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Employee experience cannot be strengthened through standalone initiatives, says Tan Yuh Tze, Director (Corporate Human Resource). For MOH, supporting employees’ growth, wellbeing, leadership development, and ways of working had to happen together.
At the Ministry of Health (MOH) (Singapore), a candid look at employee feedback revealed a challenge many organisations face: career advancement was a leading reason employees chose to leave.
In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, MOH saw signs of burnout, higher attrition, and lower engagement. Rather than responding with a series of isolated HR programmes, the organisation took a step back to examine the entire employee journey, and the connections between career development, leadership capability, culture, wellbeing, and hybrid work.
That shift has helped MOH build a more coherent employee experience, recognised at the Employee Experience Awards 2026, Singapore, where it received the following accolades:
- Gold for 'Best First-Time Manager Programme'
- Gold for 'Best Hybrid Work Model'
- Gold for 'Most Inspiring Leader' – Kenneth Mak Seck Wai
- Silver for 'Most Innovative and Sustainable Office Design'
- Bronze for 'Best Career Development Programme'
Following the wins, Tan Yuh Tze, Director (Corporate Human Resource), Ministry of Health (Singapore), shares why tackling career-progression concerns required more than training, how shared ownership has shaped MOH’s approach, and why technology must make room for more human connection at work.
Q Tell us about the biggest insight or lesson that influenced your EX approach this past year.
One of our biggest lessons was that employee experience cannot be improved through isolated initiatives. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were signs of burnout, higher attrition and lower engagement levels, with career advancement emerging as the top reason employees left.
This prompted us to look beyond individual programmes and examine the overall employee journey. We realised that leadership development, career growth, workplace culture and ways of working are deeply connected. Supporting first-time managers, providing clearer career pathways and building trust in a hybrid work environment all needed to happen together.
That shift in mindset helped us focus on creating a more coherent employee experience. As a result, engagement survey response rates increased by 10%, while resignation rates fell slightly. More importantly, we saw greater confidence among employees that their growth and wellbeing concerns are addressed.
Q How did you bring leaders, managers, and employees together to support the execution and success of the initiative?
Employee experience cannot be driven by HR alone. Success depended on leaders, managers and employees each playing an active role. Our senior leaders thus set the tone through open and authentic communication, including ministry-wide conversations led by our Senior Management. Directors also came together to shape our Healthy Ways of Working, ensuring that key decisions reflected real workplace realities.
Employee experience cannot be driven by HR alone. Success depended on leaders, managers and employees each playing an active role. Our senior leaders thus set the tone through open and authentic communication, including ministry-wide conversations led by our Senior Management.
Directors also came together to shape our Healthy Ways of Working, ensuring that key decisions reflected real workplace realities.
Most importantly, people-related discussions became part of regular leadership and talent reviews, reinforcing that employee experience is a shared responsibility across the organisation.
Q What challenge behind the scenes tested your team the most, and what did it teach you about building stronger employee experience programmes?
One of the toughest challenges we faced was addressing career advancement concerns, which remained the leading reason employees move on from MOH. We were particularly concerned about first-time managers, as Assistant Directors initially accounted for a significant share of overall resignations.
Our immediate instinct was to strengthen training, but the data told a different story. The issue was not a lack of programmes but the absence of sustained support during a major career transition. New managers needed guidance well beyond a single workshop.
This led us to rethink our approach and build support across the entire leadership journey, from preparation before appointment to mentoring, post-workshop coaching where necessary and follow-up developmental programmes after they assume the role.
"The experience reinforced an important lesson: meaningful employee experience outcomes are measured not by participation rates, but by whether people feel more confident, capable and supported over time."
Q As you reflect on the journey, what this recognition at the Employee Experience Awards 2026 mean to you and your team?
This recognition is especially meaningful because it affirms that investing in employee experience strengthens, rather than competes with, organisational performance. In a mission-driven public healthcare environment, supporting our employees well enables us to serve Singaporeans better.
At the heart of this is something we are proud of: our officers feel a deep sense of purpose working in the Ministry. That connection to MOH's mission of improving the health and lives of Singaporeans is one of our greatest strengths, and it is something we are committed to nurturing alongside the more structural aspects of employee experience.
For our HR team, it is also a welcome acknowledgement of the efforts that often happen behind the scenes, from strengthening support for first-time managers to redesigning workspaces and reviewing policies that improve everyday experiences at work.
The award belongs to our officers. Their feedback, whether through surveys, conversations or ground sensing, has shaped many of the changes we have made. It reminds us to keep listening, learning and improving.
Q Finally, as employee expectations continue to evolve, what is one area of EX you believe HR teams will need to rethink in the year ahead?
HR teams will need to rethink how technology can enhance, rather than replace, the human side of the employee experience.
Employees increasingly expect support that is timely, personalised and accessible, whether through AI-enabled career tools, digital coaching platforms or self-service resources. At the same time, trust in leaders, meaningful conversations and a sense of belonging remain some of the strongest drivers of engagement and retention.
"For MOH, we would add a sense of purpose to that list. Our officers' deep commitment to the Ministry's mission is a powerful anchor, and HR has a role to play in keeping that connection alive as the nature of work evolves."
Technology should help remove administrative friction and make support easier to access, while creating more space for managers and leaders to focus on coaching, mentoring and building genuine connections with their teams. The opportunity for HR is to strike the right balance, which will be critical in the years ahead.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
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