Work doesn’t work like it used to.
For most of us, work has been designed around a centralized, often physical, structure. Employees commuted to office spaces, tackled a list of prescribed tasks, and aimed to climb the corporate ladder—with tenure and titles as the ultimate markers of success.
Today, work is fundamentally different. Remote work has become the norm. Employees are more likely to set their own tasks, and few have a desire to climb the traditional corporate ladder, preferring to create their own “ladder” instead. As work evolves, so must the roles of Total Rewards and HR professionals. They now face the challenge—and opportunity—of adapting to this shifting landscape and develop new approaches to respond, react, and reset work in this new context. Employees expect more from their employers than ever before. This moment demands innovative approaches to elevate employee experiences and help organizations thrive.
Let’s explore the current world of work and uncover actionable strategies for Total Rewards and HR professionals to lead confidently into the future of work.
As pay transparency laws continue to expand globally, organizations must go beyond compliance checklists to truly embed pay equity into their operations. In this session, Aon and Trusaic will unpack how leading employers are addressing the realities of remediation, navigating shifting regulations, and building lasting equity through optimization and prevention.
Key topics include:
● The evolving global and U.S. regulatory landscape
● Why raw pay gap data isn’t enough—and how to apply regression analysis effectively
● Why remediation fails: misaligned spending, slow progress, and recurring disparities
● How simulation modeling and spend optimization can increase remediation impact
● Strategies to prevent new inequities with data-informed decision-making tools
Attendees will gain a practical framework for applying analytics, optimizing spend, and embedding accountability into ongoing pay equity efforts.
Sponsored by: Trusaic
Patagonia has a core value to not be bound by convention—while of course this applies to creating products, giving the company a way to fight for climate justice—it also extends to how we design our total reward programs. In this session, explore how we evolved our employee listening strategy-- including how we immersed ourselves in the experiences of our retail employees to gain deep insights into their needs. Learn how these findings shaped our employee experience (EX) design principles, how we used them to take action and how they continue to inform our Total Rewards strategy. Walk away with practical takeaways on applying a design-thinking mindset to create more meaningful and impactful rewards programs.
Key Takeaways
• Learn how to integrate employee voice as a key data source for shaping an effective total rewards strategy.
• Discover how to apply employee experience (EX) design principles to create more impactful pay and benefits programs.
Join an interactive discussion on the pitfalls of pay-for-performance and how we can build a fairer, more effective approach. This roundtable invites participants to share experiences, debate challenges, and co-create solutions for a more equitable rewards system. We’ll examine how performance standards often reflect dominant cultures, reinforcing bias and limiting opportunities for marginalized groups. Together, we’ll challenge the myth of the individual contributor, explore how collaboration drives success, and discuss practical alternatives that promote equity and development. Bring your insights, questions, and ideas to this dynamic conversation on reshaping performance-based pay.
No slides, no set agenda—just real talk and real solutions. In this interactive unconference session, you set the topics. Bring your biggest challenges or burning questions and collaborate with peers who have been in your shoes. Whether you're seeking fresh ideas, feedback, or simply a sounding board, this dynamic session is designed to foster open dialogue, collective problem-solving, and actionable takeaways.
In today’s competitive landscape, employee well-being isn’t just a benefit—it’s a business strategy. This interactive roundtable will begin with a case study on how our organization partnered with Marka Health to develop a holistic wellness program that integrates physical therapy, ergonomics, and proactive injury prevention. Learn how onsite PT services, ergonomic assessments, and wellness spaces have led to improved engagement, reduced absenteeism, and measurable cost savings through lower surgical and imaging claims.
Then, the conversation turns to you. Together, we’ll explore key questions, share challenges, and discuss strategies for designing impactful wellness programs, including:
- Embedding wellness into workplace culture
- The role of injury prevention and recovery in Total Rewards
- Making the business case: using data to demonstrate impact and ROI
Come ready to share your experiences and leave with fresh insights and actionable ideas for creating a workplace wellness program that truly makes a difference.
In an industry where substance use is part of the culture, Live Nation took on a complex challenge: how do you offer meaningful support that respects the realities of the job, while helping employees rethink their relationship with substances?
This session unpacks how Live Nation recognized the limits of traditional EAPs and built a recovery friendly model that reflects the reality of its workforce. With a combination of virtual care through Pelago, inpatient treatment access, and grassroots engagement via the “Sober Nation” employee group, Live Nation reshaped what getting help looks like.
Join us for a candid discussion on what it takes to:
- Reduce stigma without alienating culture
- Design care that spans from crisis to curiosity
- See measurable reductions in high-cost substance-related claims
- Empower a workforce to take the first step—wherever they are
For those in Total Rewards leadership, this session offers a blueprint for making substance use care more visible, approachable, and effective.
In today’s fiercely competitive landscape, organizations face the challenge of stretching limited budgets to attract and retain top executives and AI talent—while maintaining their edge in every global market. How can you ensure your total rewards strategy not only attracts the best, but keeps them loyal and motivated?
Join Stello AI CEO Amee Parekh, Blink Health’s Head of Total Rewards Libby Rosenthal for an exclusive, actionable masterclass. Discover the insider playbook for optimizing every element of compensation—base, bonus, and equity—so your rewards package stands out and delivers real retention results.
Walk away with strategies to:
- Build smarter, more effective compensation budgets for critical roles from day one.
- Pinpoint exactly what, and how much, to grant to keep your top performers engaged.
- Communicate your rewards package with clarity and impact, ensuring employees feel valued, motivated, and treated fairly.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how leading organizations are winning the war for talent—one strategic dollar at a time. Get ready for practical insights, real-world examples, and a roadmap you can implement immediately to future-proof your workforce and fuel your company’s success
Brought to you by: Stello AI
Although it has been well-established that meaningful rewards can boost employee engagement and performance–and despite employers spending nearly $200 billion annually on rewards and recognition—less than half of employees feel valued at work. In this session, Brie Harvey, the Head of Market Research for Achievers Workforce Institute will share insights from their 2025 State of Recognition Report, explore the evolving landscape of employee rewards, and uncover the most common reasons why many well-intended investments in traditional rewards programs fall flat and fail to drive cultural and behavioral outcomes.
Key Takeaways
- Discover the top reasons traditional rewards programs often fail to drive engagement
- Explore new data on what meaningful recognition looks like in 2025
- Identify strategies to align recognition with your company’s culture and business goals
- Learn how to build a high-impact recognition program that improves retention and performance
Brought to you by: Achievers
Every day across your company, managers, recruiters, and HR business partners make pay decisions. From offers to adjustments and everything in between. And these decentralized, discretionary choices are constantly impacting your compensation strategy in ways you can’t easily see. You know that well-meaning flexibility can lead to wasted budget, inequity, or compliance risk. But what’s the answer? Clamping down with more controls? You could, but what if you could learn from decision-making patterns in real-time to inform better pay decisions?
In this session, experts in compensation analytics and responsible AI will introduce a new way to think about pay decision-making – one that turns ambiguity into clarity. You’ll explore how modern compensation leaders are using AI-powered analytics to illuminate where discretion happens, when it helps, and how to make it more consistent, explainable, and aligned with business strategy.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand why decentralized pay discretion can be a driver of waste and unintended pay inequities
- Learn how real-time compensation analytics help HR leaders stay ahead of market shifts
Brought to you by: Syndio
The landscape of Total Rewards is evolving—are you keeping up? In this interactive roundtable, we’ll tackle the shift from standardized rewards to more personalized approaches, exploring the opportunities and challenges that come with greater choice and flexibility.
- How can we balance personalization with fairness and equity?
- Is AI enhancing creativity in rewards design or limiting human innovation?
- What barriers are holding back change in your TR programs—and how can we overcome them?
Join your peers for an engaging discussion, share insights on what’s working (and what’s not), and brainstorm actionable solutions to bring the next generation of rewards to life.
The future of Compensation isn’t just coming—it’s already here. Are you ready? In this fast-paced, insight-packed session, two Justins—seasoned experts in compensation and influence—will deliver "Justin Time" guidance on what’s next in Rewards and how to shape its impact.
You'll gain an insider’s perspective on emerging compensation trends, strategic pay practices, and the evolving role of Total Rewards in business success. But knowing the future isn’t enough you also need the influence to drive change. That’s why this session goes beyond insights, equipping you with the effectiveness skills needed to build credibility, communicate impact, and lead long-term transformation. Whether you're a leader or an analyst, expect bold predictions, practical strategies, and real-world tactics to help you not just keep up—but get ahead. Don’t miss this chance to future-proof your expertise with "Justin Time" guidance from two of the best in the profession.
As we wrap up an incredible event, this closing session will help you connect the dots between key themes, insights, and strategies from the day. Together, we’ll reflect on the most impactful takeaways. Through guided discussion and shared perspectives, you will:
- Identify the most valuable insights from the sessions.
- Define key actions to bring back to your organization.
- Engage with peers to exchange ideas and best practices.
Leave feeling empowered and equipped to apply what you’ve learned, driving real impact in your organization and beyond.