Human resources and reward practitioners were urged to stand up and be counted when it comes to influencing the direction of a business.
Speaking in the keynote session entitled 'Demonstrating the value of aligning benefits with business strategy', Mark Childs, a former vice president of reward at the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, said: "You shouldn't be shy to challenge the business about the direction in which it is going."
He added: "Reward strategies can be influential and impactful in changing business direction."
But he warned delegates that they were effectively in "subordinate" roles in their respective businesses and therefore had to educate colleagues about reward and the influence it can have on a business.
"Reward strategies should be used to create some pressure from below on business leaders to think through the issues they need to face to create clarity in their organisations."