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2026 Call for Program Proposals Now Open

Call for Program Proposals Due Friday, March 13

Have insights, strategies, or case studies to share? We are now accepting session proposals for the 2026 Rewards NW Conference. This is your opportunity to contribute to the conversation and help shape a program built by and for total rewards professionals.

We’re seeking proposals that offer:

Practical, actionable takeaways
Innovative approaches to compensation, benefits & total rewards
Honest lessons learned and real-world applications

Past Year Conference Program

September 30, 2024

5:00-6:30pm

Welcome Reception
The Reser - 12625 SW Crescent Street, Beaverton, OR 97005 - First Floor Lobby

October 1, 2024

	Total Rewards *Track sponsored by*	Compensation	Benefits
8:00 AM	Registration Opens Registration sponsored by
9:00 AM	Welcome Remarks
9:15 AM	Keynote Address ▾ Sponsored by Check back soon for more information on this session. View the Presentation Jen Mueller \| Producer, Sports Broadcaster and Founder, Talk Sporty to Me
10:00 AM	Break
10:30 AM	Addressing 3 Big Problems with Performance Reviews ▾ Performance management provides a link to total rewards programs and the success of the organization. This link has the most influence when performance management approaches are aligned with business priorities and total rewards strategies that are meaningful to the workforce. However, performance review programs often fall short in achieving the intended outcomes. This session explores three common, complex challenges with performance reviews in relation to total rewards and provides strategies and examples for addressing the pitfalls. View the Presentation Serilda Summers-McGee \| CEO and Founder, Workplace Change	Sales Compensation Excellence: 7 High Impact Actions ▾ Well-functioning sales compensation programs boost sales outcomes including revenue, profits, productivity, product success, and market share. However, even minor errors can nullify this powerful pay program. Do you want to contribute to sales compensation success? Learn how you can help your sales compensation stakeholders improve the sales compensation program. We will give you 7 high impact actions beginning with Action Step #1: Assessment and progressing to Action Step #7: Design Leadership. David Cichelli \| Revenue Growth Advisor, Advisors2Sales	Healthcare Benefits: A Different Perspective ▾ In this session, you’ll learn why Compensation & Benefit professionals need to take control of their healthcare benefits, to be bold and to get big. Healthcare benefits continue to be the #1 reason for bankruptcy in the U.S., while the Top 5 health insurance companies tallied $45 billion in profits in 2023. If you treat healthcare as an investment, rather than a cost, you’ll help move some of the carrier’s profits to your bottom line and your employees will thank you. View the Presentation Brent Schlosstein \| Founder and Senior Partner, Alera Group
11:45 AM	Lunch Sponsored by
12:45 PM	Refresh your Rewards Strategy for Today's Employee ▾ Employees today are looking for something different — from their experience at work to the support they get from their employer. Mercer’s Inside Employees’ Minds research shows there has been a significant shift in the mindset around work, driven by the pandemic, global social and political crises over the last few years, and ongoing disruption to business models in many sectors. Only 6 in 10 employees say they’re satisfied with their compensation and benefits as inflation remains high, stocks fall, and tension grows across political and social discourse. But the mindset shift is bigger than a desire for more flexibility or even better pay. In a world where the future is uncertain, employees are focused on their well-being today and the meaning of work in their lives. View the Presentation Tracy Bean \| Partner, Mercer Michelle Corman, Phd \| Senior Principal, Mercer	Pay Compression: Current Challenges and How to Overcome Them ▾ As a concept, pay compression is not new. Compression is the result of numerous issues and typically flares up in times of high economic uncertainty. In this session, you will find the data, professional perspective, and suggestions for actionable ways to help assess and manage pay compression. View the Presentation Lexi Clarke \| Chief People Officer, Payscale Jennifer Ferris \| Principal Solution Consultant, Payscale	Creative Approaches to Retaining Your “Rockstar” Employees Through Compensation & Benefits ▾ In many ways, pay equity laws tie the hands of employers when it comes to providing enhanced pay or benefits to high performers. In this program, Barran Liebman LLP Co-Managing Partner Andrew will lay out the law regarding when and how employers are allowed to pay employees performing work of comparable character differently, and then go into detail about traditional as well as creative approaches to provide supplemental compensation and benefits to high performers without creating risk of pay equity violations. View the Presentation Andrew Schpak\| Co-Managing Partner, Barran Liebman
2:00 PM	Break
2:30 PM	Pay Transparency: A Conversation with AirBnB ▾ Pay transparency presents both challenges and opportunities for organizations. Recent laws have compelled some companies to adopt practices that HR professionals have long advocated - sharing salary information more frequently and accurately. Yet, questions remain: should we disclose more than the minimum required or just meet the legal standards? How do we ready our organization for this level of openness? Airbnb has been in the spotlight for its innovative approaches to pay transparency, offering employees clear insights into base pay, bonus targets, and performance equity awards. Join Cheryl Cylbuski, Sr Manager at Deloitte, as she has a conversation with Nicole Dietrich, Global Compensation Director at Airbnb. They will discuss Airbnb’s approaches to pay transparency, lessons learned, and offer advice for organizations moving in this direction. View the Presentation Nicole Dietrich \| Director, Airbnb Compensation Programs Cheryl Cybulksi \| Sr. Manager, Deloitte Human Capital Consulting	Compensation is Way More than Total Rewards - How to Reset Employee Value as Your Focus ▾ Dan Walter \| First Vice President, Alliant Human Capital (aka FutureSense) This session will provide a look through a different angle of the prism of total rewards. We will challenge attendees to reevaluate the importance of traditional "high priority" pay elements, such as Base Pay, Bonuses and LTI. Refocusing the lens on strategy and the whole employee will give total rewards professionals new ways to gain consensus, attract better talent, and establish a higher level of understanding throughout their companies. View the Presentation	How to Solve the Human Side of Parental Leave by Leveraging Internal and External Data ▾ Total Rewards professionals are uniquely positioned to leverage parental leave data to shape organizational practices. In this interactive session, we’ll share new research and teach you how to combine internal and external data to create a compelling case for change within your organization. Next, we will do a deep dive into the Parental Leave Transition Assessment (PLTA), equipping you with a practical assessment tool to pinpoint where your organization's parental leave policies, manager support practices, and employee experience are excelling or falling short. With anonymous case studies, you will work in small groups to analyze real datasets, identifying actionable areas for improvement. The session will culminate in a group discussion of data-driven solutions, including how to apply manager and employee coaching models, touchpoints, offboarding and onboarding checklists and more to improve your organization’s leave and return process. You will be armed with strategies to leverage leave data as a competitive edge in your talent management. View the Presentation Sponsored by Dr. Amy Beacom \| Founder and CEO, Center for Parental Leave Leadership
3:45 PM	Break
4:00 PM	Closing Keynote Address ▾ Check back soon for more information on this session. Scott Cawood \| President & CEO, WorldatWork
4:45 PM	Closing Remarks
5:00 PM	Networking Reception

Schedule subject to change.

Attend Rewards NW and Get HCRI Credits

Rewards NW Conference attendance qualifies you for re-certification credit for the Certified Compensation Professional® (CCP®), Certified Benefits Professional® (CBP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP®), Work-Life Certified Professional® (WLCP®), Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP)®, Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP)® and Advanced Certified Compensation Professional (ACCP)™ designations granted by WorldatWork. For more information on rec-certification, visit the WorldatWork recertification webpage.