About the Conference

Communication must do more than ever before.  It must grab attention and create a sense of pride and belonging: it must inspire, not simply inform!  Join us to learn how industry leaders have transformed their benefits and compensation communications to improve program performance and employee engagement and retention. Walk away insights to help reimagine your Total Rewards Communications to better serve the organization and team.

Top Speakers include:

• Elizabeth Carley, Head of Corporate Services Compensation, Johnson & Johnson
• Robert Centonze, Vice President, Total Rewards, Campbell Soup Company
• Heidi Gerhard, Director, Leadership, Organizational Capability & Culture, BASF
• Lori Glawe, Vice President, Total Rewards, Eastman Chemical Company
• Ivory Harris, VP, People Services – US, BASF
• Melissa Kaplan, Director, Executive and Incentive Compensation, Discover 
• Karen Lisi, Vice President, Benefits, Memorial Sloan Kettering
• Jodi Newton, Senior Compensation Director, Nordstrom Inc.
• Mary Ann Pence, Sr. Director, Benefits, Wellbeing & Recognition, Freddie Mac
• Erik Sossa, Vice President, Global Benefits & Wellness, PepsiCo, Inc.
• Justin Sun, Global Compensation Program Manager, Expedia Group
• Bill Tompkins, Senior Vice President, Total Rewards, Nordstrom Inc.
• Marina Vassilev, Director, NA HR Compensation, Executive HR & Mobility, BASF

Topics to be discussed include:

• Communication for Greater Impact: Selling the Ultimate Employee Experience
• Daring to be Different: Why Playing it Safe in Communications Isn’t Safe at All
• Customizing Communication: One-Size Does NOT Fit All
• Leveraging Communication to Improve Employee Well-Being Across the Organization
• Varied Voices: Connecting to the Employee as a Consumer
• Talking About Pay Equity, Pay Parity, Pay Transparency…
• Conversations That Matter: Coaching Managers to Listen and Deliver Complex Messages
• Role of Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Communicating Compensation and Benefits
• Retirement Readiness: Messaging from Early Career to Retirement

Who Should Attend 

This conference is designed especially for Vice Presidents, Directors, and Managers of: 

• ­Total Rewards: Compensation and Benefits
• Health and Wellness
• Benefits, HR & Employee Communications
• Corporate Communications
• Employee Engagement
• Digital Communications
• Compensation
• Talent Acquisition 

Earn Recertification Credits

This program is eligible for 11 CEBS credits

Three Things to Do Now 

1. Download the Agenda

For a detailed look at the sessions and speakers, download the agenda. 

2. Register Now 

Register before November 30, 2019 and Save $400.  Register here.

3. Get Involved!

If you would like to get involved in this year’s conference, please contact us.

• Speaking Opportunities: lisa.hunter@conferenceboard.org
• Sponsorship Opportunities: michael.felden@conferenceboard.org
• Marketing Partnerships: allison.nilsen@conferenceboard.org

Day One | Wednesday, February 12, 2019

8:00 – 8:45 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45 – 9:00 am

Welcome and Opening Day 1

Lisa Hunter, Program Director, The Conference Board

9:00 – 10:00 am

Communication for Greater Impact: Selling the Ultimate Employee Experience

It’s no secret — competition for top talent has reached a fever pitch. Companies are scrambling to offer “the next big thing” in an all-out effort to attract (and retain) the best and the brightest. Communication is central to this quest and must do more than ever before. It must grab attention and create a sense of pride and belonging. It must inspire, not just inform. In short, it must market your culture and weave pay and benefits into a story that captures the heart and imagination of your workforce.

Our speaker will help us reimagine ourselves as advertisers rather than HR communicators. This will be a dynamic, interactive experience loaded with samples and examples. She will inspire you to tell your brand story in bold, out-of-the-box ways that create the ultimate employee experience.

Laurie Korinek, Partner & Creative Director, PartnerComm

10:00 – 10:45 am

Using Technology and Data-Driven Personalization to Improve Engagement and Change Behavior

Learn how The Hartford is using technology and data to personalize the benefit and well-being employee experience, reduce barriers to engagement, change consumer behavior, and deliver outcomes.

Judy Gordon, Wellness Director, The Hartford

Erin Ridge, SVP Total Rewards & HR Operations, The Hartford

10:45 – 11:15 am
Networking Break

11:15 am – 12:00 pm

Developing the Road Map to Change: Coordinated and Cohesive Communications Campaigns

Effectively communicating about benefits/rewards means leaving yesterday behind and embracing the change happening in approaches to address workforce expectations. In this session our speaker will share AECOM’s approach to developing well thought-out communications that capture attention and deliver meaningful messages to improve results.

Bernie Knobbe, Head of Global Benefits Corporate VP, Total Rewards, AECOM

12 – 1 pm
Lunch – Discussion Tables

1:00 – 1:45 pm

BASF’s Chemistry of Compensation: Driving Employee Engagement with Communications

Rewards are one of the six key elements of BASF’s employee engagement model.  Compensation, as a critical component of rewards, is best communicated by managers who have the tools and knowledge to provide transparency around compensation decisions and integrate the compensation conversation with a forward-looking performance and development discussion.  Managers play an important role in communicating total rewards and increasing employee engagement. Our speakers will introduce the BASF employee engagement model and the brand alignment of their Chemistry of Compensation communication training for managers, including the principles behind it.

Ivory Harris, VP, People Services – US, BASF

Heidi Gerhard, Director, Leadership, Organizational Capability & Culture, BASF

Marina Vassilev, Director, NA HR Compensation, Executive HR & Mobility, BASF

1:45 – 2:30 pm

Pay Equity, Pay Parity, Pay Transparency…

These can be complicated and emotional topics, easily misunderstood. Our speakers will address how Nordstrom’s tackles these important topics as part of their culture. They will share how they built a common understanding of pay equity and pay parity, how they delivered the results of their analyses and the tools they used to communicate

Jodi Newton, Sr. Compensation Director, Nordstrom

2:30 – 3:00 pm
Networking Break

3:00 – 3:30 pm

Retirement Readiness: Messaging from Early Career through Retirement

Research demonstrates employees at every point in their career make choices that impact their ultimate readiness for retirement. Our speakers will share the importance of understanding what else employees (and their families) are thinking about. They will share how they are using different communication techniques to improve understanding, participation and experience at key points in the employee life cycle.

Dan Scheinkman, Vice President, Compensation, Benefits, and Well-Being, Freddie Mac

Mary Ann Pence, Sr. Director, Benefits, Wellbeing & Recognition, Freddie Mac

3:30 – 4:30 pm

Varied Voices: Customizing Your Programs and Employee Experience

Customization can create a competitive advantage, improve engagement and provide employees access to a range of solutions that help address unique challenges.  

This panel demonstrates the power of working with diverse input to customize programs and communications. The session features a discussion of how insight from employee resource groups and other employee feedback helped these organizations identify needs within their populations and the creative approaches they have taken.

Panelists include:

Ernest Adams, Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Danaher

Gina Bartasi, CEO/Founder, Kindbody 

Meghan Britt, Vice President Corporate Communications, Danaher

4:30 – 5:15 pm

Managing the Message: Communicating Across “Audiences”

In this session panelists will highlight different approaches to communicating about compensation and benefits. Panelists will share the importance of applying fundamental techniques with finesse. They will discuss a range of situations and techniques that worked for them in:

• Introducing and refreshing programs and plan changes in stable  and early stage organizations
• Addressing employees in divestitures

Panelists include:

Robert Centonze, Vice President, Total Rewards, Campbell Soup Company

 Lori Glawe, Vice President, Total Rewards, Eastman Chemical

Janet Hunt, Vice President, Total Rewards, Vulcan

Sandy Digilio, (formerly) Vice President, Total Rewards, Dosist

5:15 pm
Day 1 Wrap-up

5:15 – 6:15 pm
Networking Reception

Day Two | Thursday, February 13, 2019

8:00 – 8:45 am
Continental Breakfast & Networking

8:45 – 9:00 am
Day 2 – Kick-off

Lisa Hunter, Program Director, The Conference Board

9:00 – 10:00 am

Why Playing it Safe in Communication Isn’t Safe at All

Communication isn’t often thought of as a risk-taking career choice — certainly not in the same league as spy, acrobat or storm chaser. Sure, there’s no imminent danger (other than those surprisingly painful paper cuts). But good communicators are often faced with difficult choices. Do I step outside the “safe” comfort zone and rock the status quo for a new idea that sounds great in theory but may fall flat? Should I push for different/better when good enough is working pretty well? Is the benefit really worth the risk?

Our presenters will discuss why each took a leap of faith and the resulting big wins for their organizations. They will look closely at how to assess and recognize great ideas and when to make the right move for the right reason. The session will highlight samples of the “big wins” and the groundbreaking projects these communication mavericks have in the works for 2020. For them, there’s nothing riskier than playing it too safe.

Sharon Brumer, Senior Consultant, PartnerComm

Laurie Korinek, Partner & Creative Director, PartnerComm

Karen Lisi, Vice President, Benefits, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

10:00 – 10:30 am

Student Loan Employee Benefits for the Forward-Thinking Employer

Financial well-being and educational debt have become a significant financial pain point for the modern workforce.  As a result, employees are looking to their employers for resources as they manage the cost of their loans.  In this session, speakers will share selected benefit options and the impact each have on recruiting and retaining top talent.  They will also share insight on how employers are not simply providing benefits, but the importance of tools to help build employee understanding as they navigate their choices.  

Alex Macielak, Senior Manager, Business Development, Laurel Road

Derek Peth, SVP, Business Development, Laurel Road

10:30 – 10:45 am
Networking Break

10:45 – 11:15 am

Leveraging Communication to Improve Employee Well-being Across the Organization

Using communication to support holistic culture of wellness across positions, generations and needs of front-line workers.

Panelists:

Dr. Nicole Hare-Everline, Benefits Director, City of Houston

Andrew Edeburn, Director of Customer Insights, Jellyvision

11:15 – 11:45 am

Conversations that Matter – Coaching Your Team Deliver Complex Messages

Panelists include:

Robert Centonze, Vice President, Total Rewards, Campbell Soup Company

Justin Sun,Global Compensation Program Manager, Expedia Group

11:45 am – 12:15pm

Let’s Talk About It: How Companies are Addressing Emotional Well-being, Mental Health and the Opioid Crisis

Panelists include:

Judy Gordon, Wellness Director, The Hartford

Erik A. Sossa, VP Global Benefits & Wellness, PepsiCo

12:15 – 1:00pm

Special Topics/Special Communications

What do executive compensation and recognition have in common? Perhaps more than you think…

• Executive Compensation – Internal and external messages; New ways to deliver messages to executives, shareholders and other “interested parties”
  

  Matt Wolfson, Head of Compensation Strategy, Discover

• Recognition – Refreshing recognition programs with a new approach to communication and global launch.
  

  Liz Carley, Head of Compensation Services, Johnson & Johnson

1:00 pm

Day 2 Wrap-up

Lisa Hunter, Program Director, The Conference Board