September 2021
Click below to read more.
Featured Story
» Spotlight on Sustainability
People
» Real Talk with Wee Ai Ning, Group Chief Investment Officer
» Great Eastern Singapore Staff Townhall A Virtual Success
» Group Marketing Townhall #3 – Customers To The Fore
» GELM’s HC2U on Tackling Tough Times Together
» In Conversation with Leaders Session 1 – #MyGreatCulture Programme in GELM
» Illuminate Hope and Unity – GELM’s Raya Virtual Townhall 2021
» GELI Mental Health Series Activity 3: Keep Productive During WFH with Basic Gardening
» Staying Active with LIFE Programme
» GEGI touches lives in Medan and Semaran
» GETB helps families and charity home affected by the pandemic
Business & Customers
» Great Eastern Women’s Run Returns to Singapore in November 2021
» Enhancing Customers’ Digital Experience in Indonesia
» Awards from Around the Region
Read & Win
» Read & Win: June Issue Survey Winners & New Quiz
Click here for past TGT issues.
At Great Eastern, we are committed to making meaningful contributions to improve people’s lives, transitioning to a low-carbon economy and implementing responsible business practices as part of our sustainability journey. Fostering a culture of sustainability and driving change from within is also a key priority for us,
In July, we introduced Singapore’s first green life insurance product - GREAT Green SP. This industry-first short-term endowment policy invests its portfolio assets to finance projects - global and local - across diverse areas such as renewable energy producers, green buildings and the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations, to help achieve significant positive environmental impact.
GCEO Khor Hock Seng said: “This initiative is part of our overall sustainability approach to achieve a low-carbon economy, improve people’s lives and drive responsible business practices. We note there is a growing group of customers who are environmentally conscious and seek to contribute towards sustainability outcomes through their purchasing decisions, including financial products. We are pleased to provide customers with access to such green insurance solutions, starting with GREAT Green SP, which enables them to make a positive difference to the environment with their financial decisions.”
We also pledged to donate a portion of sales proceeds from this product to Zero Waste SG, and in total we will be contributing S$117,000 which will go towards supporting programmes to educate and encourage positive action among our youth on the mindful use of natural resources and moving towards a zero waste future.
To celebrate Great Eastern’s 113th anniversary, we also launched a “Plant-A-Tree” Campaign from 2 to 26 August 2021 with an initial target of planting 1,130 trees in support of NParks’ OneMillionTrees Movement. However, the team – comprising corporate staff and financial representatives, together with the support of Singapore Tote Board – exceeded the target by 299 trees, for a grand total of 1,429 trees to be planted!
The physical tree planting event will be organised in Q4 2021, subject to prevailing Government safe management guidelines.
In the coming months, we will be sharing more exciting initiatives and we encourage you to play an active role in our journey towards a more sustainable future. To learn more about our sustainability initiatives, please refer to the newly created Sustainability Webpage available in the GRM portal.
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1. Please share about your role as Group Chief Investment Officer and what your team looks after.
As Group CIO, I oversee the investments made for Great Eastern Group’s insurance and shareholder’s funds. We invest in a diversified range of assets across geographies, although the most significant portion is invested in Singapore, and we currency-hedge our investments.
We use external fund managers (especially Lion Global Investors which is our subsidiary) to invest in equities, government and corporate bonds, multi-assets as well as private market assets including private equity, real estate, etc. My team looks after the investment returns and we ensure that our asset allocation is appropriate and robust, so that our insurance products are well-supported.
We work closely with Group Finance and the actuary to manage the asset-liability duration gap, and ensure that our financial ratios are at levels desired by the Board and of course, comfortably above regulatory requirement.
2. In your opinion, what is the most important quality in a leader?
Compassion. Not forgetting the standard pre-requisites such as competence, strategic thinking, and the ability to withstand extreme stress, which are necessary attributes of a leader. I have not forgotten the time when I was a trainee officer working under many bosses. Some of them demonstrated great compassion when I worked with them, which I remember until today. It is my turn to do the same for the people I lead.
3. What makes you tick and where do you find your inspiration?
I like to read, and am currently reading “Noise” by Daniel Kahneman et al. I find inspiration from reading, which sparks ideation within me. “Noise” has reminded me to be wary of the two flaws in human judgement – bias and inconsistency. I have applied it to investing by asking my team to code some macroeconomic time series into indicators for our tactical asset allocation, instead of using (inconsistent) qualitative assessment.
4. Understand you are a mentor with the Financial Women’s Association and have been for some years now. What made you decide to be a mentor and how have you been able to impact other women?
I enjoy connecting with people. My years in the financial industry have given me some credibility, so people listen to me too. The decision to be a mentor was quite easy actually. I have mentored a number of women over the years and we bond over walks, meals, drinks, and even Zoom these days. We share problems at work, family, health and at the personal level. Mentoring is really open-ended, and I see myself as a journey partner. My mentees and I keep in touch all these years, and we have become friends.
5. What is your investment philosophy? Any financial tips you would like to share with our employees?
There is no return without taking risk. So I believe in managing risk first and foremost, and good returns are the result of good risk-taking. Good risk-taking is about being very “calculative” about the risk-reward profile of your investment. I like to buy distressed debt (we do not do that in Great Eastern of course, it will consume too much risk charge!) as it has a convex payoff. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 window was too narrow – before I could put any money to work, the debt prices had already rebounded.
I think we all need to guard against a “free lunch”, for of course there is no such thing. Private wealth advisors like to advise clients to sell put options or do range accruals for yields, or take leverage to buy some high yield bonds. The spreads are seemingly a “free lunch”, but the clients are actually shorting volatility which always does not end well. So my tip is: have a healthy risk appetite (don’t put your money in fixed deposits) but do not be greedy.
6. What do you like to do in your free time (outside of work)?
Other than reading, I like the outdoors. I go on long walks with my husband and friends, 15-20km typically, and Singapore offers very interesting walking routes. I also volunteer with HCA Hospice Care, which provides free home hospice care service to all in Singapore.
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Great Eastern Singapore held its second Staff Townhall on 6 August 2021 with a refreshing new format, with over 880 employees attending the virtual event.
GCEO Khor Hock Seng kicked off the session by sharing the company updates and our latest financial results, which were encouraging overall. He called on all employees to do their part in helping to maintain the momentum.
He also shared on the importance of Sustainability and how the company is pro-actively contributing to this area through three sustainability pillars, Environment, Social and Governance. The launch of GREAT Green SP, the first green life insurance product in Singapore, was fully subscribed in two days, proving the demand for sustainability products in the market. More sustainability initiatives will follow in the coming months. Detailed information on the company’s sustainability direction can be found in the sustainability report 2020.
James Lee, MD of Group Human Capital, updated on upcoming initiatives that will enable us to stay ahead with “My Great Culture”, including the Plant-A-Tree campaign in support of Npark’s OneMillionTrees Movement, which exceeded our initial target of planting 1,130 trees by 299 trees, for a grand total of 1,429 trees to be planted in Q4 2021.
Recognising that staff may face mental pressure from the effects of the pandemic, the company has also launched a Mental Wellness Consultation Initiative under the LIFE Programme in partnership with Doctor Anywhere. This is a first in Singapore where a professional mental wellness consultation service is made available to all staff.
Staff also got to “meet new colleagues”, featuring Kate Chiew (Group Chief Risk Officer), Neha Anilkumar Satpute (Corporate Management Associate) and Srijita Sen (Senior Data Scientist). The segment allowed staff to learn more about their new colleagues in a time where physical interactions and networking opportunities in the office are limited.
With the pandemic limiting face-to-face training and development opportunities, we brought in international sales expert, trainer and coach Tom Abbott to present an interactive session on personal development and self-motivation. He covered three topics: 1) Be your own motivator – take accountability for your life by working hard and working smart; 2) Learners are earners – everything is learnable. Pick up a new skill to develop yourself and be more valuable to your team; 3) Be curious and collaborative – Always have an open mind to support your team to win and succeed.
The full recording of the Staff Townhall can be viewed here.
Internal Communications Framework
Great Eastern Singapore launched a new Internal Communications Framework starting from August 2021. As part of our ongoing efforts to deepen and broaden collaboration across teams, a well-coordinated and effectively-managed platform is required to support innovation and transformation.
Previously, information was decentralised, with different divisions disseminating information through different channels. Moving forward, internal communications will reflect the company’s mission, core values and ways of working, including business and other updates which are important to staff in the Company. A central platform, managed by the Group Human Capital team, will be used to disseminate all communications, translating to a more seamless point for information retrieval.
Mental Wellness Consultation Initiative
The pandemic has brought about many changes to how we live and work, and these may give rise to mental stress. Finding an avenue to seek help or speak about the topic can also be difficult.
We have worked with Doctor Anywhere (DA) to provide a professional mental wellness consultation service directly to staff. The service, a first in Singapore for corporate employees, is manned by specially-trained doctors, and all calls to DA are private and confidential. No case information will be provided to the company.
Mental wellness is important for a healthy and productive life, and the consultation service supports people in adapting to changes in life and coping with adversity. Staff are encouraged to utilise this service as needed. Click here for more information.
There are also specially curated mental wellness webinars from the Life Programme coming up in the next few months so keep a look out for it!
A Special Treat for YOU
As part of the company’s 113th anniversary celebrations and to thank staff for their hard work and commitment, all staff can enjoy a special treat – a complimentary meal at Swensens. Redemption is via UPGREAT and valid through till 30 November 2021. Redeem now!
In an industry saturated with players, products and information overload, what can Great Eastern do to stay connected with our existing customers and remain relevant to new ones, especially the younger, tech-savvy generation? This was the crux of the conversation at the Group Marketing Townhall #3 on 17 Sept 2021.
Colin Chan, MD of Group Marketing, emphasised on the need for the company to be more customer-centric and deliver value propositions to cater to customers’ needs. These were among six key focus areas for the company that Colin shared to the 70-strong virtual audience, in addition to becoming the undisputed leader in our core markets; refreshing our brand with new consumer proof points; leveraging data and digital technology to pivot strategically; and a focus on sustainability.
To illustrate his point, Colin used the example of the Apple iPod, whose proposition to customers was having 1,000 songs in their pocket. At that time when music players were cumbersome and had limited storage space, Apple had a vision, and understood what their customers needed – portability and storage – before they developed a product that suited their needs.
Eddy Lim, Head of Propositions and Portfolio Management (Agency and Banca), spoke about how the Product Team is changing the way of thinking to be driven by consumer research and insights, to develop products that cater to customers’ needs, in particular the younger consumers.
Keith Chia, Head of Group Brand and Marketing, also gave updates on the brand refresh rollout and how consumer insights are being sought and shared along the way as we shape the narrative to support our new brand position.
There was also a session to meet new joiners to the Division and a Q&A segment to address queries on topics such as working arrangements and mental wellness during this period, and the company’s sustainability initiatives.
Not forgetting to add a little slice of fun to the Townhall, staff took a quiz where the fastest fingers, albeit with the most correct answers, won a prize, while everyone had a special snack care-pack specially delivered to their homes.
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Human Capital To You (HC2U) is back virtually! Organised by the Culture Crew, a group of culture ambassadors from GELM Human Capital driving the #MyGreatCulture programme, HC2U is an annual informative sharing session to update employees about ongoing and upcoming people-centric initiatives for the year.
This year’s theme was “Weathering Tough Times Together”. The session was attended by more than 750 employees, with emphasis on raising awareness on mental well-being, sharing important updates on culture, sustainability and vaccination initiatives by Human Capital, as well as informative talks on “Integrating Work & Life in the Future of Work”, and “Dealing with Stress & Anxiety During a Pandemic”.
A special video was prepared by the Culture Crew featuring select employees who were either Covid-19 survivors, those directly affected by the pandemic, or have taken their vaccination.
Check out a snippet of the video here!
HC2U 2021 ended on a high note, with games and exciting contests awarding winners RM50 GrabFood vouchers – a truly wonderful and informative session to end the work week!
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“When I say ‘culture’, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?” That was the question posed to GELM leaders at the first-ever “In Conversation with Leaders” session on 9 August 2021, featuring GELM Head of Human Capital Dennis Tan, GELM Chief Financial Officer Loke Chang Yueh and GEGM Head of Claims Management Goh Ching On.
Organised by GELM’s Human Capital Culture Crew, the session focused on two values –
“Accountability” and “Exploring Possibilities”. Moderated by Mallory Loone, Co-Founder of WorkInspires, a people development and engagement company that has worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies both locally and abroad, our GELM leaders shared how they practiced these values despite volatility and disruptions in the business environment.
This series is one of many initiatives we have in store to build up the generic skills and competencies (GSCs) of our workforce, in addition to practicing transparent communication between leaders and employees.
Watch the video and find out what culture means to our leaders in Malaysia!
Illuminate Hope and Unity – GELM’s Raya Virtual Townhall 2021
Back for the second year, the Raya Virtual Townhall 2021 was hosted on Facebook Live on 6 August. Employees participated in various games and a lucky draw and GELM CEO Dato Koh Yaw Hui, decked in a dashing blue traditional ‘baju melayu’ and matching ‘sampin’, shared key highlights and company updates for the first half of 2021.
Other event highlights included video interviews of how our GELM colleagues went about their Raya festivities despite movement restrictions, a special music video by winners of Townhall’s staff contest, and a video of the top five reasons why Great Eastern is a GREAT company to work at.
In the spirit of giving back to the community, the Townhall Committee also carried out a CSR project called “WeCare” on 12 August 2021. Due to MCO restrictions, daily essentials such as food and toiletries were delivered to Yayasan Sunbeams Home, a children’s home for 135 children. This project was conducted to help Malaysians during this challenging period.
Check out the highlights below!
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GELI’s Mental Health Series is back! For the session on 16 July 2021, the activity was Basic Gardening, which aligns with our sustainability campaign. We collaborated with WeGrow, an advocate of green living, and the 30 staff participants each received an eco-friendly planting tool kit which comprises a shovel, a planting tray, a guidebook and seeds of plants such as kale, bean, telang tea, chili, spinach and sunflower.
Conducted virtually over two hours, the WeGrow team explained how to make sprouts, microgreens, baby green and how to plant.
This Basic Gardening activity allowed our staff to keep productive while working from home. This is the third activity of GELI’s Mental Health Series brought to you by the GELI Human Capital team.
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The LIFE Programme continues to empower GELM employees to stay active and take charge of their health and well-being amidst the pandemic. A series of virtual activities was organised for employees, including well-being and sustainability talks, virtual activities like fitness classes, e-learning courses, etc.
In addition, through the LIFE Programme, employees participated in the Activ@Work Challenge by PERKESO – a 3-month steps challenge that started from 1 July 2021 – to encourage them to stay active even while working from home, a step towards the goal of becoming the most active workplace in Malaysia!
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GEGI organised a financial literacy webinar for more than 100 students, lecturers and employees at STMIK and STIE Mikrosil, a university in Medan on 5 June 2021. Agency Manager Prima Nanda shared the benefits and importance of insurance, as well as career opportunities in the insurance industry to the young audience.
This event is an annual activity organised by GEGI to support the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) programme to educate the wider community on insurance.
Over in Semarang, GEGI donated four computers to support online learning activities for some 30 children at the Tanah Putih Orphanage who are currently subjected to the stay-at-home mandate. We also donated washing machines and repaired the sports field, which is the children’s main form of recreation, so that they can continue to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle amidst the pandemic.
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These past months, GETB sprang into action to help those who had lost their jobs due to the economic impact of Covid-19 as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) working the ground in Malaysia made appeals for emergency funds and basic necessities on social media.
In June, we learnt of children in Sabah going to bed hungry because their fishermen fathers could not go out to sea due to the lockdown. We reached out to a group providing aid in the form of groceries and food to families in Kinarut and Putatan and contributed RM10,000 to this cause, also called Projek Asal. With this contribution, the group was able to purchase bags of rice, eggs, sugar, cooking oil and other sundry food items for 110 families in these two villages.
GETB received another urgent request for funds in July from Pertubuhan Kebajikan Nur Hati, a charity home for toddlers, troubled youths and unwed mothers in nearby Ampang. As recent as March 2021, we provided laptops to the home to help the youths generate income through online marketplace. There was a more pressing need this time as more than half of the home’s 70 occupants were infected with Covid-19 and they needed funds for medical supplies to deal with the unfortunate situation. GETB contributed RM10,000 within a quick turnaround.
In August, we contributed another RM10,000 to Hope Branch, an NGO that was providing basic necessities to families in need, including single mothers and senior citizens, who were unable to go out due to the lockdown and movement restriction rules and purchase essential items in large quantities due to a lack of funds.
Said Great Eastern Takaful Head of Marketing Nurul Sheila Khalib: “We could not stand by and do nothing, so we decided to repurpose the allocation of our CSR fund towards these causes. It was a time of great need and we wanted to not only help feed the hungry, but also set an example for other corporates to follow.
“We wanted to create a bigger impact and came up with our GET BIG CSR Campaign. Besides drawing RM100,000 from our Marketing budget, we organised a donation drive among staff and agents to help more communities. GETB will match their contributions dollar-for-dollar, and the funds will be channeled to more than 10 NGOs over the next few months.”
These situations reminded us of the core purpose of our business as a Takaful provider, to band together to help those in need because we can.
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Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) is back! It will feature Singapore’s first all-women’s virtual run, with a runners-led fund-raising initiative where donated monies will go towards helping underprivileged women in the society.
What’s more, this year’s race will also contribute to environmental sustainability. We are eliminating single-use plastic in race packs and entitlements – finisher medals are made from 100% recyclable materials while the race bag is made of natural pulp fibre and fully recyclable.
Great Eastern Cares: Raising funds to empower women
As part of our efforts to give back to the community, the Great Eastern Cares Fundraising Challenge was launched for both our corporate and agency colleagues to raise funds in support of two Women-related charities – Breast Cancer Foundation and Daughters of Tomorrow. All participants of the Great Eastern Cares Challenge would receive complimentary slots and race packs for the run, and UPGREAT points worth up to $2,800 will be given for the top fundraising teams.
Donations will be garnered in two ways:
- Clock in your miles in September and October and Great Eastern will donate S$1 for every 1km run by all staff and financial representative teams (up to $20,000).
- Every participating team will also be given a link for family and friends to donate in support of your efforts. Donations can be easily made via simplygiving, a platform that facilitates charitable giving.
*UPDATE: Great Eastern Fundraising Cares Challenge has been fully subscribed. Thank you for your support!
GEWR Virtual Challenge
Clock your miles via a mobile app from 14 November to 14 December, across five different race categories – 5km, 10km, 21.1km distances, as well as the popular 2km category specially for mothers and daughters (12 years and under). We have included a special 113km category to commemorate our 113th anniversary this year. For this 113km category, you can choose to form a team of two to four ladies to complete the distance collectively or clock it individually within the time period.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and tips.
Goodies for Runners
Weekly Challenges
Exclusively for GEWR 2021 registered participants, a series of monthly in-app virtual challenges will be conducted to help you increase mileage and improve your pace. Starting from 20 Sep through 24 Oct, join the five weekly challenges and stand to win exciting prizes. There will be five weekly winners and over S$9,000 worth of prizes including exclusive yacht getaways, Le Creuset cookware, shopping vouchers and many more to be given away.
For more information, visit greateasternwomensrun.com.
About our beneficiaries
Breast Cancer Foundation and Daughters of Tomorrow are the appointed beneficiaries of GEWR 2021.
Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) is a social service agency which advocates for the early detection of breast cancer and supports the low income affected and the breast cancer community in Singapore.
Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT) is a local charity seeking to empower women by helping them achieve financial independence and meaningful employment to support their families.
Find out more about these beneficiaries by clicking on the links.
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We launched two new platforms in Indonesia to provide customers with the convenience of e-services and information on the go, and enhance our engagement with a digital-savvy audience.
GELI launched the Great Eastern Corporate app which enables group insurance customers to buy insurance policies, access their policy information, submit claims, locate the nearest health provider and have an online consultation with a doctor. Since its launch on 9 April 2021, the app has been downloaded more than 2,300 times.
As part of the campaign, we conducted an Instagram Live Session featuring Alfi Yani, Head of Customer Experience & Digital Services, who explained the features and advantages of Great Eastern Corporate app such as allowing GELI customers to pay excess and obtaining a Letter of Guarantee when being treated at GELI’s panel of medical facilities. Lily Johan, Head of Human Capital Services, OCBC NISP, shared how the app benefited OCBC NISP employees.
Separately, on 5 July 2021, GEGI launched its official Facebook and Instagram accounts with the tag name: greasteasterngeneral.id.
Our social media presence helps to connect with the increasingly digital-savvy public and drive brand awareness on our suite of products for individual (home, motor, travel and PA) and corporate needs through the sharing of financial tips, trending news, places of interest and hidden gems throughout Indonesia, while serving to educate the public on insurance.
Do like our social media channels and share with your family and friends to be up-to-date with our latest information!
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Record Win Streak by GELM
Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad (GELM) has been awarded the winner of the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand 2021 Gold Award in the Life Insurance category for the 18th consecutive year. This is the longest winning streak by a life insurer in the Award’s history. GELM also won the Gold Award in the Health Insurance category for the 4th consecutive year. These awards are a significant milestone for GELM as recognition for being a trusted partner on the life journey of our customers, and as a brand that sets the standard for excellence in the industry.
Awards List – Q3 2021
Singapore
Best in Future of Digital Infrastructure Award – IDC Future Enterprise Awards
Malaysia
Gold Award for Life Insurance and Health Insurance category – Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands
Indonesia
Indonesia Best Business Transformation Award – SWA magazine
Most Innovative Insurance Award 2021 – Iconomics
Winner of Infobank Insurance Awards – Infobank
Excellent for General Insurance with Gross Premium Rp 250 billion – Rp 500 billion category – Infobank Insurance Awards
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Read & Win: June Survey Participants & New Quiz
A big “Thank You” to all readers who responded to the survey in the June issue on how we can make TGT better for you.
Congratulations to the 10 following winners who participated in the survey! You have won 2,000 GREAT Dollars (worth S$20)!
- Linda Chew Wai Ying
- Thien Ya Kit
- Justina Tan Jing Jun
- Sherman Goh Khoon Chuan
- Tan Lee Sin
- Ong Yee How
- Koh Jing Hiang
- Raymond Choo Ming Hui
- Alnie Marie Arban Duavis
- Hariharan Padmanabhan
The points will be credited into your Great Eastern Rewards account by 4 October 2021. Keep a lookout for them!
And now for the next quiz. Answer all the three questions below correctly and stand to win 2,000 GREAT Dollars (worth S$20)! Five lucky winners with the correct answers will be picked.
- How many trees are we planting as part of the “Plant-A-Tree” Campaign?
- What is the current book that Ai Ning is reading?
- When and on what platform was the GELM Raya Virtual Townhall 2021 held?
Send your entries to tgt-sg@greateasternlife.com by 31 October 2021. Open to GELS staff only. Winners will be announced in the next TGT issue in December.
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