OUR PEOPLE – Developing and Caring for our Employees, Our Greatest Asset
Helping our people flourish
Our people are our most important asset and key to sustainable, long-term growth. In FY 2018, we invested S$31 million in staff learning and development in both Singapore and Australia, and invested an average of 29.2 training hoursper employee.
To improve the digital literacy of employees and empower them in a landscape of rapid changes and constant disruption, we piloted the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace training programme to build future skills across our workforce. These customised training programmes ride on the SkillsFuture Singapore initiative to equip everyone with the mindset and basic functional skills to prepare for the future economy.
Our leadership development efforts are focused on building enterprise leadership, leadership brand, business acumen and innovation. During the year, we launched three new leadership initiatives: SCORE+ Leadership Programme, the SCORE Development Centre and Enterprise Leadership Programme to prepare our leaders to lead in the disruptive digital business landscape.
To address the industry’s increasingly pressing need for highly skilled professionals in the digital economy, we need to constantly build and nuture a robust young talent pool. In FY 2018, we awarded S$2.7 million in scholarships and apprenticeships to 72 university and polytechnic students. We have supported more than 280 students through our internship and scholarship programmes.
NICK MALHAM
Optus Product and Digital Lead
Nick realised there was a growing digital divide between those who had internet access and the disadvantaged who could not afford it. In an Australian first, he conceived the Donate Your Data programme for Optus customers to donate unused data, enabling disadvantaged youths to access technology for their education.
Building a diverse and inclusive workforce
Singtel values a diverse workforce. This is especially important given the global and diverse nature of the Group’s business, as well as the fast-changing digital economy. Women represent 34% of our staff across the Group, 26% of our upper and middle management positions as well as a third of our Board positions. As a group, we are an equal opportunity employer with more than 25,000 employees of about 90 different nationalities.
In Australia, Optus continues to work on increasing the representation of women in senior leadership and key technical roles, and we have implemented initiatives to encourage networking and leadership development. Internships are offered to Indigenous Australians to provide an opportunity for skills development and first-hand work experience.
Keeping employees engaged and healthy
We recognise that happy employees are the most engaged and productive. Besides maintaining a healthy staff engagement score of 79, our results from the Singtel Group Your Voice Survey 2017 showed that 14% more employees felt empowered to come up with solutions that better serve customers. Compared to last year, 10% more employees felt Singtel has an excellent reputation among the community.
We encourage healthy living and build a healthy workplace by promoting mental well-being, physical fitness, encouraging good nutrition habits and effective management of work and family commitments. In Australia, Optus introduced Happy People, a targeted health and wellness programme for employees to improve their energy, sleep, mood and stress levels.
We engaged employees in Singapore with a Health and Wellness Carnival as well as a one-stop health information portal. We also encouraged them to take part in the Health Promotion Board’s National Steps Corporate Challenge 2017, which saw more than 2,800 Singtel participants.
Building a diverse and inclusive workforce
Singtel values a diverse workforce. This is especially important given the global and diverse nature of the Group’s business, as well as the fast-changing digital economy. Women represent 34% of our staff across the Group, 26% of our upper and middle management positions as well as a third of our Board positions. As a group, we are an equal opportunity employer with more than 25,000 employees of about 90 different nationalities.
In Australia, Optus continues to work on increasing the representation of women in senior leadership and key technical roles, and we have implemented initiatives to encourage networking and leadership development. Internships are offered to Indigenous Australians to provide an opportunity for skills development and first-hand work experience.
Keeping employees engaged and healthy
We recognise that happy employees are the most engaged and productive. Besides maintaining a healthy staff engagement score of 79, our results from the Singtel Group Your Voice Survey 2017 showed that 14% more employees felt empowered to come up with solutions that better serve customers. Compared to last year, 10% more employees felt Singtel has an excellent reputation among the community.
We encourage healthy living and build a healthy workplace by promoting mental well-being, physical fitness, encouraging good nutrition habits and effective management of work and family commitments. In Australia, Optus introduced Happy People, a targeted health and wellness programme for employees to improve their energy, sleep, mood and stress levels.
We engaged employees in Singapore with a Health and Wellness Carnival as well as a one-stop health information portal. We also encouraged them to take part in the Health Promotion Board’s National Steps Corporate Challenge 2017, which saw more than 2,800 Singtel participants.
