Certified Total Rewards Specialist™ (CTRS) Workshop
Provides early-career compensation and benefits practitioners an opportunity to achieve certification based on an assessment of basic competencies related to job evaluation, benchmarking, pay structures, core benefits and the total rewards approach.
Accredited by The ASEAN Total Rewards Institute™
Offered virtually in four half-day sessions
22, 23, 24, 25 May / 14, 15, 16, 17 Aug / 14, 15, 16, 17 Nov 2023
Course Trainer

Tom Farmer
Expert Leader in Total Rewards, CCP, SPHR, ACTA
Tom Farmer is a global total rewards leader with a career spanning over 30 years. As a consultant Tom has advised more than 150 organisations including three of the world’s largest companies (Sinopec, Toyota and Walmart) and led the rewards function globally and regionally in several industries. As an instructor, Tom has trained more than 1,000 HR professionals and 500 line managers on pay topics.
Currently, Tom is owner and Managing Director of Freelance Total Rewards Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, with clients including China Aviation Oil, CrimsonLogic, GroupM, Great Eastern Life, Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific, Armacell and Peninsula Hotels.
Before starting his own firm in 2013, Tom was with Mercer as Principal and Asia Pacific Leader for Global Mobility, where his clients included Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Ministry of Defense, AIA, MeadJohnson Nutrition, PTT Group, Sinopec, Kraft Foods, Chartis Insurance, Yum! International, Western Digital, MasterCard, and Hilton Hotels.
Tom moved to Singapore in 2007 as Vice President, Compensation and Benefits, Asia Pacific for InterContinental Hotels Group after holding the same position for IHG’s Americas region. Tom drove a global revision of IHG’s global mobility policy sustainably reducing annual costs by USD 2.6 million, and introduced innovative benefits changes in both the U.S. and Singapore earning HR Excellence Awards in 2008 and 2012.
Prior to joining IHG, Tom was a senior consultant with Hewitt in Atlanta, where he led large (million-dollar) compensation projects for Coca-Cola North America, Freddie Mac, Auburn University, Panasonic, Verizon, The Home Depot and several others.
Who Should Attend
This workshop is intended for compensation and benefits practitioners with at least one year of hands on experience in an organizational setting.
This is a certification workshop for those with experience; it is not intended for those wishing to explore a move into compensation and benefits, who are strictly doing payroll or who have never done actual C&B work such as job evaluation, market pricing or benefits administration.
Testimonial
Course Introduction
This Certified Total Rewards Specialist™ (CTRS) Workshop provides early-career compensation and benefits practitioners an opportunity to achieve certification in a convenient three-day format, based on an assessment of basic competencies related to job evaluation, benchmarking, pay structures, core benefits and the total rewards approach. The focus is on ensuring practitioners are equipped with the essential knowledge, terminology, theory, methods, and attitudes for performing their jobs with excellence.
Class discussions are used to develop attitudes and insights into the nature of tangible and intangible rewards. Some Excel skills and data relationships are explained to deepen practical capabilities, and the course provides formal training in the essential knowledge needed to perform compensation and benefits work in a complex organisation.
An assessment exam is included, requiring a 70% passing score for certification, along with one year experience performing compensation and benefits duties within an organization.
All material will be presented to address the new reality of virtual work, economic uncertainty and focus on supporting the bottom line through effective total rewards.
Levels of Rewards Competencies
The CTRS Workshop is for practitioners with more than one year of compensation and benefits experience, wishing to strengthen their knowledge and confirm their competence in the fundamentals of job evaluation, benchmarking, pay structures, core benefits and related skillsets needed to deliver excellence in compensation and benefits, following the total rewards approach, which always considers the entire “package” and purpose behind each reward element. For more experienced C&B professionals you may consider to attend our CTRP or CTRF course.

Learning Objectives
Following the CTRS Workshop, participants should be able to perform and successfully complete assessment of the following:
- Apply the total rewards approach
- Perform job analysis and job evaluation to grade jobs
- Source and analyze benchmark compensation data
- Prepare market analysis to determine competitive position
- Develop a salary range structure, with or without regression
- Support core employee benefits programs
- Work effectively with HR and managers to support sound pay decisions
Course Modules
About ASEAN Total Rewards Institute™
The ASEAN Total Rewards Institute™, or ATRI, is a collaboration of leading human resources and total rewards practitioners to provide professionals the opportunity to be trained and certified in the field of compensation and benefits in the ASEAN regional context.
ATRI is owned by Freelance Total Rewards Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based total rewards management consulting and training firm, led by Thomas A. Farmer, CCP, SPHR, ACTA. The firm has advised dozens of clients in Southeast Asia and beyond, and was established in 2013. Tom is a former Principal with Mercer and a former Vice President, Compensation & Benefits for InterContinental Hotels Group. He has trained over 2,000 HR professionals and over 600 line managers on pay-related topics. You can find more information from ATRI official website about the certification.