Conference Workshops & Panels

As an integral part of the Total Rewards 2010 Canadian Conference, we are offering a broad spectrum of topics from foundational principles to advanced solutions in the areas of total rewards, compensation, executive rewards, benefits and work-life. Senior executives from some of Canada’s top organizations in their industries will share their vision for attracting, motivating and retaining 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 and your organization are guaranteed to benefit from many of the more than eighteen workshops and panels.  

Content and Speaker Updates
Because we want the presentations to offer information that is relevant and up to the minute, the topics and speakers may be updated and modified during the next few months.  Please check back occasionally for the latest information.

Wednesday, 10:20 am to 11:30 am

The Wild West: Myth vs. Reality in Western Canadian Rewards
Workshop Code: T03W1

This session will explain the latest trends in total rewards in western Canada and focus on those areas where things are done just a little differently. As the western economy moves from high-growth to stabilization to high-growth again, certain questions come to mind, such as: What are the differences in the employee value proposition out West? Will the frenzied pay increases of the past slow down? Speed up? How have things changed in the West? Is it true that BC emphasizes time off and benefits more than elsewhere? How do high housing costs impact pay packages in Alberta? Does anyone move (willingly) from another province to Vancouver today, given housing costs? How do STIPs and LTIPs differ in those industries that are predominant in the West? If gas prices soar, what can we expect in the West, and how will that affect the rest of Canada? What's next? Between them, both speakers have experience in a number of sectors, including energy, construction, software development and more. From this experience, they have developed practical approaches and tools that they will share. They are part of leading-edge research efforts in the area of strategic rewards, and will bring emerging trends to share with participants to plan and implement an effective total rewards strategy as the economy heats up again.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—70/30

Finding ROI in an Employee Communications Challenge
Workshop Code: T04W1

With many employees spread across a national network of stores, communicating consistent, simultaneous messages is a difficult, expensive undertaking for Hudson's Bay Company. A corporate intranet is in place, but most employees do not have a computer as part of their job. Any new technology that could help with this challenge would need to show a compelling return on investment to gain acceptance (a tall order for a communications solution). The key was to look at other HR costs to see how savings in one area could fund developments in another. What if instead of printing employee pay slips, they were posted to a secure employee Web site, accessible from anywhere? With pay slips posted securely online, and with most employees logging in on payday (part-time retail workers usually verify they were paid correctly for the number of hours they worked), HR would have a way to communicate its announcements, policies, practices and other initiatives consistently and simultaneously to all its associates.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—80/20

Workforce Planning: You Can Do It, Too!
Workshop Code: T05W1

One of the compensation professional's most valuable skills is the ability to differentiate: to intuitively size jobs, to assess the criticality of skills, and to tailor rewards to business strategy. With your knowledge of the business and the analytical thinking that compensation professionals are known for, you can influence your organization's discussions on business planning, recruiting strategy and organization design with strategic insight on workforce planning. In this workshop, Mary Daly will provide a series of practical, strategic thinking tools that you can bring back to your organization to advance the thinking on workforce planning. These tools include versatile data views and analyses, and corresponding questions that will generate substantive discussions on the current state and future direction of your workforce and provide you with the workforce planning 'on ramp' that you were looking for.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50

Wednesday, 12:45 pm to 2:00 pm

Supporting the Compensation Committee on Governance and Other Issues
Workshop Code: T09W2

Compensation Committees have taken on increasing responsibilities in the governance of executive compensation. CEOs, CFOs, VPs of HR, and Compensation specialists have been challenged to support Compensation Committees while ensuring the Committee and it's advisors remain independent. This presentation will look at what is expected of management and the relationships managers must entertain with the Board and its advisor.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—70/30

How Accountability-Focused Role Profiles Can Help You Execute Your Organization's Strategy
Workshop Code: T11W2

In July 2009, Capital Power Corporation (CPC) was formed as a spin-off of EPCOR Utilities Inc. CPC has a different strategy, a more defined business focus, a North American-wide workforce and is trying to brand itself with a distinct culture. CPC took this opportunity to develop accountability-focused Role Profiles. Role Profiles, pioneered by Aon, can form the foundation of all HR processes in an integrated platform with the initial creation of job documents that serve as a highly flexible and adaptive foundation for organizational change. With the accelerated pace in organizations today, the concept of the "narrowly defined job" is under pressure. The reality of organizational life requires employees to take on broader duties that go beyond the scope of a traditional job description. As a result, job descriptions do not accurately reflect the culture, values and strategy of the organization, causing a disconnect between strategy and execution. Attendees will learn how to use job documentation/evaluation for more than just base pay and how this broader usage can support the execution of an organization's strategy and move HR programs away from administratively burdensome to driving business results.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—60/40

Pension and Benefits 2.0 - What's Changing and How?
Workshop Code: T16W2

A panel consisting of benefits and pension experts from various industry backgrounds will share their perspective on what's happening with pension and benefits programs today. The panel will discuss topics such as the impact of changes to the generic drug industry and the lingering impact of the recession on pension plans. As well, given rising costs, demographics and market performance - how can organizations mitigate the impact of these pressures on pension and benefit programs? Finally, they will also share the latest benefits and pension trends for 2010 and where the market is moving in 2011. This session is geared towards the Total Rewards professional who is required to stay current and integrate Pension and Benefits into their overall Total Rewards strategy.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50

Wednesday, 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm

Optimizing Base Salary Programs to Support Business Objectives in an Ever-Changing Economy
Workshop Code: T08W3

Many companies have made great progress in designing and offering a total rewards value proposition. But has the quest to round out rewards packages shifted too much focus away from base salary? Recent salary freezes and limited salary increase budgets have put a spotlight on base salary management. Often the largest component of an employee's rewards, employees want to know that base salary is competitive and fair with room to grow. Often a significant organization expense as well, business and HR leaders want to know that base salary spend is affordable, sustainable and designed to support business objectives. Now more than ever, it is critical to design and manage a base salary program that makes the most of every dollar. It's time to take a second look at base salary! Results from Mercer's 2010 Dollars & Sense?: How Companies Manage Base Salary will be presented along with ideas and observations to spark thinking about base salary management in your own organization.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—80/20

Total Rewards: A Health and Productivity Advantage
Workshop Code: T13W3

Most organizations understand, at least intuitively, that a healthy workforce contributes to bottom-line results. However, identifying which health and productivity programs will generate the greatest returns is a challenge. To get a better understanding of the links between employee well-being, productivity and business success, Towers Watson recently analyzed workforce and financial data from a broad array of Canadian employers. This research shows that organizations with high-performing health and productivity programs achieve significantly higher revenue per employee, experience lower health costs, report fewer absences per employee, have lower levels of turnover, and earn substantially higher shareholder returns. In this session, we'll share what employers with high-performing plans are getting right, and how their best practices can be incorporated into every organization. Through a case study approach to success stories, we'll examine how rewards design, communication, measurement, management and leadership can support a culture of well-being that contributes to greater overall employee productivity.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50

Implementing Global Sales Compensation
Workshop Code: T15W3

Sales compensation is increasingly complex with changing global markets, increased customer expectations and competition and sales role specialization. It's impossible to manually monitor sales performance and calculate incentive payments and spreadsheets have proven ineffective. A case study using a real-life global packaging organization will be used to demonstrate the requirements to implement a global sales compensation program. This organization introduced new plans to align with market changes. Their focus on customer value and profitable growth won them a Stevie Award for Sales Compensation Program of the Year. This case study reveals the global implementation requirements; issues/challenges around data, process, communication and dedication are discussed. The discussion will include the automated elements of their program design to exhibit the benefits of automation on cost, accuracy, timeliness, plan design and business decisions, conflict resolution, communication and field sales trust.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50

Wednesday, 3:50 pm to 5:00 pm

2011 Trends in Recognition: Utilizing Recognition to Drive Employee Engagement
Workshop Code: T02W4

In order to stay ahead of the economic upturn and maintain an engaged workforce, it will be crucial to stay up to date on recognition trends. In this interactive workshop, Razor Suleman will take attendees through the top three trends in recognition (namely, peer-to-peer recognition, results-based recognition and social recognition) and how those trends will drive employee engagement. A successful recognition program must incorporate rhythm and technology in order to reach everyone within the organization and continue to drive employee engagement. Utilizing key statistics and case studies presented by I Love Rewards partners, Razor will focus on the trends of recognition as well as providing attendees with the tools to support these trends and implement best practices in your own organization in order to maintain an engaged workforce.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—40/60

Implementing Global Reward Strategy: A Practical Framework
Workshop Code: T06W4

This discussion traces the experiences of four global organizations through a framework for developing and implementing a reward strategy that works. The discussion will explore the challenge of designing reward strategies that are aligned with business and HR strategy and that balance the needs of the business with the needs of employees. Importantly, the presentation translates that into effective implementation that drives the motivation, engagement and the high levels of performance that are needed to survive tough economic times. Attendees will learn from others' direct experience how to develop and implement reward strategy. Gain an understanding of a comprehensive reward strategy framework and how organizations have been successful in using it, and derive better ROI for the business

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—70/30

Exploring the Future of HR Technology - HRIS and Other Applications
Workshop Code: T17W4

The right system, or combination of systems should allow the Total Rewards professional to easily move from completing routine transactions to broad strategic analysis and reporting required in the boardroom. From self service to merit increase and from benefits feeds to dashboards, the world of HRIS and systems is constantly improving and looking for solutions to simplify the life of the Total Rewards professional. Or do HR systems add more complexity than simplicity in reality? Come listen to a panel of experts discuss the advantages, challenges, and real-life application of HRIS systems as related to total rewards. The panel will discuss the future direction of systems, including the long term debate of integrated versus multiple unique application approach. Panel members will be representatives from systems consulting as well as Total Rewards professionals who use different HRIS technologies. Learn from your peers and experts as to what works for them.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50

Thursday , 8:30 am to 9:45 am

Back to Basics: Aligning Performance Management and Total Rewards Successfully
Workshop Code: T01TH1

Effectively managing, evaluating and rewarding employee performance is the cornerstone of everything that HR professionals and managers around the world are expected to accomplish. It is common knowledge that if a company is not able to retain and motivate its best and brightest employees, it will have great difficulty adding sustained value to the marketplace. However, many organizations are just not doing it right! The reasons are two-fold: 1) lack of consistency in management thought and application throughout the organization, and 2) non-alignment between expected employee performance and rewards. In his presentation, John Rubino will provide practical tools, tips and techniques that specifically address these two critical concerns. In addition, using pragmatic, real-life examples, Rubino will discuss a comprehensive strategic performance management methodology that has been proven to successfully align performance and total rewards.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—40/60

The Changing World of Short and Long-Term Incentive Plan Design
Workshop Code: T10TH1

Over the past few years, we have seen dramatic changes in executive compensation practices (the design, implementation, measurement and disclosure of performance-based pay) and in the governance of executive compensation programs. This trend has been amplified by the financial turmoil of the past 18 months, which has put pressure on short- and long-term incentive plan design forcing companies to redesign existing plans and implement new incentive programs. With a case-study approach, hear a summary of recent changes made by a variety of large Canadian companies. The session will highlight the key issues that forced each company to reevaluate the design of their short- and long-term incentive plans (i.e., inappropriate targets, wrong performance measures, dilution constraints, governance concerns, impact of underwater options), outline the alternatives considered, discuss the hurdles encountered during the redesign process, and summarize the rationale for the final design.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—70/30

Keeping It Real: Designing an Effective Sales Compensation Program to Drive Business Results at Canada Post Corporation
Workshop Code: T14TH1

As Compensation Professionals we have many different program options when it comes to delivering incentive compensation. The game changer is when the compensation program that your business bets on is one that actually works. This session will provide you with a real-life picture of what happened when the Canada Post Compensation Team was able to make this magic happen. By exploring the effective use of a sales compensation plan for both short and longer-term incentive programs directly tied to a corporate-wide strategy - attendees will hear what worked well and what didn't. The session will also provide you with a concrete framework that you will be able to use right away in connecting your employees, people managers, Senior Executive and Board of Directors to real business success!

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50

Thursday , 10:00 am to 11:15 am

The 10 Executive Compensation Issues All HR Professionals Need to Understand
Workshop Code: T07TH2

While staying on top of what's new is a challenge even for the most dedicated practitioners, it's even more daunting for broad-based HR practitioners who do not focus on executive pay. Despite this, the need for a broad-based understanding of the key terms and concepts surrounding executive compensation has never been more urgent, as compensation committees look to develop stronger connections between HR programs for the top team and the all-employee population. In this session, we will explore the top 10 concepts that broad-based practitioners must understand as they plan for greater integration between executive compensation and other HR programs.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—70/30

Talent Management: Workforce of the Future
Workshop Code: T12TH2

This presentation will be a data-driven look at labour market trends over the next 10 years. Demographic trends will be combined with education projections to provide an understanding of how the labour supply will evolve, and industry outlooks will provide an idea of upcoming labour demands. Together, these labour supply-and-demand forecasts will give participants an understanding of the particular challenges they may face in recruiting, retaining and managing their talent. The second part of this presentation will cover the tools, theories and best practices participants need to address those challenges. How do we attract, retain and make productive the best talent in the market place given the upcoming shortages? The presentation will examine best practices for looking ahead, planning for upcoming workforce demands and successfully branding an organization as an employer of choice. This will include the link between branding initiatives and recruitment and retention, the impact of the right cultural fit, and a look beyond monetary incentives.

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—60/40

Career Advice for Rewards Professionals
Workshop Code: T18TH2

Hear from a panel of four Total Rewards and HR Heads on what it takes to be successful in our profession: " What do they look for when recruiting talent into their teams? " What's the promotion path to becoming Head of Total Rewards? " What are the key reasons for their career success? " How important is having a strong internal and external network? " Which professional and academic credentials do they look for? " What excites the panelists about our profession? Learn the secrets to career success in total rewards!

Focus Level: Strategic/Tactical—50/50