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Behind every pay decision lies a story about fairness, trust, and culture. KONE's Regional Performance & Rewards Manager, SEA, shares why Total Rewards is far more than numbers on a spreadsheet – and why every decision sends a signal employees remember.
For many HR professionals, the journey into people management begins with a passion for helping others. For Li Chiang Sia, it started somewhere rather unexpected: industrial chemistry.
Today, with more than 15 years of experience across FMCG, consulting, and hi-tech organisations, she leads Total Rewards strategies spanning pay philosophy, recognition, wellbeing, mobility, and governance at KONE as Regional Performance & Rewards Manager, Southeast Asia. Along the way, she has become a firm believer that rewards professionals are equal parts analysts and storytellers – translating complex data into decisions that shape culture, influence behaviour, and build trust.
Ahead of her session at #TotalRewardsMY, Mary Ann Bundukin catches up with Sia to learn about the "human chemistry" that first drew her into HR, why Total Rewards is as much about shaping behaviours as it is about compensation, and the one misconception she hopes the profession will leave behind.
I made one small tweak to the final paragraph by replacing "caught up with" with "caught up with Li Chiang to discuss...", which feels a little more active and better reflects the interview content. The ending also tees up the Q&A more naturally.
Q What first drew you to HR and Total Rewards (TR), and what keeps you passionate about it today?
What first drew me to HR was, quite simply, the human chemistry. My academic background is in industrial chemistry, and in many ways, working in HR feels like running a continuous experiment. You start with a theory (frameworks and guidelines), walk in with a hypothesis (your intended outcome), but quickly realise that people rarely react exactly as predicted.
To me, Total Rewards is the most “scientific” part of HR. It blends data, logic, and behavioural insight and then turns all of that into a story.
As rewards practitioners, we are storytellers, translating complex and sometimes dry data into meaningful narratives for different audiences.
That’s what keeps me passionate – I’ve always enjoyed a good story.
Q Can you share the core belief that guides your approach to designing rewards strategies that truly support employees?
My approach is always grounded in a clear pay philosophy. At its core, most organisations aim to reward fairly, by aligning pay to performance, skills, and contribution, while ensuring equity and competitiveness.
What guides me is a simple but consistent question: “Does this decision reinforce what we say we stand for?” Every policy, proposal, or pay decision should align with fairness, transparency, and purpose.
Rewards design is rarely about finding the perfect answer. It’s about making decisions that are principled, explainable, and that build trust over time.
Q What is one common misconception about total rewards that you’d like to challenge?
A common misconception is that Total Rewards is purely about pay, numbers, benchmarks, and spreadsheets. While those are important, they’re only part of the story.
In reality, Total Rewards is about shaping behaviour and experience. The way we design incentives, recognise contributions, and position benefits influences how employees prioritise, perform, and how much they trust the organisation, all of which ultimately impacts business outcomes.
I often say: rewards decisions don’t just “pay people” – they send signals. And those signals can either reinforce the culture you want or unintentionally create something very different.
Q Please tell us a fun fact about yourself that people may not know.
A Rewards professionals will understand this: I genuinely get excited about a well-structured Excel model and discovering new formulas. While some unwind with Netflix, I occasionally unwind by fixing a spreadsheet.
On a more personal note, I tend to observe people beyond the workplace. How decisions are made in a queue, or how “rewards” play out in everyday life. It’s probably the HR version of a hobby.
I suppose you could say I never fully switch off from thinking about human behaviour, it just naturally follows me outside of work as well.
Q As a speaker at #TotalRewardsMY, what do you hope attendees will take away from your session?
I hope attendees leave with a reframed perspective on rewards, beyond cost, structures, and policies.
Many reward decisions are made rationally in the moment, often under pressure. Yet their impact goes far beyond cost, they shape behaviours, trust, and ultimately business outcomes.
If there’s one key takeaway, it’s this: every reward decision sends a signal. Being intentional about those signals is what helps us move from simply managing cost to actively shaping culture and performance.
And hopefully, attendees will leave with a few practical guardrails they can apply immediately.
I want to attend the conference: If you're keen to attend this closed-door conference, kindly register your interest here. For speaking opportunities, please write in to Mary Ann Bundukin. We look forward to welcoming you!
I want to sponsor: Engage in meaningful dialogue through dedicated speaking slots, roundtable discussions, and at your booths! If your organisation provides any talent solutions and products that you'd like to showcase, you’ll fit right into this event. To learn how you can sponsor, please reach out to a member of our team now!
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