DBS wins NTUC Women's Development Secretariat SG50 Special Award

Singapore, 22 Jul 2015 - DBS is honoured to be recognised as a company that has a dedicated flexible working programme and various employee support schemes designed to help our staff better manage their time and balance their professional and personal needs.

Said Cheong Meng Foong, Managing Director, Group Human Resources – Reward: “DBS is proud to be awarded the NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat (WDS) SG50 Special Award. 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 is focused on offering staff benefits that meet our employees’ varying needs. These include:

• Flexible work arrangements (please refer to Annex 2 for more information)
• 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 our population for more targeted intervention
• Being the first to pioneer the “Shield Companion” Plan -  an innovative  medical plan that complements our 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.

Annex 1

Please find below the personal anecdote of a DBS staff who has benefitted from the bank’s Flexi-work arrangements.

Joyce Chua
Assistant Vice President, Corporate Trust & Fund Services

“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. 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.”

In addition, two DBS employees won awards in the “Most Supportive Colleague” category. Here are what some of their peers have to say about them:

1. Samantha Lau, Assistant Vice President, T&O-SG-Customer Centre
   “Sam has been a very supportive Manager throughout my pregnancy, especially while I was on maternity leave. As a mother of two teenage boys herself that had went through the remarkable motherhood journey, Sam understands the unstated needs of a mother-to-be. She has showed her concern from the time I had informed her of my pregnancy. My workload was gradually reduced nearer to my due date. She also volunteered to cover some of my responsibilities during my pregnancy and while I was on maternity leave. I am truly grateful to have her as a Manager in the team that supports me throughout my Motherhood Journey.” – Wendy Law Chia Wern, Associate, T&O-SG-Customer CentrE
   
   
2. Delia Tan, Analyst, T&O-SG-Customer Centre
   “This is my 2nd child/ pregnancy working alongside with my colleague, Delia. She had been very supportive throughout my journey with my 1st child. Thus I would like to nominate her for the Most Supportive Colleague award. She is my main cover during my absence. I am truly blessed to have her as my cover/ working partner as she understands the importance & urgency to be in a Human Resource/ Onboarding department. She is very diligent & knowledgeable. I did not need to worry about a single task when I was on maternity leave. It was not easy for her to shoulder my responsibilities and to guide a temporary staff for 4 months without such strong dedication and a positive mindset.” – Wendy Law Chia Wern, Associate, T&O-SG-Customer Centre

Annex 2

Please find below more information on four of DBS’ Flexi-work arrangements available to all employees. Staff who need some flexibility at work, be it to take care of their young children or aged parents or to focus on their studies, can discuss the possibility of such arrangements with their managers, keeping in mind business and individual needs.

1. Flexi-Time:  Official working hours are from 8.30am to 6.00pm. To best meet their individual needs, full-time employees have the flexibility to choose their starting and finishing times, 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. Core working hours are between 9:30am and 4:30pm during which Line Managers are encouraged to schedule meetings and briefings.
   
   
2. Part-time work:  Employees may decrease their working hours to less than that of the standard work week. They can choose to work for a reduced number of fixed hours per day (e.g. work 4 hours per day, from Monday to Friday) or a reduced number of full days per week (e.g. work three full days per week) depending on their personal situations. Such arrangements are especially critical to employees who need time to handle personal matters on a prolonged basis e.g. to take care of a sick dependent or tend to a young child taking critical exams. When their personal circumstances change, employees can then request to revert to full-time work arrangements again.
   
   
3. Unpaid Leave:  Employees also have the option to take unpaid leave of absence beyond the earned annual leave entitlement period. This enables them to spend a period of time away from work to manage their personal commitments. They may choose to apply for unpaid leave for a few days, a few months or a year, subject to work exigencies. 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.
   
   
4. Work From Home: Employees may work from home when necessary. DBS has built out its technological infrastructure to enable our people to work outside the office. Basic tools such as laptops are provided to enable them to do so. They can also use technology such as WebEx meetings to connect with their colleagues virtually when they are physically absent from the office. Such flexibility is offered to staff who may need to work from home on a given day/ half-day to tend to personal matters without requiring them to apply for leave. Employees can also enjoy free WIFI on their mobile devices across the three DBS offices in Singapore which allows them to access internet sites and social channels using both work and personal mobile devices. This gives staff the flexibility to bring their own devices to work and further enable them to telecommute.

 

Other flexi-work benefits include:

1. iFlex@DBS
   All employees can customise benefits to their personal preferences and use iFlex$ in their Flexible Spending Account on a variety of items relating to Health and Wellness and Work-life Balance for themselves and their family e.g. dependent medical, vision care, health screening and dental expenses.
   
   
2. 5@5 Programme
   Employees may leave work at 5pm every Friday to spend more time with their families.

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About DBS
DBS - Living, Breathing Asia
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's capital position, as well as "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings, is among the highest in Asia-Pacific. DBS has been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been named “Asia’s Best Bank” by The Banker, a member of the Financial Times group, and “Best Bank in Asia-Pacific” by Global Finance. The bank has also been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for six consecutive years from 2009 to 2014.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking activities across Asia. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. These market insights and regional connectivity have helped to drive the bank’s growth as it sets out to be the Asian bank of choice. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 21,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.