Said Cheong Meng Foong, Managing Director, Group Human Resources – Reward: “We adopt a holistic approach in creating a workplace where employees feel empowered, connected and valued. As a company that has a diverse workforce, we understand that our employees will have different needs at various phases of their lives and have put in place a number of initiatives to encourage staff to take charge of their career progression and to promote greater work life integration.”
Instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all policy, DBS offers staff benefits that meet different needs. These include:
- Flexible work arrangements
- Staff loans that generally offer better terms than commercial loans, helping staff who are looking to set up their homes make their first home in the early years of their careers
- Re-employment at 62 on terms that are better than tripartite guidelines and industry norms in Singapore
- Free health screenings for all our employees, which at the same time helps DBS understand any possible health issues of its population for more targeted intervention
- Being the first to pioneer the “Shield Companion” Plan - a medical plan that complements employees’ portable enhanced MediShield plan, reducing duplication of medical coverage. The bank also pays a certain amount into their MediSave accounts to subsidise their portable medical plans premium.
Joyce Chua, DBS Assistant Vice President, Corporate Trust & Fund Services, has benefitted from the bank’s flexi-work arrangements. “DBS’ flexi-work scheme has given me the opportunity to spend more quality time with my three teenage children. I was a full-time stay-at-home mother for about three years before deciding to join the workforce again. Under the bank’s part-time work arrangement, I managed to work out an arrangement that would allow me to work four full days a week instead of the standard five-day working week. This made the transition back to work easier for me," she said.
Instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all policy, DBS offers staff benefits that meet different needs. These include:
- Flexible work arrangements
- Staff loans that generally offer better terms than commercial loans, helping staff who are looking to set up their homes make their first home in the early years of their careers
- Re-employment at 62 on terms that are better than tripartite guidelines and industry norms in Singapore
- Free health screenings for all our employees, which at the same time helps DBS understand any possible health issues of its population for more targeted intervention
- Being the first to pioneer the “Shield Companion” Plan - a medical plan that complements employees’ portable enhanced MediShield plan, reducing duplication of medical coverage. The bank also pays a certain amount into their MediSave accounts to subsidise their portable medical plans premium.
Joyce Chua, DBS Assistant Vice President, Corporate Trust & Fund Services, has benefitted from the bank’s flexi-work arrangements. “DBS’ flexi-work scheme has given me the opportunity to spend more quality time with my three teenage children. I was a full-time stay-at-home mother for about three years before deciding to join the workforce again. Under the bank’s part-time work arrangement, I managed to work out an arrangement that would allow me to work four full days a week instead of the standard five-day working week. This made the transition back to work easier for me," she said.
"Now that I have a day off during the week, I am able to have a longer meal with my children on a weekday, and they will in turn share with me what is happening in their schools and the different problems they face – something that I think would not be possible if I had less time. Through this, I also get to know their friends better. What makes this all possible are my supportive managers and colleagues, who understand the situation I’m in, and whom I know will step up to help me in a heartbeat.”
One of DBS' flexi-work arrangements is Flexi-Time. While official working hours are from 8.30am to 6.00pm, full-time employees may choose their starting and finishing work hours provided they complete a stipulated number of hours. For example, staff can commence work an hour earlier at 7.30am and end the day at 5.00pm, or commence work an hour later at 9.30am and end the day at 7.00pm. Line managers are encouraged to schedule meetings during the core working hours between 9:30am and 4:30pm.
One of DBS' flexi-work arrangements is Flexi-Time. While official working hours are from 8.30am to 6.00pm, full-time employees may choose their starting and finishing work hours provided they complete a stipulated number of hours. For example, staff can commence work an hour earlier at 7.30am and end the day at 5.00pm, or commence work an hour later at 9.30am and end the day at 7.00pm. Line managers are encouraged to schedule meetings during the core working hours between 9:30am and 4:30pm.
Employees may also consider part-time work - fewer fixed hours per day or fewer full days per week - or to take unpaid leave beyond their earned annual leave entitlement period. This arrangement is highly valued by employees, especially in cases where they wish to follow their spouses on overseas assignments or do overseas volunteer work for a few months.
Two DBS employees also won awards in the Most Supportive Colleague category: Samantha Lau, Assistant Vice President, T&O-SG-Customer Centre, and Delia Tan, Analyst, T&O-SG-Customer Centre.
