Designing Total Rewards That Actually Move the Needle

Episode notes

Summary What happens when a company treats employee financial health as mission critical instead of a perk? Christopher Forbeck, Director of Total Rewards at NorthWestern Energy, joins host Kelsey Willock Jones to share how a sales career, two master's degrees, and a moral compass check led him to HR, and why financial security now sits on his C-suite's agenda. He breaks down where most wellbeing programs fall short by checking some pillars but not all of them, how NorthWestern built a holistic system spanning Personify Health, a double-funded 401(k), and one-on-one financial consulting for employees and their families, and why AI is pushing total rewards out of the on-demand knowledge base role and into true strategic partnership. For HR, benefits, and total rewards leaders ready to claim a seat at the strategy table.

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