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The future is now: Transform with total rewards

We are in the midst of a workplace revolution, especially within the rewards sector. To keep up with a constantly evolving environment and accelerate towards the future, it is critical for organizations to understand how the dynamics of work have changed, and how that impacts: rewards, talent attraction and retention, remote working, re-skilling and up-skilling, and other workforce-related challenges.
 

Over the two days, Mercer’s 2022 European Rewards Conference helped people to embrace the new realities that will define the future of rewards. For those that attended our annual event, we hope you had the chance to learn, network and be inspired to create a brighter future for your organization.

What our delegates enjoyed about the conference:

Renowned speakers: Hearing from HR Leaders in top organizations in Europe as they share their expertise and insights along with Mercer consultants and advising how they approach challenges faced by Rewards professionals such as retention and acquisition of talent.

Constructive networking: Connecting with like-minded peers and experts through networking games and getting plenty of opportunities to socialize during the event or at the welcome reception or gala dinner.

Unparalleled information: Learning from our latest research and understanding how inflation and the geopolitical situation are impacting rewards and what innovative strategies your peers have put into place to deal with these challenges.

Speakers included:

 

 


 


 






 

 

The event took place at the InterContinental Hotel in Athens, Greece on the 13 – 14 October 2022.


This event included participation in the plenary and breakout sessions, networking activities, access to content and presentation materials as well as lunches and an evening networking event.

Agenda

Wednesday, 12 October 2022

      6:00 pm   |   Welcome drinks reception

DAY 1  | Thursday, 13 October 2022

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  • 9:30 am – 10:15 am  |   Keynote: Crisis and its consequences in 2022: Geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges

    Amelia Hadfield
    Head of Department of Politics, University of Surrey, Director, Centre for Britain and Europe, Chair in European and International Relations

    2022 has been a year like no other. In the face of key political upheavals and financial volatilities, Professor Hadfield explores three key areas: the ongoing impacts of adjusting to post-COVID effects, the increasingly intense impact of the war in Ukraine and the future of European governance. COVID-19’s shift from pandemic to endemic has resulted in both business-as-usual and radical responses from businesses — some successful, others not. These changes have been complicated by the collapse of key supply chains and rocketing unit prices triggered by the war in Ukraine, prompting businesses to consider whether to domesticate or merely future-proof the basic mechanics of supply and demand. Europe’s response, in terms of government, security and defence, is a key predictor of evolving Western relations with Russia, while the UK continues to consolidate its new post-Brexit identity.

  • 10:15 am – 10:30 am  |   Spotlight on the National Bank of Greece

    Evi Hatzioannou 
    Chief HR Officer, National Bank of Greece

      10:30 am – 11:00 am |   Networking break
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  • 11:00 am – 11:45 am  |   Rethinking total rewards and the future of work

    Join Chetna and Alejandro show how the 3Cs of total rewards contribute to SAP’s cloud transformation and Future of Work agenda. They say it takes two to tango but it takes compensation, culture, and career growth (3Cs) to drive business transformation, a cultural shift and a holistic talent experience. 

    Alejandro Aichele
    Head of Total Rewards Market Intelligence, SAP

    Chetna Singh
    SVP, Global Head Total Rewards, SAP

  • 11:45 am – 12:30 pm  |   The impact of reward in divestments

    John Beadle
    Global Head of Performance & Reward, ABB
    Thomas Bouchez 
    Partner - Europe M&A and Org Transformation Advisory Services Leader, Mercer

    Divestiture and other separation projects are complex in nature. Often with uncertainty about the future, an organization needs to manage the separation or sale process while considering the future state of the organization, ensuring business continuity and managing day-to-day operations. John Beadle will share his experience and lessons learned around the global separation of Power Grids (with approximately 40,000 employees in 70 countries) from ABB and other related transactions. Thomas Bouchez will bring another perspective from another large global separation where a more fundamental redesign of the reward strategy was conducted in parallel with rewards separation.

      12:30 pm – 1:30 pm  |   Lunch
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  • 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm   |   Breakout sessions

    Breakout 1 - Immovable objects and irresistible forces
    The forces affecting reward design seem to change ever faster, and reward frameworks are under constant pressure to adjust to new norms. Currently, talent shortages, the new shape of work, cost inflation, sustainability/DEI, and political and economic uncertainty are all affecting how organisations are rethinking reward programmes. Join Patrick Gutmann and David Wreford as they explore these irresistible forces, review the evidence supporting their continued impact and discuss cases that reflect how organisations are adapting their programmes to become more resilient against these constantly evolving influences.

    Speaker - David Wreford, Senior Reward Consultant, Mercer
    Patrick Gutmann, European Leader Industries and Networking, Career, Mercer

    Breakout 2 - Executive remuneration in times of uncertainty
    The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a reminder that the increasingly standardised variable pay arrangements operated by European companies are not always robust enough to deal with volatility caused by extreme external events. 2022/23 has bought further challenges, with a severe talent squeeze, very high levels of inflation in mature markets and a potential global recession. In this context, how can European companies operate incentives that will retain and motivate talent in a seemingly more volatile world while still getting investor approval for their executive rewards?

    Speaker- Peter Boreham, UK & European Practice Leader (Executive Reward), Mercer

    Breakout 3 - Pay Equity
    Now, more than ever, gender and racial pay equity has become a critical priority for C-suite and HR leaders, requiring that organisations take a more active and strategic role to ensure equity in their workforces. The pressure on organisations to report on pay equity has grown substantially — from increased risk of legal exposure to new disclosure pressures from governments, the EU, activist investors, peer organisations and employees. Moreover, our research shows disciplined management of pay equity is a foundation for an effective diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.

    Speaker- Lea Lonsted, HR Transformation, Pay Equity Leader, Europe and UK, Mercer

    Breakout 4 - Mobility/remote working 
    The world of work has transformed dramatically over the past few years. Changes in how people work and where they carry out tasks have significantly impacted companies’ location and people mobility strategies. Join Yvonne Traber during this session to gain insights into the working conditions and rules that leading companies have adopted to guide their approach to mobility and remote working.

    Speakers

    Michael Grover, Principal, Mercer 

    Yvonne Traber, Partner, Europe Mobility Practice Leader, Mercer

    Breakout 5 - The world is changing; so should pay strategies
    We all hear about the importance of upskilling and reskilling, together with the challenge of retaining critical skills in organisations. In fact, reskilling ranked as the top workforce agenda item for executives in 2022 in Mercer’s Global Talent Trends 2022 Study. This session addresses the skills-based practices that are quickly emerging in the changing global landscape as a necessity for staying competitive in the war for skills and talent. Hear about innovative ways to link skills to HR processes, how to factor skills data into reward strategies and how to use skills data to distribute salary budgets.

    Speaker- John Langenuis, Associate Consultant, Career, Mercer
    Paul Habgood, Career, Mercer

    Breakout 6 - HR digital transformation and the rewards function
    This session is a great opportunity to understand why it is so important for the rewards function to digitalise and what key elements to keep in mind to ensure a successful digital transformation. We cover these topics from two angles: the rewards professional’s point of view, brought by Nicolas Beaujard from Ceva Animal Healthcare, and the adviser’s opinion, shared by Eric Chuet from Mercer.

    Speaker- Eric Chuet, Head of Digital Solutions, Mercer
    Nicolas Beaujard, C&B, HRIS, HR performance & International Mobility Group Director, Ceva Animal Healthcare

    Breakout 7- Demystifying total rewards in emerging markets
    In this session, we discuss reward trends in Asia and Latin America. We compare and contrast trends across such areas as salary increases, attrition rates, hiring trends, and short- and long-term incentives and discuss strategies for organisations to manage rewards in these markets.

    Speaker- Puneet Swani, Career Business Leader - International Region, Mercer
    Javier Tabakman, Career, Mercer
      2:30 pm – 2:35 pm   |   Break
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  • 2:35 pm – 3:20 pm   |   Implementing a skills based reward model in the fintech industry

    Ieva Polakovska
    Head of Compensation & Benefits, Klarna

    Hear the story of Klarna, a business that has moved away from a traditional hierarchical organisation to the equivalent of more than 1,000 start-up companies while implementing a compensation model based on skills. In this session, learn how Klarna is focusing on individual skill sets instead of roles and positions and how doing so can promote agility in organisations.

      3:20 pm – 3:45 pm   |   Networking break
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  • 3:45 pm – 4:30 pm   |   Evolution of rewards at Iveco Group

    Robert Gerdes
    Global Head of Rewards and Mobility, Iveco Group

    Iveco Group, a newly created manufacturing company, is undergoing a transformation. Rob Gerdes will share a broad overview of its transformation journey, providing relevant examples of how the Rewards team has also transformed to meet the needs of the business and changing work patterns, along with some lessons learned along the way.

  • 4:30 pm – 5:15 pm   |   Linking executive incentives to environmental and social objectives

    Peter Boreham
    UK & European Practice Leader (Executive Reward), Mercer

    Graham Kavanagh
    Global Head of Rewards and Mobility, Carlsberg Group

    Andrew Pilbeam
    VP, Head of Total Rewards, Ericsson

    Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become increasingly important for companies and their investors and employees, along with regulators and governments. Most leading companies now include ESG objectives in their executive incentive plans. In this session, two world-class companies, from the consumer and B2B spaces, respectively, share how they have determined their ESG strategies and translated them into their incentive plans. The session also covers wider market trends and the evolving views of governance professionals and considers what the future might hold as the approach of business towards ESG evolves and matures.

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      Evening    |   Networking event

DAY 2  | Friday, 14 October 2022

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  • 9:10 am – 9:55 am  |   Keynote - Work without jobs: how to reboot your work operating system

    Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA
    Global Leader, Transformation Services, Mercer

    The future of work demands that organizations address the following reality: their work and workforces need to be perpetually reinvented as they are continually being rendered obsolete by automation and the democratization of work. Navigating this new reality requires a new work operating system that frees work and workers from the traditional boundaries of work embedded in jobs and job holders.

    In this session, Ravin Jesuthasan will explore the fundamental and structural changes affecting work. He will:

    • Discuss why the job is no longer the optimal organizing construct for work.
    • Share details on what a new work operating system might look like and its implications for rewards.
    • Provide case studies and examples to illustrate the art of the possible.
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  • 9:55 am – 10:40 am  |  The total in total rewards – enhancing the employee experience

    Melissa Maguire
    Head of Compensation, Ericsson

    Andrew Pilbeam
    VP, Head of Total Rewards, Ericsson

    Hear how Ericsson has developed its total reward offering over the past four years to support a rapidly changing business environment while ensuring employee experiences, engagement and motivation are improving. In this session, Ericsson will share how it has repositioned its offering and is building an increasingly experience-focused reward framework in the areas of recognition, well-being, pensions, benefits and flexible working.

      10:40 am – 11:00 am  |   Networking break
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  • 11:00 – 12:00 pm   |   Breakout sessions

    Breakout 1 - Immovable objects and irresistible forces
    The forces affecting reward design seem to change ever faster, and reward frameworks are under constant pressure to adjust to new norms. Currently, talent shortages, the new shape of work, cost inflation, sustainability/DEI, and political and economic uncertainty are all affecting how organisations are rethinking reward programmes. Join Patrick Gutmann and David Wreford as they explore these irresistible forces, review the evidence supporting their continued impact and discuss cases that reflect how organisations are adapting their programmes to become more resilient against these constantly evolving influences.

    Speaker - David Wreford, Senior Reward Consultant, Mercer
    Patrick Gutmann, European Leader Industries and Networking, Career, Mercer

    Breakout 2 - Executive remuneration in times of uncertainty
    The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a reminder that the increasingly standardised variable pay arrangements operated by European companies are not always robust enough to deal with volatility caused by extreme external events. 2022/23 has bought further challenges, with a severe talent squeeze, very high levels of inflation in mature markets and a potential global recession. In this context, how can European companies operate incentives that will retain and motivate talent in a seemingly more volatile world while still getting investor approval for their executive rewards?

    Speaker- Peter Boreham, UK & European Practice Leader (Executive Reward), Mercer

    Breakout 3 - Pay Equity
    Now, more than ever, gender and racial pay equity has become a critical priority for C-suite and HR leaders, requiring that organisations take a more active and strategic role to ensure equity in their workforces. The pressure on organisations to report on pay equity has grown substantially — from increased risk of legal exposure to new disclosure pressures from governments, the EU, activist investors, peer organisations and employees. Moreover, our research shows disciplined management of pay equity is a foundation for an effective diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.

    Speaker- Lea Lonsted, HR Transformation, Pay Equity Leader, Europe and UK, Mercer

    Breakout 4 - Mobility/remote working 
    The world of work has transformed dramatically over the past few years. Changes in how people work and where they carry out tasks have significantly impacted companies’ location and people mobility strategies. Join Yvonne Traber during this session to gain insights into the working conditions and rules that leading companies have adopted to guide their approach to mobility and remote working.

    SpeakersMichael Grover, Principal, Mercer 

    Yvonne Traber, Partner, Europe Mobility Practice Leader, Mercer

    Breakout 5 - The world is changing; so should pay strategies
    We all hear about the importance of upskilling and reskilling, together with the challenge of retaining critical skills in organisations. In fact, reskilling ranked as the top workforce agenda item for executives in 2022 in Mercer’s Global Talent Trends 2022 Study. This session addresses the skills-based practices that are quickly emerging in the changing global landscape as a necessity for staying competitive in the war for skills and talent. Hear about innovative ways to link skills to HR processes, how to factor skills data into reward strategies and how to use skills data to distribute salary budgets.

    Speaker- John Langenuis, Associate Consultant, Career, Mercer
    Paul Habgood, Career, Mercer

    Breakout 6 - HR digital transformation and the rewards function
    This session is a great opportunity to understand why it is so important for the rewards function to digitalise and what key elements to keep in mind to ensure a successful digital transformation. We cover these topics from two angles: the rewards professional’s point of view, brought by Nicolas Beaujard from Ceva Animal Healthcare, and the adviser’s opinion, shared by Eric Chuet from Mercer.

    Speaker- Eric Chuet, Head of Digital Solutions, Mercer
    Nicolas Beaujard, C&B, HRIS, HR performance & International Mobility Group Director, Ceva Animal Healthcare

    Breakout 7- Demystifying total rewards in emerging markets
    In this session, we discuss reward trends in Asia and Latin America. We compare and contrast trends across such areas as salary increases, attrition rates, hiring trends, and short- and long-term incentives and discuss strategies for organisations to manage rewards in these markets.

    Speaker- Puneet Swani, Career Business Leader - International Region, Mercer
    Javier Tabakman, Career, Mercer
      12:00 pm – 12:05 pm   |   Break
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  • 12:05 pm – 12:50 pm   |    Living Wage - Achieving success in the right way

    Ronan Maher
    SVP People & Organizational Performance, Yara International
    David Smeets
    Senior Manager Global Total Rewards, Yara International

    How can a global company ensure it pays its employees decent and sufficient wages? Not only the minimum wages but living wages that enable employees to participate fully in society? It’s more complicated than you might think, but Yara is taking action. Paying a living wage is vital for Yara to meet its goals of providing decent work and reducing inequality. For Yara, success can only be celebrated when it’s achieved in the right way. Join Ronan Maher and David Smeets in this session to explore how Yara is taking action.

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      1:00 pm – 2:00 pm   |   Lunch

Keynote speaker

Amelia Hadfield

Head of Department of Politics, University of Surrey
Director, Centre for Britain and Europe
Chair in European and International Relations
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    Amelia joined the University of Surrey in January 2019 as Head of the Department of Politics and Chair in European and International Affairs. From 2013 to 2018, she worked as Director of the Centre for European Studies (CEFEUS), a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Canterbury Christ Church University, following positions in Brussels at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and the Institute for European Studies, where she directed the Euromaster degree and Educational Development (EDU). Amelia is a longstanding Jean Monnet Chair in European Foreign Affairs, which has allowed her to successfully obtain Erasmus+ funding for the University of Surrey’s Centre for Britain and Europe (based in the Department of Politics), establishing it in 2020 as a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.

    Amelia’s research, teaching, consulting and postgraduate supervisory activities cover a wide range of EU foreign and security policy, along with new forms of EU–UK relations. These include common foreign and security policy, common security and defence policy, EU–US and EU–Canada relations, EU–Russia relations, EU neighbourhood policy, EU development policy (with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa) and Arctic and Northern governance issues. Additional areas of interest include foreign policy analysis, international and diplomatic history, the role of sovereignty in political history, international relations theory, international political economy, public policy analysis, the Commonwealth, and EU education policy.

     

    Amelia is regularly called upon as a guest speaker, external supervisor, research partner, consultant and media pundit in the areas of EU foreign affairs and, most recently, EU–UK relations. In January 2021, Amelia was appointed Dean International of the University of Surrey, leading the International Engagement Office in supporting the strategic goals of the university on partnership with other universities and networks worldwide, enhanced cutting-edge research cooperation, and staff/student mobility.

     

Guest speakers

Alejandro Aichele

Head of Total Rewards Market Intelligence, SAP
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    Alejandro is a seasoned international leader with 20 years of experience in various leadership roles in HR and Finance. In his view, the powerful combination of data, people and technology can solve difficult problems and deliver innovative solutions to make visions a reality. Prior to leading SAP’s Total Rewards Market Intelligence function, Alejandro was responsible for different areas focusing on strategy development, portfolio planning and operating models. He has extensive experience in leading and developing shared services organizations, with a focus on operational excellence and scope expansion.

John Beadle

Global Head of Performance and Reward, ABB
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    John is Global Head of Performance and Reward at ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB), located in Zurich. ABB is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation specialising in robotics, electrical and automation technology.

    John’s portfolio includes board and executive rewards, employee rewardss (for example, grading, variable pay, share-incentive planning), benefits, international mobility and HR M&A.

    He has more than 20 years of experience in rewards and human resource management in the financial, consumer goods, information technology and pharmaceutical industries. He has held a wide variety of international HR roles for GSK, HSBC, IBM, Reckitt Benckiser, Rio Tinto and Standard Chartered Bank.

Nicolas Beaujard

Director, Compensation and Benefits, HRIS, HR Performance and International Mobility Group, Ceva Animal Healthcare
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    Nicolas is the Group Compensation and Benefits (C&B) Director of Ceva Animal Healthcare. His responsibilities include oversight of HR performance management and the International Mobility and HRIS divisions.

    Nicolas joined Ceva in 2018. Previously, he held several positions as a C&B and HR business partner in international companies, including Alstom and Amcor.

    Nicolas holds an engineering degree and an MBA/Master of Science in international HR.

     

Robert Gerdes

Global Head of Rewards and Mobility, Iveco Group