Unlock the knowledge and skills you need to stay ahead in the fast-paced world of Total Rewards.

 

Total Rewards ’25 is designed to empower you with the critical insights and advanced skills that are shaping the future of Total Rewards. Building on last year’s success, we’ve refined the experience to help you connect with industry leaders, peers, and emerging trends, all while providing actionable strategies that will elevate your career, drive results within your organization, and prepare you for the challenges ahead.

This year, our carefully curated content will help you reimagine your approach to Total Rewards. Dive into advanced topics, explore innovative learning formats and take-home proven solutions you can integrate into your work. We’ve streamlined the conference schedule to allow for reflection, connection, and deeper engagement, ensuring the right balance of knowledge, interaction, and inspiration to help you achieve lasting success.

Session Formats

Deep Dive

An immersive 75-minute session designed to explore advanced concepts or sharpen practical skills. Whether through interactive workshops, detailed presentations, or extended discussions, these sessions allow for deeper learning and hands-on application, leaving you with valuable insights and skills to apply right away.

Case Study

An opportunity to explore real-world examples of new programs, technologies, or strategies are shared. You’ll hear about the challenges faced, solutions found, and the lessons learned—giving you practical takeaways to apply in your own work.

Big Idea

A transformative introduction to innovative research, frameworks or best practices designed to shift perspectives and inspire action. These talks challenge conventional approaches and inspire you to apply fresh ideas to your everyday work.

Discussion

An exploration of a specific topic or challenge, through engaging panel conversations, one-on-one dialogues or lively debates. These sessions offer a variety of perspectives, making them ideal for exploring complex issues and uncovering diverse solutions. Perfect for those seeking multiple viewpoints and real-world experience to inform their understanding or decision-making.

Pearls of Wisdom

Intimate conversations with seasoned professionals sharing valuable insights on leadership, KPIs, mentorship and more. These sessions offer real-world lessons, followed by an open Q&A to dive deeper into the topics that matter most.

TR Talks 

Engaging, 25-minute, thought-provoking talks that spark new ideas and push boundaries. These short and dynamic presentations encourage fresh perspectives and leave you with something to think about long after the session ends.

Fast Skills

Quick-hit, 30-minute sessions designed to teach you a discrete skill. Ideal for busy professionals, these focused workshops provide you with practical tools you can implement right away.

Key Topic Areas 

Strategic Total Rewards

Delve deeper into the powerful role Total Rewards plays in driving organizational success and enhancing employee experiences. This topic area focuses on innovative practices in strategy design, alignment and measurement to ensure Total Rewards initiatives meet evolving business needs. Learn techniques for optimizing ROI across a comprehensive Total Rewards portfolio and explore the critical link between Employee Experience and Total Rewards as a catalyst for greater engagement and organizational impact.

Compensation

Explore forward-thinking strategies in base pay, variable compensation and equity-based programs, designed to address today's complex workforce needs. This topic area offers solutions for closing unintended pay gaps and provides insights on using AI and analytics to enhance market evaluation, performance measurement and compensation forecasting. Learn how to elevate employee trust and enhance the perceived value of compensation programs through clear, personalized and engaging communication strategies.

Executive Compensation

Dive into the intricate world of executive compensation with a focus on strategies that drive retention and leadership continuity. This area covers the latest trends in equity compensation, the design and alignment of long-term incentive plans (LTIPs), and the regulatory landscape, including disclosure requirements and compliance. You'll gain practical techniques for managing rewards at the executive level, from setting impactful performance targets to supporting effective compensation committee governance.

Sales Compensation

Explore effective strategies for designing and measuring sales compensation plans and discover how compensation practitioners can collaborate to drive success. Examine the impact of AI on sales roles and how it is changing the way compensation plan success is measured. Additionally, discuss proven strategies for attracting and retaining top talent in today’s evolving business environment, providing insights into building competitive advantage through talent management.

Benefits

Discuss emerging strategies in healthcare, retirement, time off, and holistic benefits are crucial for enhancing employee well-being and productivity. Learn how to address challenges such as budget constraints, regulatory shifts, globalization, and the growing complexity of benefits offerings. Gain actionable techniques for engaging employees, personalizing benefits, and measuring program success, while refining communication strategies to maximize the impact and value of benefits programs in today’s evolving workplace.

Well-being 

Explore holistic well-being strategies designed to help employees thrive and drive measurable productivity gains. This topic area focuses on creating wellness cultures and programs that empower employees to prioritize their physical, mental, family, financial, and purpose-driven well-being. Discover impactful mindset shifts and cultural changes that promote sustained well-being and learn from successful programs and strategies that enhance the well-being journey for both individuals and organizations.

Careers

Gain insights into innovative career pathways that go beyond traditional job structures, including job architecture, career pathing, upskilling, and global mobility. Discover how organizations are deploying and rewarding talent in new ways to optimize capabilities and foster environments that nurture career commitment. Learn strategies to strengthen Total Rewards leadership, with a focus on coaching and mentorship that supports professional development and drives organizational success.

Total Rewards ‘25 attendees are eligible to receive recertification credits through WorldatWork, HRCI and SHRM.