Forum Descriptions

As an integral part of the Total Rewards 2009 Conference, WorldatWork is offering several forums on “up to the minute” information, determined by the current market needs.  Senior executives from some of the best managed and most admired companies will share their vision in panel discussions on a host of topics.

These forums are designed to help you hear first-hand from Fortune 500 companies using dynamic and innovative ways to attract, motivate and retain some of the best employees in the talent pool.  Whether you are a compensation and benefits specialist, an executive rewards expert or an HR generalist,  you are guaranteed to benefit from these discussions.

A unique feature of each forum will be an audience response mechanism that connects you and the featured panel in real time.

Click name to view panelists' biography.

An Insider’s Guide: What World-Class Organizations are Doing to Ensure TR Success
Monday, June 1st at 10:00AM
Code: PROF

Moderator:
Mark W Englizian, CCP, GRP, Global Director of Compensation, Benefits, & HR Services, Amazon.com
Linda Roundtree, President, Roundtree Consulting LLC

Panelist:
J. Ritchie, CCP, Corporate VP - Compensation, Benefits & Performance Management, Microsoft
Chris Gann, CCP, VP Total Pay, Starbucks
Beth Wright, Director, Total Rewards & HR Operations, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)
Sue Robboy, Senior Director, Compensation, Benefits, & HR Services, T-Mobile

Seattle is home to several industry-leading companies in the areas of technology, consumer goods and retail.  And all of them have addressed the question of, “As total rewards professionals, how do we help our companies attract and retain talent in the next stage of business evolution?” Come hear the stories behind several well-known and respected companies that have experienced unprecedented success. Interact with the panelists as they share their thinking about unique cultural norms and attributes, creating a Total Rewards strategy that supports organizational momentum, and how all of this translates into a compelling and enduring employee brand.

Topics that will be explored include:

• How innovation, engagement, and re-defining your business can play a key part in your organization’s culture
• Keeping your rewards strategy fresh and aligned with your business strategy
• Translating your organization’s history and environment into a brand that appeals both to the internal and potential workforce

A unique feature of this session will be an audience response mechanism that connects you and the featured panel in real time. Come offer your perspective on these important topics and see how your responses compare to those of your professional colleagues.

Health-Care Reform: Implications for the Employer and Employee
Monday, June 1st at 1:30PM
Code: HEALTHF

Moderator:
Karen Ickes, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Wendy's International Inc

Panelist:
Tina M. Corea, Director, Employee Benefits, T-Mobile
Helen Darling, President, National Business Group on Health
Robert Ihrie, Senior Vice President, Employee Rewards and Services, Lowe's
David Lansky, Ph.D, President & CEO, Pacific Business Group on Health
Scott Buchanan, Director, Benefits Delivery, Boeing

In a recent survey conducted by WorldatWork, over 90% of HR respondents viewed health care benefits as the #1 attraction and retention tool. Come join us for a lively discussion about the future of this very important topic. The forum will include a panel of practitioners and public policy experts at the forefront of the health care policy debate. Together, the panelists and audience will explore areas such as:

• Does your organization care about what direction healthcare is taken? How does the direction impact an employer’s ability to support a healthy-employee based organization?
• How do any changes in the employer-based system impact organizational compensation & other total rewards programs?  How do the potential health care proposals impact the overall employee-employer value proposition?
• What are the healthcare proposals the new Administration is looking at and how would they impact the employer and employee?
• How do any changes in the employer-based healthcare system impact company wellness and health productivity initiatives?
• How will future changes affect an employer’s ability to support a healthy-employee based organization? Does your organization fully understand the implications that go beyond benefits and the impact to the entire total rewards package?

This is a highly interactive session utilizing an audience response system. Come provide insight into what your organization is doing, how you feel about the direction healthcare is headed, and see how these responses compare to those of your fellow colleagues and audience members.

Moral Hazard in Executive Compensation: Has Pay for Performance Gone Too Far?
Monday, June 1st at 1:30PM
Code: EXECF

Moderator:
Mike Davis, Senior Vice President, General Mills

Panelist:
Fred Cook, Founding Director, Frederic W Cook & Company Inc
Pat McGurn, Special Counsel, RiskMetrics Group
Dave Swinford, President and CEO, Pearl Meyer & Partners
Jill Kanin-Lovers, Board Director and Compensation Committee Chair

The current financial system meltdown illustrates the perils of incenting executives to take excessive risks. Several well-known companies have been severely impacted and even shut down by senior executives taking large gambles with negative results.

In this forum, leading executive compensation professionals will address various issues relating to the balance of risk and reward in the design of executive compensation programs and examine ways companies can find the right balance, while attracting and retaining the best talent in a competitive market. Panelists will explore the implications of the financial crisis and ensuing global recession for executive compensation.

• Was the crisis caused by a few hundred over-zealous and greedy financial executives and bankers?
• Was executive compensation a contributing factor? 
• Has "pay for performance" gone too far?
• Have we passed a major turning point in executive compensation?
• Are the executive compensation curbs affecting TARP participants likely to be extended to the rest of us?
• What advice should executive compensation professionals offer their companies now?

Hear the perspective of experts, and share your own answers to these questions in this interactive session.

Has Pay for Performance Lost its Meaning?
Tuesday, June 2nd at 9:00AM
Code: PAYF

Moderator:
Blair Jones, CBP, CCP, Managing Principal, Semler Brossy Consulting Group

Panelist:
Mike Halloran, Worldwide Partner, Mercer
Jay Schuster, Ph.D., Partner Schuster-Zingheim & Associates Inc.
Dow Scott, Ph.D., Professor of Human Resources and Employment Relations, Loyola University Chicago
Charles F. Signorino, CCP, VP Compensation, McGraw-Hill

Pay for Performance can be defined as the link between pay (base and/or variable), in whole or in part, to individual, group and/or organizational performance. In simplest terms, the better you perform the more money you will receive. Do organizations really differentiate and reward high performers? Everyone wants pay for performance to work, but surveys suggest it simply doesn’t or is not effectively implemented or administered in organizations. Most organizations say they have a pay-for-performance system, but when it comes time to really pay for performance (which includes NOT giving merit raises or bonuses to lower performers), they tend to back down and take the path of least resistance.

Attend this one-of-a-kind experience with pay-for-performance experts. This moderated panel session will discuss pay for performance and its reality in organizations. In order to truly discuss pay for performance and its implications within organizations, this panel discussion includes both proponents and opponents of pay for performance. Listen to a panel that includes practitioners, academics and consultants in the field as they discuss whether pay for performance really works. Offer your opinion, and see how your responses compare to the responses of your colleagues and fellow audience members. 

Practical Work-Life Solutions for Today and Tomorrow
Tuesday, June 2nd at 9:00AM
Code: WLF

Moderator:
Kay Campbell, Manager, Global Health and Productivity, GlaxoSmithKline

Panelist:
Teresa Hopke, Director, Talent Management, RSM McGladrey
Marilyn Guthrie, Manager of Benefits, Wellness & Recognition Programs, REI

Presenters:
Chai Feldblum, Co-Director, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University
Ellen Galinsky, President, Families & Work Institute

Discouraged by constantly chasing after programs that sound good but don’t achieve the desired results of attracting, motivating or retaining your employees? Yet, are you still searching for total rewards programs that will work and stand the test of time?

Come hear visionary practitioners and thought leaders discuss practical, cost-effective and measurable work-life programs that will help your organization overcome attraction, motivation and retention challenges. Gain insights into building a successful, long-term investment for your organization. 

Throughout this interactive session, work-life experts and the audience will together explore topics such as:

• Programs and initiatives your organization can leverage when building for the future
• Finding creative ways to ensure that standard programs fulfill the needs of today and tomorrow
• Increasing perceived value by leveraging work-life initiatives; sharing the vision and significance of these programs with your employees
• Ensuring sustainability during challenging times.

Rewards in a Changing Environment
Tuesday, June 2nd at 1:45PM
Code: ENVF

Moderator:
Michael Burniston, Worldwide Partner, Mercer

Panelist:
Juan Pablo González, Principal, Axiom Consulting Partners
Lori A. Lorenz, Managing Director of HR, Robert W. Baird & Co.
Bruce O’Neel, Director, Compensation, T-Mobile

All organizations have felt the effects of a changing economy that has tested their ability to attract and retain talent.  Many are faced with tough decisions regarding salaries, incentive payouts, limited resources, increased health-care costs and 401(k) program changes, while other companies are dealing with the need to stay competitive when globalization challenges and working with a diverse workforce. Each of these circumstances has tested total rewards in terms of remaining competitive. Come find out what has kept some organizations nimble in their ability to stay the course and not only keep talent, but keep them engaged, productive and loyal. 

Listen as panelists provide their insight on how their organizations have weathered and recovered from their challenging times while retaining top talent. Join us in discussing the deployment of total rewards programs that keep employee morale and engagement high. Discussion areas will include:

• What are organizations doing to make it through the current financial crisis and what are the implications of those decisions?
• How do successful organizations use total rewards to retain their talent?
• How do organizations thrive during the inevitable challenging times and changing environments?

Provide insight into what your organization is doing, how you feel about the direction total rewards is headed, and see how these responses compare to those of your colleagues.