Inspire the Conversation

The WorldatWork Canada Summit is your opportunity to share insights, spark meaningful conversations, and connect with fellow Total Rewards and Compensation professionals who are shaping the future of work.

We’re looking for practitioners, thought leaders, and innovators to lead engaging discussions, share real-world successes, and explore fresh solutions in Total Rewards, Compensation, Benefits, and Workforce Experience. Whether you want to present on an emerging topic, share a recent business success, or collaborate on a solutions panel, we welcome your perspective.

Prefer a more interactive approach? Facilitate a roundtable on a topic of your choice and engage in dynamic discussions with peers. Your voice matters, and we invite you to be part of shaping the future of Total Rewards!

You don’t need to be a professional speaker—just someone with valuable experiences, challenges, or ideas to share. This is your chance to contribute to an inspiring dialogue, exchange knowledge, and help advance the profession.

Go to the Applicant Resource Center for information and tools to help you craft a stand-out submission, or if you're ready, click the Complete a Submission button below.

Submissions are due by May 19, 2026. If you have any questions, please reach out to speakers@worldatwork.org.

Our Commitment 

We are committed to embracing diversity in all of its forms at WorldatWork events. WorldatWork has pledged to increase diversity in terms of gender, nationality, experience, and thought in our speaker lineups, and we are passionate about welcoming a broad array of voices. If you have not spoken at our event before, we encourage you to step forward and share your unique perspective. Your voice matters, and we value the richness that diverse experiences bring to our events.

Three Ways to Submit

Option 1: Submit a Full Session Proposal

Have a session ready to go? Great! You can submit a full proposal including:

  • Session title and abstract
  • Key takeaways
  • Target audience
  • Format and duration
  • Speaker bios

Option 2: Submit a Story

If you have a compelling experience, we'll help shape it into a session. All you need to share is:

  • A short description of the situation or challenge
  • What actions you or your team took
  • What others could learn from your experience
  • Any co-presenters or collaborators, if applicable

We’ll review your idea and, if selected, work with you to refine and co-create a full session.

Option 3: Submit a Topic

Not ready to build a full proposal? No problem. Share with us:

  • A topic
  • What problem you're helping to solve
  • What's unique about your perspective
  • Any co-presenters or collaborators, if applicable

We'll review your submission and, if selected, work with you to co-create a compelling session. 

Please note there are new guidelines for Consultant and Service Partner submissions.

First-time Speaker? We’ve got you.
If you’ve never presented before, don’t let that stop you. We’re committed to elevating new voices and will support you through speaker coaching and content development.

Still not sure?
If you’re wondering whether your idea is “good enough," it probably is. Sometimes the most powerful sessions come from honest stories, not perfect ones.

Let’s build this together.

Apply to Speak
Applicant Resource Center

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Be available to present in-person at the WorldatWork Canada Summit during all of the scheduled programming times on September 9-10, 2026.

  • Create fresh, original, unique, and current content aimed to solve today’s problems. Please, no replays of webinars or other presentations. 

  • Tailor content and delivery to address participant needs.  

  • Attend speaker training and preparation meetings, be open to feedback, and meet all deadlines. For training, we will ask that at a minimum you will participate in the following:  

    • ​​​​​​​One rehearsal or session review depending on your session format in June-August 2026.

  • Refrain from selling or lead generation in content sessions. WorldatWork offers several paid, sponsor-led sessions to feature your organization and showcase your solutions. If interested, please get in touch with visibility@worldatwork.org for more information about the opportunities or process.  

The Applicant Resource Center has information about the types of questions you will answer as you complete your submission including topics, available session formats, and the types of speakers we who generally participate. It also contains resources including a Planning Worksheet and information on Office Hours, where WorldatWork staff will be available on a first-come-first serve basis to provide feedback or answer questions. 

We highly recommend completing your submission in the Planning Worksheet and then copy and pasting that information into the online form. 

Submission Worksheet (Word Doc)

We estimate it will take approximately 20 minutes to upload the requested information into the submission form. The amount of time it will take to craft answers to certain questions will depend on how developed your submission idea is before beginning the process.

You can complete as many submissions as you like while the call is open; in fact, it is encouraged if your interests, expertise, and passions span several topic areas.  However, please ensure that each submission is high quality. We find individuals submitting detailed, well-crafted submissions in smaller numbers have a higher likelihood of being selected than those submitting a large number of less detailed session ideas. 

You can make edits to your submission anytime while the Call is still open. Click "Log In" from the top menu, enter your email and password to enter your account, and select the submission you would like to edit.  

  • Submit a complete proposal including names and emails of all committed speakers who will be a part of the session. 
  • Before submitting a proposal to speak, make sure all speakers are available and holding the conference dates until notified of your proposal status. 
  • Communicate the accept/decline status of the session proposal to all presenters.
  • Please note the submitter is considered the primary point of contact for each submission. All notifications associated with submissions will be sent only to the submitter.

Yes. However, we ask that you receive confirmation from the speaker(s) that they are interested in speaking at the event prior to submitting. Note that you will be required to provide all session and speaker details for the proposal.

Intent to bring additional speaker/s will not be considered in the assessment of a submission, only those whose details are provided will be considered as a voice and perspective to the submission.

Our selection process is highly competitive. An advisory committee reviews submissions and makes selections to craft a program that balances topics, session formats, and speaker profiles. The information you will provide in the submission form is critical to the selection process. The committee relies on this information to understand precisely what will be delivered to participants, and WorldatWork's marketing team uses it to ensure optimal attendance at your session. Additionally, the speaker information asked for in the submission form is essential to understanding the speaking style, professional expertise, and diversity of perspective of applicants. Additional information on selection criteria is here on the Applicant Resource Center page. 

We are so grateful to our speakers for both their time spent in preparation and their willingness to share their expertise. As a speaker you will receive:

  • Visibility and recognition for you and your organization as a thought leader.  

  • A chance to give back to the profession and help peers devise solutions to current and emerging business challenges.

  • A complete complimentary event registration so you can engage and network with attendees throughout the event. 

  • Access to exclusive, complimentary speaker coaching and resources to help bring your session to life.   

  • Earn WorldatWork recertification credits.