WorldatWork Total Rewards ‘23, which took place from June 12-14 in San Diego, put workplace equity center stage with multiple sessions on pay equity, pay transparency, and opportunity equity. The Syndio team was thrilled to share valuable insights and network with all of the committed Total Rewards professionals who came to learn about the latest best practices for creating an equitable workplace.
Below we share our favorite workplace equity moments and takeaways from WorldatWork Rewards Total Rewards ‘23.
Keynote recap | Total Rewards and the Dawn of the CHFO: How to Use Hard Data to Harness the ROI of Workplace Equity
To elevate their seat at the executive table, CHROs need access to hard metrics with the same level of rigor as those leveraged by CFOs. That was the driving theme behind this keynote discussion between Scott Cawood, CEO of WorldatWork; Maria Colacurcio, CEO of Syndio; Christina Hall, CHRO of Instacart; and Danielle Moss, Head of Global Total Rewards at Ralph Lauren. Additionally, because Total Rewards leaders are entrenched in their organization’s people data, they are strongly positioned to be strategic partners to their CHRO.
Metrics are the difference maker in moving the CHRO from being listed in the appendix of board decks to being at the top of the agenda for board meetings. Maria presented five key metrics that CHROs need to have access to — at their fingertips and updated in real-time:
- Representation
- Promotion
- Attrition
- Pay equity / pay gap
- Benchmarking
Session recap | List It AND Love It! Using Pay Transparency to Retain Employees
It was standing room only for folks joining this session with Tamara Gordon, Head of Global Total Rewards Programs & Process at PVH, and Nancy Romanyshyn, Senior Director, Total Rewards Strategy and Solutions at Syndio. Tamara and Nancy shared the new realities of pay transparency and employee expectations, and then provided attendees an opportunity to work on their pay transparency strategies.
Attendees were given a worksheet of Workplace Equity Analytics and Pay Transparency Communications guidance and worked in teams to share their current practices, what they were working on, and what they had on their pay transparency road maps. The session closed with Tamara sharing her advice for the pay transparency journey.
Session recap | What’s Next? The Next Wave of Workplace Equity and Transparency
Attendees were eager to hear Christine Hendrickson, Syndio’s VP of Strategic Initiatives, share her wealth of knowledge about the vast amount of changes to public reporting and compensation management which the EU Directive on Equal Pay and Transparency will bring. She and Nancy Romanyshyn highlighted some of the key implications, including:
- The new definition of equal pay for work of equal value;
- The requirement for career transparency in addition to pay transparency;
- The new level of right to information for employees.
While the EU Directive won’t be enforced until 2026, there is little time to prepare for the long laundry list of actions Christine outlined for attendees. That’s why she and Nancy announced that Syndio is creating an Accountability Partner program. Companies can sign up with Syndio to be connected with a group of like-minded employers so you can collectively prepare for the directive. Participating companies will be provided with quarterly checklists you can follow to ensure you are prioritizing activities and making progress. Syndio can also help simplify global pay reporting.
Session recap | Spill the Tea: Up Close and Personal with Equity Icons
Tamara Gordon, Head of Global Total Rewards Programs & Process at PVH, was joined by Athar Siddiqee, Vice President of Total Rewards at Micron Technology; Kim Wicker, Head of Executive Compensation at American Airlines; and Hem Patel, Vice President of Total Rewards at Moderna. The group had an intimate discussion of their experiences in pay equity, such as how to activate leaders, how to prepare for analyses, and how pay equity can be used to help with pay transparency.
Building on the buzz from WorldatWork Total Rewards ’23: Next steps
So many sessions at Total Rewards ‘23 focused on the changes pay transparency is bringing to Total Rewards. ‘Pay explainability’ was on everyone’s minds as attendees discussed innovative ways of ensuring internal pay equity, competitiveness with the market, and the ability to communicate why they pay what they pay.
The Syndio team loved the buzz around workplace equity at Total Rewards ‘23. We had a long line at our booth for Workplace Equity Tour swag — and the conversations we had at our booth, in the hallways, during our Sunday social dinner, and at our San Diego Padres event were lively, inspiring, and thought-provoking.
As always, the Syndio team is standing by to help you turn inspiration into action. Our leading Workplace Equity Analytics Platform combined with our team of experts can help your organization take the next step towards meaningful progress. Let’s talk!
