Develop the knowledge and practical skills needed to design, implement, and manage effective compensation programs that support organizational goals and enhance the value of total rewards.
This certificate program provides HR professionals with a comprehensive understanding of compensation fundamentals, including compensation strategy, job evaluation, market benchmarking, salary structure design, legislative requirements, and emerging trends. Participants will explore practical tools and best practices for developing equitable and competitive compensation programs that attract, retain, and motivate talent.
Through interactive discussions, case studies, and real-world scenarios, participants will gain actionable insights that can be applied immediately within their organizations.
Note: Benefits, pensions, and savings plans are not included within the scope of this program.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain an understanding of total rewards – both monetary and non-monetary components
- Discover the importance of a total rewards philosophy and guiding principles, namely the alignment of programs
- Explore the equities – internal, external, individual - of compensation; this includes job evaluation, benchmarking and salary structure development
- Understand legal and regulatory considerations; this includes pay equity and pay transparency
- Explore the various forms of short-term variable pay; this includes annual bonus and commissions
- Discover the connection between variable pay and performance management
- Review the value of the 4Ps – pay, performance, progression-promotion and professional development
- Explore best practices in communicating compensation programs
- Discover the annual compensation program cycle
Who should attend this program?
- HR professionals wishing to:
- Strengthen their compensation knowledge
- Enhance their credentials with practical and current compensation knowledge
- Better support your company’s compensation initiatives
Program Agenda:
Dates: September 22, 23 & 24, 2026
Day 1 – Foundations of total rewards and compensation fundamentals
Time: 9am to 1 PM
Facilitators: Mélanie Pressault, Tri Ngo
Welcome; Program overview; and Participant Introductions
- Objectives of the certificate
- Overview of the three-day learning journey
- Participant goals and expectations
Understanding total rewards
- Monetary and non-monetary components
- The role of compensation within total rewards
- Case discussion: How total rewards influence employee experience
Developing a total rewards philosophy
- Purpose and impact of a clear compensation philosophy
- Guiding principles and aligning programs to organizational strategy
- Group activity: Drafting elements of a compensation philosophy
The 4 types of equities
- Internal, external, and individual equity
- Interactive scenario: Should one equity be more prevalent than the other
Job evaluation and classification
- Job evaluation approaches and practical considerations
- Interactive scenario: Comparing roles for internal equity
Market benchmarking and salary structure development
- Market data interpretation
- Developing and managing salary structures
- Hands-on exercise: Reviewing market benchmarks and proposing structure updates
Day 2 – Legislative landscape and pay practices
Time: 9am to 1 PM
Facilitator: Tri Ngo
Legal and regulatory considerations
- Pay equity fundamentals and practical compliance steps (Ontario vs Quebec vs Federal)
- Pay transparency developments and emerging requirements
- Discussion: Addressing legal risks while supporting total rewards goals
Short-Term incentive programs
- Overview of annual bonuses, commission plans, and other incentives
- Advantages and risks of variable pay
- Case study: Designing a simple incentive plan
Linking performance and compensation
Facilitator: Mathieu Baril
- The relationship between performance management and pay
- Rating systems, calibration, and managing performance distributions
- Review the value of the 4Ps – pay, performance, progression-promotion and professional development
- Activity: Assessing performance scenarios and determining reward outcomes
Day 3 – Communication Excellence and the Annual Compensation Cycle
Time: 9am to 12 Noon
Facilitator: Zoey Krantzberg
Communicating compensation programs
- Principles of transparent and effective communication
- Tailoring messages for leaders, employees, and stakeholders
- Practice activity: Drafting a compensation update for managers
The Annual compensation cycle
- Key phases: planning, budgeting, market review, performance linkage, salary planning, communication
- Common challenges and emerging trends
- Group exercise: Mapping the compensation cycle for different types of organizations
Registration Difficulties/Questions: Please reach out to the Professional Development team at Professionaldevelopment@hrpa.ca
Speaker(s)
Mélanie Presseault, MBA, CHRP, Senior Principal
Compensation, Talent and Culture
Mélanie has extensive experience as an HR and total rewards leader with more than two decades of success in strategy, design and execution of compensation, benefits and human resources services for organizations across diverse industries in Montreal and Vancouver. Earlier in her career, Melanie also worked as an executive compensation consultant at Towers Perrin.
Over the years, she has been instrumental in driving mergers and acquisitions integration efforts, negotiating cost-effective benefit plans, and ensuring compensation market competitiveness. She is passionate about pay equity, pay transparency, diversity, and developing and implementing compensation infrastructure and incentives with an emphasis on aligning total rewards with business goals.
Tri Ngo, Principal
Compensation, Talent and Culture
Tri is a seasoned compensation consultant with 15 years of experience in both corporate and consulting environments, working across a wide range of industries and sectors including real estate, financial services, municipalities, and not for profit organizations. Throughout his career, he has led total rewards teams and partnered with organizations of various sizes on executive and broad based market benchmarking, salary structure design, Ontario pay equity, pay transparency, job evaluation, and workforce planning and analytics.
His recent experience includes providing boards with advisory support in reviewing executive and non-executive compensation programs, and he is recognized as a subject matter expert in Ontario pay transparency through industry webinars and speaking engagements. Before joining Normandin Beaudry, he managed total rewards program for a real estate company and was a consultant with several Canadian and global consulting firms, developing his expertise in other HR disciplines including year end compensation project management, HRIS optimization (UKG Pro, Workday), and customized people analytics solutions.
Zoey Krantzberg, Associate Consultant
Compensation, Talent and Culture, and Communication
Zoe is involved in all aspects of project delivery, from day-to-day analytical support to project management. She works cross-practice with the Communication and Change Management team, acting as a bridge between analytical rigour and practical guidance, which strengthens her approach to total rewards consulting. Zoey joined Normandin Beaudry after completing a postgraduate program in human resources management. During her time with Normandin Beaudry, she has led a wide range of compensation mandates, from complex pay equity analyses—specializing in federal and Ontario legislation—to the design and implementation of compensation infrastructures. She has also managed customized closed and industry-wide surveys on compensation and total rewards, and developed tools to support data interpretation.
Through her work with the Communication practice, Zoey has supported the implementation of job architectures and salary structures, and has trained both managers and employees on these topics. She has also created guides on compensation and careers, group benefits, and savings, and has developed tools to support manager and employee discussions.
Mathieu Baril, M.Ps., Senior Principal
Compensation, Talent and Culture
Mathieu is an expert in succession management and executive development. For the past two decades, he consulted with a broad range of Canadian, American and global organizations in the design, optimization and deployment of leadership and talent management programs.
His background in organizational psychology and understanding of business enable him to quickly get in synch with what his clients are experiencing and need to accomplish to achieve desired outcomes. He is known for his partnering style, as he helps HR functional leaders and internal talent management experts reflect on their approach, configure programs and refine deployment plans for their initiatives. Prior to joining NB, Mathieu had country-level responsibility for client engagements across Canada at a global consultancy specialized in leadership development.