Ryan Jensen
Senior Speaker & Strategist
O.C. Tanner
OCTOBER 2024
Creating an employee experience that resonates with employees has been among the top five priorities for CHROs across Evanta communities for three years. How can rewarding employees enhance their experience and lead to retention?
At the upcoming New York CHRO Executive Summit on November 13, Ryan Jensen, Senior Speaker and Strategist at O.C. Tanner, will lead a keynote presentation on “Total Rewards Revisited: A New Approach to Elevating the Employee Experience.” O.C. Tanner will also lead this session at the upcoming Washington, DC CHRO Executive Summit on November 20 and at the Toronto CHRO Executive Summit on December 12.
This session will unveil the latest insights from the 2025 Global Culture Report from the O.C. Tanner Institute and foster discussion to help CHROs redefine their Total Rewards programs and provide the right mix of offerings to better communicate authentic care. The session will cover why employee-centered care must be at the core of Total Rewards strategies that align with what matters most to employees, why recognition done well throughout an organization can make a difference in fostering positive mental health practices, and how organizations can approach employee job transitions with the same care and attention given to new hires.
Ahead of the session, Ryan is sharing insights on the topic and what CHROs might be thinking about the connection between Total Rewards programs and employee experience.
A dedicated speaker with the O.C. Tanner Institute, Ryan connects with audiences at enterprise organizations to help improve workplace culture. During his tenure, he has increased access for frontline workers and promoted employee-centric change adoption across multiple industry segments, working with customer success teams and forging strategic partnerships with companies like McDonald’s, Paychex, SWIFT Transportation, Tesla, and SpaceX. Ryan holds an MBA from the University of Georgia and a BS in business administration from Brigham Young University.
Tell us more about your session, “Total Rewards Revisited: A New Approach to Elevating the Employee Experience.”
Organizations everywhere have used Total Rewards programs to attract and retain talent by offering a buffet of benefits to highlight the investment they make in their people. Yet despite these efforts, research shows that workers feel these strategies often fail, not only in addressing their most important needs, but in enhancing their overall employee experience.
What are some of the challenges CHROs face in this area?
The challenge for CHROs is in closing the distance between organizational offerings and employee needs.
Why is it critical for Evanta CHRO Community members to have this conversation now?
With regards to Total Rewards, offerings like competitive compensation and health benefits are considered basic, help provide financial stability, and meet survival needs. Offerings such as career development and skill building move beyond the required to provide long-term growth and satisfy other criteria to thrive.
Interestingly, recognition is a practice that provides a bridge to help employees feel seen and valued at any stage of surviving or thriving. Keeping these distinctions top of mind helps Total Rewards leaders prioritize care at the core of their compensation and benefits mix.
What are you most looking forward to about the session?
I’m thrilled to share our latest research from the O.C. Tanner Institute with the Evanta CHRO community. Our research highlights why it’s so critical to take a people-centered approach to Total Rewards by understanding the needs of employees who are surviving and thriving. This research will help you think about ways to optimize your current Total Rewards offerings so that they are relevant and effective in helping your employees thrive across their entire employee journey.
Interestingly, we found that recognition serves as a bridge in addressing needs for all employees, regardless of whether they see themselves as surviving or thriving. You will be inspired by what we found in our research on how frequent recognition can help employees feel consistently seen, valued, and cared for.
HR leaders can join the conversation on Total Rewards and how to elevate the employee experience with Ryan Jensen of O.C. Tanner at the New York CHRO Executive Summit on November 13, the Washington, DC CHRO Executive Summit on November 20, and the Toronto CHRO Executive Summit on December 12.
Evanta community members can register in MyEvanta, or if you are not yet an Evanta community member, apply to join a CHRO community to connect with HR peers on critical priorities.
Special thanks to O.C. Tanner.
by CHROs, for CHROs
Join the conversation with peers in your local CHRO community.
