get oriented before the pace picks up. 

Use the day to collect your credentials, understand the layout between The Venetian and Caesars Forum, check where your Tuesday sessions are located, and confirm any meetings you have planned. 

First-time attendees also have dedicated programming designed to help them get familiar with the event and connect with other newcomers. 

And if you arrive with some time to spare, this is a good opportunity to explore before the busiest days begin. 

Expect Tuesday and Wednesday to move quickly 

Tuesday brings the main rhythm of Rising into full swing with keynotes, breakouts, labs, product conversations, Rising Central, and partner events. Wednesday continues with community programming, customer stories, and more opportunities to dig into the themes that started emerging earlier in the week. 

It also ends with the Workday Customer Appreciation Party, headlined this year by Kelly Clarkson. By this point in the conference, you will probably have collected plenty of notes, screenshots, ideas, names, and follow-ups. 

You do not need a complete strategy before you leave Las Vegas. But identifying those patterns while they are fresh can make the post-Rising conversation much more productive. 

Pack for the conference you are attending 

Workday recommends business casual attire for Rising.  
More importantly: bring comfortable shoes. 

Between The Venetian, Caesars Forum, Rising Central, sessions, meetings, and evening events, you will cover more ground than you think. Las Vegas can also be warm outside and considerably cooler inside conference spaces, so layers are useful. 

A few other practical things worth having nearby: 

Portable charger 
Refillable water bottle 
Light jacket or layer
Room in your bag for whatever you inevitably collect 
A simple way to capture follow-ups while conversations are still fresh 

You probably do not need to bring your entire office, but you do need enough battery to survive a full day of conference Wi-Fi, scheduling apps, photos, messages, and LinkedIn. 

Know what is already covered

Workday provides several meals and refreshments during the week, including the Monday Welcome Reception, breakfast bites and lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday, food and drinks during the Customer Appreciation Party, and brunch on Thursday. 

Conference shuttle transportation is also available between The Venetian Expo Center and several official conference hotels. 

Airport transportation is not included. 

If you are still finalizing accommodations, the official Workday hotel booking window has closed, so it is worth confirming your plans sooner rather than later. 
 

First Rising? Do not try to “win” the conference 

If this is your first Workday Rising, the scale of the event can feel like a reason to pack your agenda. It is actually a reason not to. Workday has dedicated First-Timer programming throughout the week, including welcome and networking opportunities designed specifically for new attendees. 

Use them. 

The goal of your first Rising should not be to see everything, it should be to understand how the event works, meet a few people worth knowing, answer a few important questions, and leave knowing where you want to go deeper next. 

What to bring home from Rising 

By the end of the week, you will probably have more information than you can realistically act on. That is normal. The most useful post-Rising exercise is not a 50-slide recap of everything that happened. 

Try leaving Las Vegas with: 

Three ideas worth exploring 
Two people worth following up with 
One decision your team can move forward 

That is usually enough to turn conference momentum into something real, because the value of Workday Rising is not measured by how many sessions you attend.  It is measured by what becomes clearer when you get home.