Information and Resources for Applicants
Successful events start with strong speakers. This is your opportunity to highlight your expertise and offer real solutions to the most urgent problems Total Rewards and compensation professionals face today. We want to help you craft an excellent proposal so you can make your voice heard, and deliver impactful, intelligent solutions to your community.
We are offering the following resources to support you, our applicants:
- Read the information on this page to learn about selection criteria, topics, available session formats, and speaker types.
- Download the Submission Planning Worksheet to help you think through your submission before heading to the digital form.
- Attend our open Office Hour session on April 16 from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern on Zoom. During this time WorldatWork staff will be available to review and provide feedback on submissions, help solve any technical problems, or answer general questions about the event or Call.
All submissions must be completed through the online form and are due by April 23, 2025. If you need an accommodation or have questions, please email us at speakers@worldatwork.org.
What are the Key Dates?
April 1, 2025 |
Call for Content Opens |
April 16, 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern |
Office Hour (Add to Calendar) |
April 23, 2025 |
Call for Content Closes |
By May 28, 2025* |
Notifications Sent |
What is the selection criteria?
Our selection committee will use a rubric to review submissions that includes the following categories.
- Thought Leadership: Topic, solution or delivery is unique, demonstrates innovation; is cutting edge of right now or future focused; brings new solutions to new or old problems
- Relevance: The topic is timely and holds significance, applicability, meaningfulness, and value in relation to the conference and attendees/profession. There is clear evidence that this session will be of particular interest to a Canadian audience.
- Participant Engagement: Clear evidence that the session will engage the participants actively through interaction, application or call to action through learnings; may be the ability to hold the audience's attention with riveting content.
- Speaker Skill & Fit: Knowledgeable to topic and gives a confident presence or has an inviting personality that encourages exchange; holds credibility and engaging speaking presence.
- Differentiator: Provides a tool, guide, template, action steps or some other differentiator.
Follow the tips below to make your application stand out. We will only be able to accept a limited number of sessions from this Call.
- Include practitioners: If you will have multiple speakers in your session, include the voice of someone who is currently living and breathing Total Rewards or compensation.
- Be creative with your session format: How can you present your ideas in a new or different way? How can you ensure engagement?
- Get specific: The more details you provide in your description, the more likely you are to be selected.
- Be topical: The event will occur in September. What will be top of mind for Total Rewards professionals during that time? How can you connect your content to a larger trend in the macro environment?
What Key Topic Areas can sessions address?
What types of session formats will there be?
We all have different learning preferences. In order to meet as many individual preferences as possible, Total Rewards Canada 2025 will offer a variety of session formats. The submission form will ask you to suggest which of the following formats you believe will best help participants engage with your ideas. If your submission is accepted, you will work with the WorldatWork team to finalize your session format.
Submission Tip: Be Creative with Your Session Format
When crafting your submission, think beyond the traditional presentation format. How can you present your ideas in a fresh, engaging way? How can you maximize audience participation?
Most submissions follow a standard presentation structure, but you can stand out by proposing an interactive format.
Consider submitting a Roundtable session to make your proposal more competitive and impactful.
Roundtable (45 or 60 minutes) Do you have a question you want to explore with your Total Rewards community? Roundtables are facilitated conversations that honor the experience already in the room. The most successful roundtable discussions have 2-3 main questions participants explore in tables of 8 and a facilitator that can float among the group synthesizing and sharing what is shared. |
Big Idea (45 or 60 minutes) Do you have research results, a framework, or a set of best practices that have transformed your practice? Big Idea sessions should leave participants thinking differently and ready to apply your Big Idea to their day-to-day work. |
Discussion (45 or 60 minutes) Whether you plan on gathering a panel, having a 1-on-1 conversation, or engaging in a debate, discussions are a great way to explore a particular topic or problem from various viewpoints. Discussions work best when having different experiences represented is essential to understanding the concept or finding a solution to a challenge. |
Insights and Answers (45 minutes) Do you have experience and wisdom to share with the Total Rewards community? Insights and Answers sessions allow Total Rewards pros with lessons to share an opportunity to do just that. Speakers will define the general topic for the conversation based on their expertise and participants will get the chance to ask (almost) anything. Topics may include navigating a Total Rewards career path, what effective Total Rewards leadership looks like, collaborating with business partners, or effectively implementing tech. |
Case Study (45 or 60 minutes) Did you implement a new program, integrate a new technology, or explore new ways of communicating? A Case Study is the perfect way to share what you did, why you did it, and lessons learned. |
Workshop (60 minutes) Workshops give participants the opportunity to apply what they have learned during the session. Group or independent exercises (e.g., writing examples, brainstorming, case studies, role-playing) are the heart of these sessions and should take up at least 40% of the time. Because of the longer length, these sessions are great if you have several related learning objectives you want participants to complete in one session. |
TR Talk (30 minutes) A TR Talk is inspired, fun, and makes you think big and small - in 30 minutes or less! Presenters with a specific story, discovery, or revelation who want to hone their ability to impact participants in a condensed amount of time are encouraged to consider this session format. |
What types of speakers present?
Submission Tip: Include Practitioners
Conference participants highly value insights from practitioners with firsthand experience. Given the limited number of session slots, submissions that feature practitioners will receive priority consideration.
To strengthen your proposal, include the perspective of someone actively engaged in Total Rewards or compensation, ensuring your session delivers real-world expertise and practical takeaways.
Academic: Full or part-time professor with no other source of employment.
Consultant: A professional hired to provide expert advice to multiple clients or organizations. Does not include internal consultants. See practitioner definition.
- Examples: Partner, Managing Director, Principal, Practice Leader, Attorney
Non-Profit Organization Representative: Advocate from a relevant non-profit, offering industry-specific insights and expertise, aligning with our event's cause and mission.
Practitioner: “Internal” professionals accountable to influence or deliver rewards for that one specific organization. Excludes those working in professional services supporting external customers.
- Examples: SVP Total Rewards, Manager, Compensation Manager, Director Employee Benefits, CHRO, Financial Analyst, HR Business Partner, Benefits Specialist, Compensation Committee Chair, Chief Legal Officer, Recruiter
Service Partner: A supplier or someone who works for a company that provides organizations with services other than management consulting. See consultant definition.
- Examples: IT Solutions Provider, Payroll Processing Provider, Recognition Outsource Provider, Insurance Agent, VP Product Development, Sales Director, Account Executive