OCTOBER 2018
What's in this issue?
Click below to read more.
CELEBRATE GREAT
» "The Great Gala"
» "Written in the Stars"
CELEBRATE OUR BRAND
» Great Eastern Women's Run 2018 in Notable Numbers!
CELEBRATE GREAT CONNECTIONS
» Building Great Connections
CELEBRATE PARTNERSHIPS AND TEAMWORK
» Partnerships with Sembcorp Power and Samsung
» Final Sprint 2018
» Great Eastern Amateur Football League 2018
CELEBRATE INNOVATION
» More Choices, More Rewards, More Value for UPGREAT Users
» Digital Skills Learning Carnival
» GREAT Personal Protector and i-Gr8 Harapan
CELEBRATE LIFE
» Keeping Fit with LIFE Programme!
CELEBRATE COMMUNITY
» Making a Meaningful Difference
CELEBRATE SUCCESS
» Awards and Accolades
Click here for past TGT issues.
CELEBRATE GREAT
The Great Gala, held at Resorts World Sentosa on 6 October, was a magical night for Great Eastern Singapore staff. In celebration of our 110th anniversary, the event was a dazzling and grand affair!
Excitement was in the air as the crowd swept into the ballroom (with lush décor and a grand centre stage) in their glamorous gowns and sharp suits.
The night got off to a great start with an energetic opening performance -- aptly named “The Greatest Showman” -- by 16 of our talented staff. The high-energy Celebrities Concert featured celebrity impersonators of Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Jay Chou/Sam Lee, Kamal Hassan and rapper Pras-- who battled it out as their fans gathered around the stage to cheer them on. Ben Ho from Centre for Excellence emerged the winner with his excellent impersonation of Jay Chou/Sam Lee.
Other highlights included the Tik Tok segment -- with a heart-warming collage showcasing 110 Tik Tok video entries contributed by staff across all departments. The Top 11 most entertaining entries drew much laughter and applause from the crowd. Another crowd favourite was the Best Dressed competition where contestants impressed with not just their outfits but also with their spontaneity, showmanship and wit.
The event was made sweeter with exciting prizes, starting from the Early Bird Draw with 10 winners each receiving an iPad, to the Grand Lucky Draw. The loudest cheers were heard when Group CEO Mr Khor Hock Seng announced that everyone present would receive a prize.
The night ended on a high note with Mr Khor wowing the crowd with his rendition of Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” together with the band “Shagies” and all joining in. Indeed, it was a fitting end to "The Great Gala"!
Held on 13 October at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, a record-breaking turnout of over 1,700 attended the event in sparkling hues of navy blue, purple, silver and black according to the galaxy and space-travel theme, “Written in the Stars”.
The theme is a symbolic representation of Great Eastern’s presence in the industry for the past 110 years. Being the largest and oldest star that has been shining for over a century till today, Great Eastern continues to shine and provide financial security to our customers as we continue to set new standards.
Staff were dazzled by the décor and spectacular performances by LED dancers and aerialists who lit up the stage with their gravity-defying performances followed by five talented staff from various departments performing their original musical act -- Wish Upon a Star. International award-winning and Guinness World Record-holding Malaysian illusionists, Mark Yong and Pinky Loo presented their Costume Quick Change act to the delight of the audience and Malaysian Queen of Rock Ella enthralled the crowd with hit favourites.
The lucky draw featured attractive prizes, including the top cash prize of RM8,888. The lucky draw session ended with a surprise draw of 10 additional prizes of RM1,100 each from CEO Dato Koh Yaw Hui and Chairman Mr Norman Ip. Staff who were present for the dinner but did not win prizes received a small token in conjunction with Great Eastern celebrating our 110th year.
CELEBRATE OUR BRAND
Great Eastern Women’s Run 2018 in Notable Numbers!
- 13th edition, largest all-women run in Southeast Asia
- 1st time held at the Singapore Sports Hub
- 2 VVIPs -- Guest of Honour Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Member of Parliament (Mountbatten)
- 14,500 ladies of all ages participated
- Over 900 Great Eastern staff and financial representatives, our largest contingent to date!
- $51,500 raised for Breast Cancer Foundation and Women’s Health Research and Education Fund
- Over 6,000 runners participated in the most popular 5km Live Great! Fun Run
- 11 international Elite runners featured in the half marathon Elite category, with Kasumi Yoshida from Japan clincheing the top spot with a timing of 01:19:01
- 01:27:21 was the winning time recorded by Mok Ying Rong, the fastest Singaporean in the Elite category
- 124 runners participated in the 110m Sprint, a new race category to commemorate our 110th anniversary
- 400 tiaras were given out to little ‘princesses’ in the Princess Dash
- 15,500 litres of water provided
- Over 14,000 chicken pies and chocolate muffins catered
- 20 massage stations and masseuses provided post-race massages
- 1 giant Powder Room with 18 beauty stations for runners to refresh themselves
- Over 300 entries received for #RuntoLiveGreat Programme, of which 45 ladies were selected
- Countless memorable LIVE GREAT moments!
CELEBRATE GREAT CONNECTIONS
Great Connections: Lunch with Leaders is a new series organised in Singapore as a platform for staff to engage with and learn from our senior management team helmed by Group CEO. During the sessions, staff interacted with various Group Management Committee members over lunch and sharing on various corporate topics in an informal setting.
Since commencing in September, the sessions have garnered positive feedback with over 90% of the participants indicating that they enjoyed their session and over 80% indicating that they would be keen to join another session, or recommend it to their colleagues.
GETB also organises similar tea sessions with senior management as part of staff communication and engagement initiatives. Held quarterly, the tea session is open to all in GETB. At a recent tea session, five members from the senior management team, including CEO Shahrul Azlan Shahriman and CFO Jasveen Kaur Marne, shared company updates and had an interactive tea session with staff.
MD, Group Operations Patrick Kok had a meaningful interaction with staff over lunch.
An enjoyable Connect session with Jimmy Tong, MD, Group and General Insurance.
The GETB tea session was highly engaging and drew good response.
CELEBRATE PARTNERSHIPS AND TEAMWORK
Partnership with Sembcorp Power
Great Eastern is the first insurer to collaborate with SembCorp Power to provide home insurance for homeowners across Singapore.
This follows the success of the pilot collaboration which started in April 2018 with households in Jurong. With the nationwide launch of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) by Energy Marketing Authority (EMA) from 1 November 2018, both parties are taking the opportunity to leverage their suite of solutions to deliver greater value to customers across Singapore.
This collaboration is the first to offer a bundled electricity cum home insurance plan. With this partnership, SembCorp Power customers will receive a complimentary 12-month home contents protection plan underwritten by Great Eastern General Insurance. The complimentary plan covers renovations and household contents against loss or damage caused by perils such as fire and theft, for up to S$2,000.
The Samsung Members mobile app offers exclusive deals and benefits as well as customer support. In the latest addition to the app’s rewards programme, special promotional deals on home contents insurance plan and travel insurance plan by Great Eastern General Insurance are now available to members through the app.
Members interested to purchase these insurance plans will be directed seamlessly to the Great Eastern website for instant purchase and policy issuance.
The soon-to-be-launched 2nd phase of this partnership involves more integration of services to bring Great Eastern a big step closer to Samsung members. Stay tune for more updates!
Singapore
For the first time, the Final Sprint was decentralised and held at cluster level. Overall, more than 1,200 financial representatives attended the sessions.
The programme included corporate updates on the ramped up support the agency force can look forward to in the areas of underwriting and extended customer service operating hours. Speakers also shared on Great Eastern 110 campaign, GETGREAT and UPGREAT developments as well as the GREAT Personal Protector campaign.
GPP champions SFP Andy Seng from Great Eastern House and Director Linda Chua from Great Eastern Changi shared insights on their customer and sales techniques. Details of Quarter 4 incentives were also revealed.
Judging from the excitement and interest generated at all the sessions, there is no doubt that the agency force will be forging ahead to end the year on a winning note.
Malaysia
‘Embrace Disruption, Emerge Winner’ was the continuing theme for the Final Sprint, which saw agents from Kuala Lumpur, Klang and Seremban converging at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.
The agents were encouraged to put in their best efforts for the final lap to ensure that Great Eastern retains its top market position. Guest speaker Eric Feng provided advice on the importance of a can-do attitude and urged all to strive for breakthrough performances for the remainder of 2018 and beyond.
True to the theme, the event also celebrated the success of mobile sales between January to September this year. The Top 3 100% Mobile Point of Sales (MPOS) Adoption Agency Awards and the Highest MPOS Submission Agency Award were presented.
The theme for the GETB Final Sprint was aptly called the ‘The Ultimate Battle’. Some 900 GETB agents dressed in military-inspired outfits, complete with berets and boots, turned up in full force at the CFE Hall in a demonstration of their fighting spirit as they geared up for a fruitful final quarter.
On hand to provide insightful perspectives were a trio of speakers comprising top-performing agent Heng Shoou Ju, Lt Colonel Shamsul Risal Musa of the Malaysia Special Forces who shared lessons on endurance in the battlefield, and motivational speaker Alphonse Peter.
Seven GETB agents were recognised for their performance and received awards in the Special Recognition Category for Million Dollar Unit & Million Dollar Agency.
Great Eastern Amateur Football League 2018
Great Eastern Amateur Football League started in 2015 to provide a platform for young players to uncover their sporting potential in Singapore’s most popular sport while honing important soft skills.
Great Eastern agency leaders served as team managers and worked closely with the players, many of whom are local undergraduates, to advance in the competition. Through the process of training and playing together, it was also an opportunity for the players to learn more about Great Eastern.
This year, eight teams took part in the league, going through 12 qualifying matches before being sorted into the Cup and Plate categories. After a total of 20 matches, Lions Clique emerged first in the Cup category, while FCB was the champion in the Plate category.
More Choices, More Rewards, More Value for UPGREAT Users
An exciting new dimension has been added to UPGREAT with the introduction of UPGREAT Points.
UPGREAT has added a bevy of new partners, including KrisFlyer, Shell, Watsons and Robinsons, to its suite of existing rewards partners and UPGREAT users will now have more choices to enjoy their rewards.
In conjunction with this and Great Eastern’s 110th Anniversary, Great Eastern is giving away 1,100,000 UPGREAT Points to 110 lucky winners for the month of November. Simply download the UPGREAT app, and “Play & Win”.
Exciting Star Buys will also be up for grabs. UPGREAT users can redeem attractive rewards such as Samsung TVs with UPGREAT points.
Commented Ryan Cheong, Managing Director, Strategy and Transformation Great Eastern, “Our aim is to make insurance an enjoyable, everyday experience. A key focus is to build relationships with our customers beyond just insurance to exciting everyday interactions and experiences. One of these ways is to help them enjoy more rewards in their daily life.”
Geared to GETGREAT Digital Walkathon
The two-month Geared to GETGREAT Digital Walkathon recently concluded with a record 4,000 groups formed.
Congratulations to our Grand Prize winning team who won a 4D/3N holiday to Seoul, South Korea, as well as our August and September winning group members, who each won a Samsung Galaxy S9.
Geared to GETGREAT Digital Walkathon
Grand Prize Winning Team
“GETGREAT Rallies Everyone, Alias Team Sofamiredo to Exercise Assiduously and Strengthen Team spirit, Endurance and Reflex. NOW, we feel GREAT!”
August Winning Team
“GETGREAT the ultimate elixir to true health and happiness, propelling us beyond what we can achieve. Life’s GREAT with GETGREAT.”
September Winning Team
“Getting Everyone Together!
Geri provides Running, Exciting physical Activities and nutritional Tips for us to enjoy a more active lifestyle.”
Digital Skills Learning Carnival
A one-day Digital Skills Learning Carnival was recently organised at Great Eastern Singapore. Featuring bite-size learning sessions on various digital topics such as Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing as well as interesting experiential booths presenting some of the newest technologies in the market, the Carnival was well received.
Commented Eliza Tan, Head of Talent Management and Learning and Development, Group Human Capital, “At Great Eastern, we recognise that digital innovation is the catalyst for us to take customer engagement and experience to a new level.
“To support this initiative, we need to excite and enable our workforce to be future ready. The Carnival is one of the learning experiences we created with that purpose in mind… where our employees can learn about new technologies and digital trends.”
Sign up for GREAT Personal Protector (GPP) if you have not done so by now!
Be rewarded with retail vouchers of up to 15% of the qualifying annualised premium paid when you sign up for GPP and any selected new Life and Accident & Health regular premium plans! For promotion details, visit www.greateasternlife.com/protecteveryday
Additionally, after you purchase GPP, do share the benefits of GPP with family and friends via Facebook and you will be rewarded with a $10 voucher.
About GPP
GREAT Personal Protector is a high coverage personal accident plan that provides coverage of up to $3 million.
This high lump sum payout can help cover loss of income, ongoing family expenses, and the long-term rehabilitation and healthcare treatment, upon a severe disability. Plus, it provides medical expenses reimbursement for ailments such as food poisoning, insect or animal bites, stings, or attacks (including dengue fever and Zika virus), as well as medical expenses for Traditional Chinese Medicine and treatment from a chiropractor.
Contact Rose at 6248 2252 or email: ROSE@greateasternlife.com to find out more. GPP is available till 31 December 2018.
i-Gr8 Harapan
Great Eastern Takaful Berhad (GETB) recently launched i-Gr8 Harapan, a new family takaful plan in conjunction with its eighth-year anniversary.
Key benefits of i-Gr8 Harapan include a high basic sum coverage of up to RM500,000, up to four times sum covered of accidental death benefit as well as additional Badal Hajj and Waqaf services. In addition, the plan has a unique feature that allows customers to sign up without a medical check-up.
Shahrul Azlan Shahriman, GETB Chief Executive Officer said, “With an affordable contribution of as low as RM2 a day, participants are eligible to receive up to RM1 million. This proposition is exciting and will have a great appeal to both new customers and existing participants to ensure their families’ financial commitments are cared for should the unfortunate happens.”
CELEBRATE LIFE
Keeping Fit with LIFE Programme!
Over 550 Singapore colleagues participated in the Lateral Challenge under our LIFE programme .
The Lateral Challenge took place over four sessions at our various office locations. Team spirit and camaraderie was highly evident with colleagues spurring one another on to complete the run within 30 minutes.
Participants were awarded 10 LIFE Points for each completed run and an additional 30 LIFE Points if they completed a set of four runs as a team.
In Malaysia, we rolled out a series of LIFE Programme initiatives. A highlight was the month-long Fitness Transformation Programme to help our staff achieve their health goals through fitness trainings held twice a week and nutritional talks by external trainers.
The Lion King’s Futsal Cup Tournament attracted ten teams. Senior management made a special appearance and showed off their sporty side, wowing the crowd with their fitness and energy. Each member of the champion team (with a tongue-in-cheek name of ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner’) walked away with 110 LIFE points.
To encourage staff to think more creatively and critically, the “Ultimate Battle of Brains and Brawn” was organised. Over 50 participants collaborated in teams to solve physical and mental challenges with members of the winning team receiving 110 LIFE points.
As part of our Green Office Initiative, staff were given potted plants which further contributed to the healthier and greener office environment.
CELEBRATE COMMUNITY
Making a Meaningful Difference
In Singapore, we raised $51,500 in support of two women-related causes – the Breast Cancer Foundation and Women’s Health Research and Education Fund. Our corporate partners donated through sponsoring Corporate Charity teams while participants of our Great Eastern Women’s Run did their bit and donated through customising their race bibs and T-shirts as well as purchasing colourful tutus in support of the causes.
In Malaysia, we organised the ‘ChildrenCare Let’s Score ‘A’’ workshop for underprivileged children to provide academic help to the children ahead of their national Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination. Trainers were on hand to provide study aids and useful examination tips in a fun and engaging manner.
CELEBRATE SUCCESS
Across the Group, we received recognition for our community efforts, business and human resource practices and our innovative LIVE GREAT initiatives.
These awards affirm the strength of the Great Eastern brand and our commitment to making a positive impact in the communities we serve in.
Singapore
- Charity Gold Award, Community Chest Awards 2018
- Best Event: Sponsorship Activation, Marketing Events Awards 2018
- Best Event: Sports Category, Marketing Events Awards 2018
Malaysia
- Malaysia Health & Wellness Brand Awards 2017- Health Insurance
- Human Resources Asia Recruitment Awards 2018 – Silver Winner for Best Candidate Experience by a Corporate HR Team
- Human Resources Asia Recruitment Awards 2018 – Silver Winner for Best On-boarding Experience
- Fastest Growing Takaful Company (Malaysia), 2018 International Finance Awards by Acquisition International (AI)
Indonesia
- Top 5 for Best Financial Performance Category (Asset Rp 1 – 5 Trillion), Indonesia Insurance Consumer Choice Award
