Workshop Topics

We have 14 workshop choices for you this year including total rewards strategy, healthcare, wellbeing, retirement, regulatory compliance, leave and disability, employee engagement and professional development

Something for everyone on the benefits team!

 

Strategy

How Mega Trends Influence Total Rewards Strategy

Trade, climate, technology, and workforce shifts are rewriting the rules of total rewards. Through practical examples, leaders will gain insights into how to navigate these megatrends, rebalance their total rewards investments, and build future-ready talent strategies. You'll leave with actionable ideas to elevate the employee experience, strengthen workforce resilience, and unlock business performance in a rapidly changing environment. Facilitated by: Aon

 

Global Benefits

Global Benefits Management and Strategy

This session will address benefits strategy and priorities from a global perspective, including current operational challenges, compliance and risk management issues, and innovation, technology and evolution in the global space. We’ll also share the results of the CEB–Milliman Global Benefits Trends Survey conducted in late 2025. Facilitated by: Milliman

 

Healthcare

Rising Healthcare Costs: Managing Affordability and Member Experience

Medical and pharmacy costs are increasing at alarmingly high rates, meanwhile, many companies are faced with broader economic pressures. HR and benefits teams are challenged with mitigating health care cost increases and keeping coverage affordable for employees, while not compromising the employee experience. There is still little appetite for significant employee disruption. While these challenges represent dichotomies, there are some compelling solutions that have emerged that can mitigate costs in a sustainable way while making coverage more predictable and affordable for employees. Join us to hear about alternative health plans, variable co-pay plans and other noteworthy models that can channel to higher performing, more efficient providers. We’ll walk through case studies including financial results, comment on quality profiling, and facilitate robust conversation around your experience in assessing or implementing options such as Surest, Coupe, Garner, carrier tiered co-pay models and the like. Facilitated by: Mercer

Cancer Care and High-Cost Claimants: Can We Make an Impact?

Employers are increasingly facing challenges in managing their healthcare benefits, as rising costs and complex clinical needs continue to strain resources. They’re also looking for a refreshed strategy to achieve impact with more focused clinical and analytical strategies that balance the needs of their workforce with the financial sustainability of their benefits programs. As a result, organizations are seeking innovative approaches to improve predictability, optimize their healthcare investments, achieve patient outcomes and enhance the overall wellbeing of their employees. This session will cover an in-depth examination of how to optimize your healthcare analytics and implement an impactful clinical strategy, with a focus on cancer. Facilitated by: WTW

Pharmacy Roundtable

Disruption in the Rx space continues with no signs of slowing down and Rx trends remain elevated, driven by more than just cardiometabolic conditions. Join this educational, choose-your-adventure-style session to stay up to speed on Rx macro trends and how employers can navigate the dynamic environment that is pharmacy benefits. Facilitated by: Mercer

 

Wellbeing

Wellbeing in a Dynamic Business Environment

The current, dynamic business environment is forcing organizations to heighten their actions on disruptive changes to effectively manage cost pressures. In a world of constant change, wellbeing is essential, not optional. This session explores how to amplify your wellbeing strategy beyond the basics using culture as a catalyst and putting innovation into action. Facilitated by: WTW and Brown & Brown

Personalized Benefits for the Multi-Generational Workforce

One-size-fits-all benefits are a thing of the past. Employees expect customizable packages that cater to their unique circumstances and life stages. This session will address how employers can offer personalized, flexible benefits for the multigenerational workforce without significantly increasing organizational costs. Facilitated by: Aon

Mental Health: A Business Imperative You Can’t Ignore

Employee mental health is no longer just a challenge—it’s a critical business priority and a key to attracting and retaining talent. With rising stress, burnout, and limited access to quality care, organizations are grappling with the profound impact mental health has on culture, productivity, and overall wellbeing. We’ll discuss how employers can move beyond traditional approaches to create meaningful, sustainable mental health support for their workforce. And how employers can thrive by considering factors such as leadership, trust, communication, and collaboration that directly influence employee engagement with the support employers provide. Join us to gain actionable insights and strategies to address this pressing issue and foster a thriving workplace. Facilitated by: Gallagher

 

Retirement

Now vs. Next: Supporting Financial Wellness Without Sacrificing Retirement Readiness

In today’s economic climate, benefit leaders face a dual challenge: supporting employees’ immediate financial needs while safeguarding long-term retirement readiness. This session explores how to future-proof a financial wellness strategy to serve both ends of the career spectrum—helping late-career employees retire on time and empowering younger talent to build financial resilience early. Learn how to turn financial support into a competitive advantage for the organization while also building a more resilient and engaged workforce. Facilitated by: EY

Creating the Right Financial Support System: From Fragmented Tools to Unified Strategy

With an explosion of financial wellbeing point solutions available, plan sponsors are struggling to separate the wheat from the chafe. Point solutions can deliver quick wins, but without a cohesive strategy they can create gaps in the employee experience. This session explores how to evaluate individual tools and integrate them into a unified financial support system that drives lasting impact. Facilitated by: WTW

 

Regulatory Compliance

Compliance & Regulatory Health Care Playbook for Employee Benefit Leaders

Employers sponsoring group health plans must monitor a range of health care compliance developments, including on-going implementation of executive orders from the current Federal administration as well as tools to keep fiduciary governance risk at a minimum. In this session, compliance and regulatory experts will address the latest hot topics in health care compliance due to legislation, regulation, and litigation, including Mental Health Parity, health care transparency, GLP-1 strategies, fiduciary governance, and navigating complexities of state pharmacy benefit laws and ERISA preemption. Facilitated by: Aon

 

Leave and Disability

Leave and Disability Roundtable

This session is designed as a peer-to-peer discussion focused on current trends, challenges, and best practices in the leave and disability space. Participants will explore topics such as leave administration and service models, ADA compliance, emerging leave policies, and strategies for managing growing claim volumes and evolving statutory requirements. Facilitated by: ABC/Alliant

 

Employee Engagement

The Trust Paradox: AI, Transparency, and the Future of Benefits Communication

AI tools and platforms are quickly becoming the front door to the employee benefits experience. And that means AI trust and transparency is more important than ever. This session explores how benefits teams are trying to build confidence in AI-powered experiences by combining behavioral science insights with practical strategies for human oversight, ethical use, and clear communication. Attendees will discuss how to design workflows that balance automation with empathy, and review examples of how AI assistants have improved employee engagement and reduced HR load. Participants will leave with a best-practice checklist for managing transparency and trust in AI-enabled benefits communication. Facilitated by: Segal

 

Professional Development

Key Business and Financial Concepts for Benefit Professionals

Not sure you fully grasp the business and financial concepts referenced by the folks in your C-suite? Do you feel comfortable speaking their language? This session, led by CEB's new Senior Advisory Group, will cover key concepts and serve as a primer for those that want to improve their business and financial acumen. Facilitated by: CEB Senior Advisory Group