WorldatWork
WorldatWork is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1955 that delivers Total Rewards certifications (CCP, GRP, CSCP, CECP, CBP), courses, conferences, and research to HR and compensation professionals across 168+ countries, including 93% of Fortune 500 organizations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1955
- HeadquartersScottsdale, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What WorldatWork does
WorldatWork is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1955 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, that serves HR and compensation professionals globally. The organization operates as the recognized global standard for Total Rewards — the strategic portfolio encompassing compensation, benefits, well-being, career growth, and recognition. Its core offerings are five professional certifications: Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP), Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP), Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP), and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP). These certifications are complemented by immersion programs (Global Compensation, Executive Compensation, and Compensation), e-learning certification bundles, and flagship events including the annual Total Rewards Conference (TR26/TR27), the Sales Comp Conference, and the newer Total Comp Tour launched with Salary.com.
The organization's technology foundation is a learning management system and e-learning platform that supports multiple course modalities — classroom, virtual classroom, and self-paced e-learning — and delivers certification content to professionals across 168+ countries. Content assets include the Workspan Weekly newsletter (55,000+ subscribers), the Salary Budget Survey, and a publications/research library focused on compliance, regulatory trends, and total rewards best practices. Distribution is layered: direct website sales for individual members, a corporate development team for group memberships of 5+, a network of 12+ educational partners serving 31 countries, and 40+ local HR association affiliates in the U.S. and Canada.
Revenue is generated through five streams: individual membership fees (annual subscriptions), corporate and government group memberships (discounted for 5+ seats), course and certification fees (including CCP E-Learning Bundles), event registration fees, and revenue from global partner course delivery. The customer base spans HR professionals, compensation specialists, total rewards managers, benefits administrators, and the corporate organizations and government entities that purchase team training and group memberships. WorldatWork reports that 93% of Fortune 500 organizations have professionals who rely on its programs.
WorldatWork firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WorldatWork
- Legal name
- WorldatWork, Inc.
- Website
- https://worldatwork.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1955
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- WorldatWork is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1955 that delivers Total Rewards certifications (CCP, GRP, CSCP, CECP, CBP), courses, conferences, and research to HR and compensation professionals across 168+ countries, including 93% of Fortune 500 organizations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
WorldatWork industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional HR Certification & Education
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (813920), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Assessment, Certification & Qualifications Frameworks (BPADAKAL)
Keywords
Where WorldatWork is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Scottsdale
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
WorldatWork business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Membership Fees: Annual individual professional membership providing access to certifications, courses, events, publications, research, and member community. Membership is non-transferable, valid for 12 months from payment date, with auto-renewal available.
- Corporate and Government Membership: Group memberships for organizations purchasing 5 or more memberships, with discounts offered. Includes the right for organizations to add new team members and replace team members.
- Course and Certification Fees: Revenue from e-learning, virtual classroom, and classroom courses, as well as certification exam fees. Includes CCP E-Learning Certification Bundles with multiple courses and complimentary exam retakes.
- Event Registration Fees: Registration fees for conferences, workshops, and affiliate chapter events. Cancellation policies vary by event.
- Global Partner Course Delivery: Revenue from courses delivered through global partners and educational institutions serving 31 countries with more than a dozen educational partners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual Professional Membership with annual subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Corporate/Government Group Membership for organizations |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | CCP E-Learning Certification Bundle with 8 courses and 2-year membership |
| One time/ perpetual license | Annual | CCP E-Learning Certification 4-Course Bundle with 4 courses and 1-year membership |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Global Compensation Immersion Program |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
WorldatWork product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WorldatWork is a nonprofit professional association that issues industry-recognized credentials in compensation, benefits, and total rewards (CCP, GRP, CSCP, CECP, CBP) and sells the certification courses, e-learning bundles, immersion programs, conferences, and research publications that accompany them. Its customers are individual HR and compensation practitioners and the corporate or government organizations that purchase team memberships and training solutions.
Product overview
WorldatWork offers a comprehensive portfolio of professional certification programs and educational products for HR and compensation professionals. The core offerings include five professional certifications: Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP), Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP), Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP), and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP). These are complemented by immersion programs (Global Compensation, Executive Compensation, and Compensation), e-learning certification bundles, and annual conferences (Total Rewards Conference, Sales Comp Conference). Additional products include research publications like the Salary Budget Survey, the Workspan Weekly newsletter, and the Total Rewards Model Guide. The Total Comp Tour represents a recent partnership-enabled event product. The organization positions itself as the global standard for total rewards education and certification, trusted by professionals from over 168 countries and 93% of Fortune 500 organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Workspan Weekly: Free weekly newsletter providing news on compliance, trends in Total Rewards and compensation.
Products and services
- Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) Primary compensation certification credential preferred by hiring managers and recognized as the mark of expertise and excellence in the compensation field, covering base pay, variable pay, and total rewards regulatory landscape.
- Global Remuneration Professional (GRP) Globally recognized certification for over 35 years covering comprehensive global compensation and remuneration practices for professionals managing workforce rewards across countries.
- Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP) Specialized certification focused on sales compensation design, administration, and management for sales compensation professionals.
- Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP) Certification for professionals specializing in executive compensation planning and governance, covering C-suite compensation structures and strategic considerations.
- Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) Certification covering employee benefits design, administration, and strategic implementation for benefits professionals.
- Global Compensation Immersion Program Intensive program teaching compensation strategies across different countries, covering IFRS, IASB standards, cultural nuances affecting global rewards, and practical skills in survey data analysis and program design; earns 21 compensation credits, 2.0 CEUs, and 21 HRCI/SHRM credits.
- Executive Compensation Immersion Program Advanced program focused on executive compensation structures, governance, and strategic considerations for C-suite compensation.
- Compensation Immersion Program Comprehensive foundational program covering core compensation concepts, design principles, and implementation strategies.
- CCP E-Learning Certification Bundle (8-course) Comprehensive bundle providing access to all eight required CCP certification courses and exams, plus two-year individual professional membership, with 120-day e-learning access from purchase date.
- CCP E-Learning Certification 4-Course Bundle Bundle including the first four required CCP courses (Creating Impact Through Total Rewards, Understanding the Total Rewards Regulatory Landscape, Designing and Managing Base Pay Systems, Improving Performance with Variable Pay), one complimentary exam retake, and one-year individual professional membership.
- Total Rewards Conference (TR26/TR27) Annual flagship conference bringing together compensation and HR professionals for education, networking, and industry insights on total rewards.
- Sales Comp Conference Annual conference dedicated to sales compensation strategies, design, and administration for sales compensation professionals.
- Total Comp Tour Multi-city event series co-hosted with Salary.com, bringing compensation professionals together across the U.S. for peer networking, expert panels, and discussions on industry topics.
- Salary Budget Survey Annual research publication providing comprehensive salary budgeting data and trends for compensation professionals.
- Total Rewards Model Guide Free downloadable guide providing information on how top organizations leverage key elements of Total Rewards to maximize workforce performance and drive organizational success.
Quantifiable outcome
- Organizations that excel at Total Rewards are 1.5x more likely to retain high performers, 1.6x more likely to secure talent for current needs, and 3.1x more likely to optimize ROI for rewards investments
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use WorldatWork
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
WorldatWork technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
WorldatWork partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Salary.comcoreSalary.com and WorldatWork co-launched the Total Comp Tour, a 26-29 city event series across the U.S. starting in May. The tour aims to connect compensation professionals for peer networking, expert panels, and discussions on industry-relevant topics.
- Local HR Associations in U.S. and CanadacoreWorldatWork partners with more than 40 local HR associations in the U.S. and Canada, providing members access to peers and providers who understand local workforce issues.
- Global Educational PartnersmajorWorldatWork maintains a global network of more than a dozen educational partners serving 31 countries, delivering localized courses and certifications.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
WorldatWork competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management): The largest U.S. HR professional association, offering SHRM-CP and SHRM-SC certifications. Directly competes for HR professional mindshare and employer training budgets, though with a broader general-HR focus versus WorldatWork's Total Rewards specialization.
- HRCI (HR Certification Institute): Issues PHR, SPHR, and GPHR HR certifications and serves a similar HR professional audience. Competes head-to-head in the HR certification market, particularly for generalist HR practitioners who may choose HRCI over WorldatWork credentials.
- International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP): A nonprofit association focused on employee benefits education and certification (CEBS). Closely comparable membership, education, and certification model and overlaps with WorldatWork's CBP certification and benefits content.
- Payscale: Provides compensation data, software, and salary benchmarking — the same buyer persona WorldatWork serves. Competes for the compensation professional's wallet share and was cited as a data source for WorldatWork's HR Certifications impact report.
- Salary.com: Compensation data and software vendor that directly competes with WorldatWork for compensation professional mindshare while simultaneously co-launching the Total Comp Tour — illustrating the partner/competitor dynamic in this category.
Broad incumbents
- Mercer: Global consulting firm offering compensation surveys, benefits administration, and HR advisory. Overlaps with WorldatWork's Total Rewards practitioner audience and competes for HR budget, but operates at a broader enterprise consulting scale.
- Aon (Radford): Operates the Radford compensation benchmarking network and offers total rewards consulting. Overlaps with WorldatWork's salary survey and compensation content but targets enterprise HR and executive teams rather than individual practitioners.
Others
- WorldatWork Foundation: WorldatWork's own nonprofit foundation supporting HR education and research. Adjacent entity within the same ecosystem that supports scholarships, research grants, and thought leadership aligned with the parent association's mission.
Emerging players
- LinkedIn Learning: Subscription-based professional development platform increasingly offering HR, compensation, and leadership courses. Competes for the same learner audience with a much lower price point and bundled access via LinkedIn Premium.
- Coursera: Online learning platform offering HR management, people analytics, and leadership specializations from universities. Represents the low-cost, university-credentialed alternative that pressures traditional professional association certification economics.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
WorldatWork social profiles
Digital presenceWorldatWork compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
WorldatWork financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WorldatWork leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
WorldatWork funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WorldatWork M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WorldatWork
What does WorldatWork do?
WorldatWork is a nonprofit professional association that issues industry-recognized credentials in compensation, benefits, and total rewards (CCP, GRP, CSCP, CECP, CBP) and sells the certification courses, e-learning bundles, immersion programs, conferences, and research publications that accompany them. Its customers are individual HR and compensation practitioners and the corporate or government organizations that purchase team memberships and training solutions.
Is WorldatWork a public or private company?
WorldatWork is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was WorldatWork founded?
WorldatWork was founded in 1955. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is WorldatWork based?
WorldatWork is headquartered in Scottsdale, United States, in the North America region.
How does WorldatWork make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Individual Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are corporate and Government Membership, course and Certification Fees, event Registration Fees and global Partner Course Delivery.
Who are WorldatWork's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), HRCI (HR Certification Institute), International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), Payscale and Salary.com. Broad incumbents are Mercer and Aon (Radford). WorldatWork Foundation is listed as an others. Emerging players are LinkedIn Learning and Coursera.
Does WorldatWork have an API?
No public API is recorded for WorldatWork.
What industry is WorldatWork in?
WorldatWork's product category is Professional HR Certification & Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAKAL, Assessment, Certification & Qualifications Frameworks. Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 8200.