Inspire the Conversation

WorldatWork Seattle Summit is intentionally designed to encourage conversation that draws on global insights, while taking into account local context. Education sessions will be a key element in shaping the conversations at this one-day event. Showcase your innovative insights on Total Rewards and the transforming world of work by speaking! This year, we invite you to join us as we explore evolutionary and revolutionary highlights related to all the elements of strategic Total Rewards.

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 March 11, 2025. If you have any questions, please reach out to speakers@worldatwork.org.

Our Commitment 

We are committed to providing resources that allow us to engage and embrace speakers that represent diversity in all forms, including gender, nationality, experience, and thought at WorldatWork events. In 2025, our goal is for all applicants and speakers to feel like a valued member of our Total Rewards community. During the call process we will provide office hours, on-demand resources, and planning tools to help speakers of all experience levels craft excellent submissions. For accepted speakers, we commit to providing resources tailored to your level of speaking experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Be available to present in-person at WorldatWork Seattle Summit during all of the scheduled programming times. This event will run from 8:00am - 5:00pm local time on July 29, 2025.

  • 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 group orientation session in April 2025.

    • One 30-minute session review in May-June 2025.

  • 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; however, due to the limited number of speaking spots available, we encourage you to carefully craft each submission with a clear vision, strong application message, voice(s) of authority and experience, and connection to the practitioner audience. The more specific and detailed your submission, the better. 

You can make edits to your submission anytime while the Call is still open.

  • 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 date of July 29 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 WorldatWork Seattle Summit 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.