The landscape of employee rewards is undergoing a significant transformation. As employee expectations evolve and organizations compete for specialized skills, the role of total rewards is shifting from mere compensation management to a strategic business function. HR leaders in Malaysia are at the forefront of this change, exploring innovative approaches to make total rewards more strategic, sustainable, and business-focused.
At the Total Rewards Asia Summit 2026 in Malaysia, HR and rewards leaders gathered to discuss the future of total rewards. The summit covered a wide range of topics, from strategic rewards and employee wellbeing to AI, skills, job architecture, performance, and benefits. Here are the key insights from the event.
Data-driven decision making in total rewards
HR leaders are increasingly leveraging data to inform their total rewards strategies. Shazmi Ali, Vice President of Human Resources at Shell Business Operations in Malaysia, emphasized the importance of moving beyond data collection to data interpretation. The wealth of data available within the total rewards function, from compensation and benefits to workforce trends and employee insights, can provide valuable insights for business leaders.
However, the challenge lies in connecting this data to business priorities and translating analytics into actionable insights. Rewards leaders need to develop stronger commercial understanding and build relationships beyond the HR function to influence business decisions. As Shazmi put it, ‘I want to be part of the discussion. Don’t give me the minutes of the meeting.’ The shift is therefore from reporting what happened to influencing what happens next.
Shaping employee expectations through rewards
Employee expectations are changing rapidly, and HR leaders are encouraged to take a proactive approach in shaping these expectations. Ernee Yuni, Head of Leadership and Talent Management at Malaysia Aviation Group, argued that high-performing organizations do not merely respond to demand but shape it.
Rewards leaders can use pay, performance, development, recognition, and career opportunities to reinforce the behaviors and capabilities an organization wants to see. Rather than asking only what employees want, rewards leaders can ask what the organization needs to encourage, whether that is stronger performance, leadership capability, critical skills, or long-term retention. In this sense, rewards become more than a response to employee expectations—they become a tool for shaping them.
Differentiated rewards strategies
A diverse workforce spanning different generations, life stages, and talent segments is unlikely to value the same rewards in the same way. Organizations need to balance relevance and affordability while remaining competitive in the market. This requires a more strategic view of fairness.
Differentiation should not be about creating winners and losers but ensuring that rewards investment is aligned with business criticality, talent priorities, and future capability needs. A separate discussion explored the risks of treating every employee and role identically—particularly when certain skills and roles are far more critical to business performance than others. Equality in rewards is not fairness; it is erosion of the strategic intent.
Embedding wellbeing into business strategy
Wellbeing is a broader ecosystem encompassing physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as psychosocial wellbeing. Laavenia Ramasegar, Head of Wellbeing at CelcomDigi, described wellbeing as a broader ecosystem encompassing physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as psychosocial wellbeing.
The real definition of well-being is when a person can bring the best version of themselves to work consistently all the time. This requires organizations to look at the conditions that enable people to perform sustainably, rather than treating wellbeing as an additional HR offering. At CelcomDigi, the approach includes psychological safety, mental health support, and measurement of psychosocial risks. Employee feedback and workforce data can then help identify where further intervention is needed.
The lesson is clear: wellbeing needs ownership, data, accountability, and measurable outcomes if it is to become a genuine business strategy.
HR leaders are increasingly leveraging data, shaping employee expectations, and embedding wellbeing into business strategy to drive business success.
