Future of Work Canada: Roundtable

Scaling People, Not Complexity
Workforce Strategy for Canada’s Growing Businesses
Overview

April 7th, 2026 | 2pm until 3:30pm


As Canadian businesses grow, people challenges become operational challenges.


What works at 30 employees does not work at 150. What works at 150 does not work at 500. Payroll becomes more complex. Compliance risk increases. Benefits costs rise. Hiring pressure intensifies. Manual processes begin to break.


Yet many small and mid-sized organisations do not have the internal infrastructure of large enterprises. HR teams are lean. CEOs remain closely involved in workforce decisions. Every hire and every system investment has direct financial impact.


This invitation-only CEO and HR Roundtable, held alongside Future of Work Canada, has been designed specifically for small and growing Canadian businesses navigating this transition.

Why We’re Hosting This

Future of Work Canada is the largest and leading HR conference in the country, bringing together senior HR and business leaders to shape the national workforce agenda.
However, much of the broader conversation often focuses on enterprise organisations.

The realities of scaling businesses are different:

  • Fewer internal resources
  • Greater cost sensitivity
  • Increasing provincial compliance complexity
  • Rapid headcount growth
  • Pressure to professionalise people strategy quickly

We are creating a focused forum where Canadian Heads of HR and CEOs from growing organisations can come together to discuss the practical side of scaling workforce infrastructure without overcomplicating operations.


This is about building enterprise-grade foundations without enterprise-level bureaucracy.

 

Who Will Attend


This session is invitation-only and curated for 10 to 15 senior leaders, including:

  • Heads of HR
  • HR Directors and People Leads
  • Founders and CEOs
  • COOs in growth-stage businesses

Attendees will represent small and scaling Canadian organisations, typically ranging from 50 to 500 employees across sectors including technology, professional services, manufacturing, retail, and financial services.


All participants will be decision-makers responsible for payroll, compliance, workforce planning, and HR technology investment.

 

What Will Be Discussed


The roundtable will focus on the real operational and strategic challenges facing growing Canadian businesses, including:

  • Managing workforce growth while maintaining compliance across provinces
  • Building scalable payroll and workforce management processes
  • Reducing administrative burden as headcount increases
  • Balancing cost control with competitive compensation and benefits
  • Leveraging workforce technology to improve visibility and efficiency
  • Preparing lean HR teams for AI and automation

The format will be moderated and discussion-led, encouraging practical peer exchange rather than presentations.

 

What You’ll Receive as an Attendee

✔️ Peer-Level Discussion
A closed-door, vendor-light environment designed for honest conversation among CEO and HR peers.

✔️ Actionable Takeaways
Practical strategies for building scalable people infrastructure.

✔️ Risk & Compliance Clarity
A clearer understanding of workforce risk exposure and provincial compliance complexity as you scale.

✔️ Smarter Technology Investment
Ideas for leveraging workforce technology to improve visibility and efficiency without overinvesting.

✔️ Strategic Networking
Meaningful connections with fellow CEO's and HR leaders facing similar transitions.

✔️ Complimentary Access
Roundtable attendees will receive a complimentary pass to Future of Work Canada.

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