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The aim is to provide staff with fluidity and flexibility, as well as to accommodate the growing number of employees, says Carol Tan, Head of HR, Singapore and Australia.
As a global health and medical services company with an established presence in Singapore, Cigna Healthcare is dedicated to improving the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of those it serves.
At the third annual edition of Employee Experience Awards - Singapore in 2023, Cigna Healthcare Singapore was nominated as a finalist in the category for 'Best Employee Wellness Strategy'.
To celebrate this milestone, we catch up with Carol Tan, Head of Human Resources, Cigna Healthcare Singapore & Australia (pictured below), who tells us the importance of providing staff with fluidity and flexibility, as well as supporting them in their health and vitality.
Q How do you ensure your employee experience initiatives are aligned with your business objectives?
As a global health company committed to creating a better future built on the health and vitality of every individual and community, we place the same emphasis on caring for our most important asset: our employees.
The pandemic has shown how integral employee wellbeing is to the success of a business – the hybrid work model has led to virtual overload, higher levels of stress, prompting employees to change jobs or even shift careers. Our 360 Wellbeing Survey in 2022 revealed that almost three in five (57%) people in Singapore were happy to take a less well-paid job for more time for themselves.
We found that when organisations focus on employee wellbeing, there is a significant reduction in employee turnover, and in turn, recruitment fees and training costs.
We are committed to placing our employees’ wellbeing as our top priority as a win-win strategy, with a focus on supporting them through mental wellbeing initiatives.
Q Can you provide examples of how the organisation has invested in the employee experience?
Last year, to shift how mental health is approached in the workplace, Cigna Healthcare launched the ‘5% Pledge’, where senior leaders devote 5% of their time to listen, craft, and implement tangible change to cultivate a positive and supportive work environment. In Singapore, a quarterly ‘Duvet Day’ was developed as a result, giving additional time off to ensure every employee has sufficient and regular breaks throughout the year to focus on themselves.
Another initiative is ‘Cigna Make One Small Change’, a suite of online health improvement programmes that help employees improve health behaviour across five areas: quitting smoking, improving nutrition, sleeping better, increasing activity, and building resilience.
In recognition of physical and mental wellness being the base layer that supports productivity, we provide annual reimbursement for employees to claim for health- and wellness-related expenses, on top of comprehensive healthcare coverage.
Q What are some of the key challenges that you faced in implementing your EX initiatives, and how did you overcome them?
As we shifted into a hybrid work model due to the pandemic, we implemented a 'team’s day' to ensure the team gets together for better engagement and relationship building. Currently, we still follow a hot-desking arrangement to provide staff with fluidity and flexibility, as well as to accommodate the growing number of employees working in the Singapore office with ongoing expansion of the team.
Some challenges we faced include new employees finding it difficult to locate their colleagues, as well as lowered housekeeping standards. To overcome this, we set up zones within the office and encouraged employees from the same department to sit within the same zone, in order for employees to locate their colleagues with ease, as well as for better collaboration.
Q Do you have processes to measure the effectiveness of your EX initiatives, and what metrics do you use to evaluate success?
At Cigna Healthcare, we value our employees’ views and feedback, and gauge them on an ongoing basis through formal feedback channels such as surveys and regular check-ins between people managers and their teams.
An example would be the ‘Cigna Insights Survey’, which reviews areas that can impact employee wellbeing, and other areas such as company culture. We measure employee metrics including stress, wellbeing, and workload globally with our net promoter score (NPS). Having this measurement also ensures we are aware of any issues and able to intervene or adjust in a timely manner. We also encourage managers to check in with their teams to listen to any concerns that they may have.
As a result of our initiatives, we have seen a high NPS, and a healthy staff retention rate.
Q Finally, what role do leaders and managers play in driving a beautiful employee experience, and how are they held accountable for the success of these initiatives?
We believe in having a strong wellness culture that starts from the top. Hence, we are actively encouraging other business leaders in Singapore and around the world to join in the 5% Pledge and commit time and effort to supporting employee mental health.
Cigna Healthcare Singapore has recently introduced engagement champions to accurately assess and implement initiatives that can make a real difference for employees, and ensure that the effectiveness of initiatives is accurately measured.
The pandemic has changed the way we live and work, while new challenges like the cost-of-living crisis continue to impact people’s lives. Leaders and managers must therefore be more empathetic and seek to understand the diverse needs and challenges of their employees. To this end, we have tapped into our expertise and knowledge of industry health trends to provide comprehensive and relevant care initiatives as part of our own employee wellness strategy.
Interviewee Carol Tan
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets' section!
Photos: Provided
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