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According to him, a truly supportive Total Rewards strategy centres on structured, transparent frameworks that enable employees to clearly see how their growth and performance are reflected in their rewards.
Total Rewards is more than compensation and benefits — it is where human behaviour meets business strategy. That's the philosophy that has guided Surya Darpita (pictured above) Senior Principal, APAC CoE Total Rewards & Performance in the medtech and healthcare industry, throughout his HR career, as he works to shift the conversation from transactional rewards to strategic frameworks that align organisational goals with what truly motivates people across diverse markets.
With more than 15 years of HR leadership experience across FMCG, e-commerce, and medtech, Darpita is recognised for designing high-impact reward and performance strategies that bridge business priorities with local execution. An award-winning HR leader, he is also a frequent speaker and mentor dedicated to developing the next generation of HR talent.
In this edition of Faces of HR, he tells Mary Ann Bundukin what first drew him to Total Rewards, why he believes TR has evolved into creating sustainable frameworks that drive business capability, and how HR leaders must balance global standards with localised realities.
Q What first drew you to HR and Total Rewards (TR), and what keeps you passionate about it today?
What drew me to Total Rewards is its unique position at the intersection of human behaviour and business strategy. It is the engine room of organisational performance.
What keeps me passionate today is the challenge of shifting the conversation from transactional compensation to strategic enablement. In a highly dynamic APAC market, TR is no longer just about benchmarks and spreadsheets; it is about creating sustainable frameworks that drive business capability.
Aligning organisational goals with meaningful rewards that genuinely resonate with people across different cultures and markets is a complex puzzle, and solving it is incredibly rewarding.
Q Can you share the core belief that guides your approach to designing TR strategies that truly support employees?
My core belief is that a truly supportive Total Rewards strategy must move away from an "entitlement" mentality and instead focus on driving a performance-linked culture of contribution.
Support doesn't mean offering everything to everyone; it means designing structured, transparent frameworks where employees clearly understand how their growth and performance connect to their rewards.
"When we align robust performance metrics with meaningful recognition and wellbeing programmes, we create an environment of mutual trust."
True employee support is giving people the clarity, capability, and ecosystem to thrive and succeed.
Q What is one common misconception about total rewards that you’d like to challenge?
The biggest misconception is that Total Rewards is a static, one-size-fits-all formula or merely a hygiene factor managed by COE specialists. People often equate rewards strictly with the base paycheck.
In reality, modern TR is a dynamic driver of workplace culture and organisational change. Especially in a diverse regional market, a reward strategy must balance global standards with localized realities.
It encompasses everything from wellbeing to recognition. TR leaders are not just back-office policy administrators; we are strategic advisors who shape how an organisation attracts, retains, and motivates talent.
Q Please tell us a fun fact about yourself that people may not know.
When I am not deep in regional HR strategies and data analytics, you will likely find me out on the pavement. I am a dedicated long-distance runner and avid marathoner. I treat distance running much like I treat long-term strategic HR planning — it requires immense consistency, pacing, data-driven tracking, and resilience.
Moving my personal 10k time down to a 45-minute personal best taught me a lot about incremental growth. There is something incredibly grounding about putting on my running shoes and clearing my mind; it keeps me sharp and energised for my corporate role.
Q As a speaker at #TotalRewardsMY, what do you hope attendees will take away from your session?
I hope attendees walk away with actionable insights on how to reposition total rewards as a powerful driver of change rather than a fixed expectation. I want to challenge the audience to look closely at how we can design strategies that deliver for a diverse workforce without falling into the "entitlement" trap.
Whether we are discussing data-driven workplace wellbeing or navigating talent scarcity, the takeaway should be practical: how to move from being functional COE specialists to becoming strategic business advisors who use rewards to build a high-performing, resilient organisational culture.
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!
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