Speaker: Sarah McVanel, Canada's Recognition Expert & Founder of Greatness Magnified

We’ve treated gratitude as a personality trait and recognition as a morale booster. But when practiced with intention, recognition becomes something far more powerful: a compounding cultural asset.

In this opening keynote, Sarah reveals how recognition changes how people experience their work — and why that internal shift determines whether effort drains or multiplies over time. Leaders will discover how gratitude acts as a performance regulator, influencing discretionary effort, psychological safety, and long-term retention.

This session sets the tone for the conference by reframing recognition as a serious business strategy — one that strengthens culture from the inside out.

Key Takeaways:

• Why recognition influences effort more than incentives

• How gratitude strengthens resilience under pressure

• The compounding impact of consistent, credible recognition

• A shared framework leaders can use immediately

   

Speaker: Yannick Provencher, I/O Psychology Advisor at Bucketlist Rewards

Once belief is planted, this session brings the proof. Grounded in real workplace data, it shows what actually happens when recognition is present or missing, especially in large, complex, and frontline organizations. Attendees will leave with evidence-backed insights they can confidently take to leadership to justify action in 2026 and beyond.

Key Takeaways:

• How recognition frequency correlates with retention, engagement, and absenteeism
• What top workplaces do differently in who gives recognition, how often, and when
• Key trends shaping recognition programs in 2026
• Early warning signs of “infertile soil” that stall culture growth

Especially valuable for: Enterprise HR, People Analytics, Total Rewards, HR in frontline industries

Quick bio break! Grab a bite and stretch your legs. 

Panel: Tami Swanson, VP of Human Resources at The Sports Facilities Companies | Katie Kleyla, Director, Teammate Experience at Esler Companies |  Dan Kessler, President at Energage

What does it actually take to build a workplace culture that earns national recognition?

In this session, leaders from Top Workplace award-winning organizations share the decisions, recognition practices, and leadership behaviors that helped their cultures stand out. Rather than leaving culture to chance, these organizations intentionally built systems that reinforce trust, appreciation, and connection at scale.

Together, the panel will explore what separates strong cultures from truly award-winning ones and what HR leaders can apply to strengthen their own organizations.

Key Takeaways:

• What successful organizations design intentionally versus what evolves naturally
• Recognition practices that strengthen culture as organizations grow and scale
• The leadership behaviors that consistently appear in Top Workplace organizations
  
• Practical lessons HR leaders can apply to build cultures employees are proud to be part of

Panel: Mary Sanchez, Donated Goods Business Manager at Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona | Jodi Martin, Marketing and Communications Team Leader at Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital

HR leaders understand the value of recognition. The real challenge is helping the rest of the organization see it too.

In this session, leaders share how they connected recognition to measurable business outcomes and built the case for investment. From securing executive buy-in to demonstrating impact over time, the conversation will explore how recognition programs can move from good intentions to proven value.

Attendees will leave with practical insights on how to align recognition with the metrics leadership cares about most.

Key Takeaways:

• How to build a compelling business case for recognition that resonates with executives and finance leaders
• The metrics and signals that demonstrate recognition’s impact on retention, engagement, and performance
• How leaders translate recognition into measurable outcomes that matter to the business
• Practical strategies for securing leadership buy-in and sustaining investment over time

Quick bio break! Grab a bite and stretch your legs. 

• The "Non-Anxious" Leadership Framework: Learn how to cultivate personal grounding techniques that prevent "stress contagion," allowing you to remain a calm, stabilizing force for your team’s psychological safety.
• Coaching as a Resilience Strategy: Discover how a structured coaching model transforms abstract leadership theory into measurable behavioral change. We’ll explore how personalized, "point-of-need" coaching provides managers with a safe space to build the high-stakes communication skills that drive team performance and ensure long-term leadership continuity.
• The Gratitude Reset: Understand the science of how a gratitude practice shifts a team’s perspective from a"threat mindset" to a "growth mindset," unlocking cognitive resources needed for problem-solving during crises.

Especially valuable for: People leaders, senior managers, HRBPs