SINGAPORE, 12 July 2004 – SingHealth has recorded a significant win, with all its three hospitals and four national specialist centres clinching the Family Friendly Employers Award 2004. First-time winners National Cancer Centre (NCC), National Heart Centre (NHC), National Dental Centre (NDC) and Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), joined repeat winners KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), Changi General Hospital (CGH), and Singapore General Hospital (SGH), to make this a historical event for the SingHealth cluster. SingHealth, the parent organisation, has also won the award for the first time this year.
“We are simply ecstatic with this win, which is a fine testimony to the success of our Work-Life Policy,” said Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Group CEO of SingHealth. “At SingHealth, we believe that the key to enhancing the well-being and commitment of our employees is to maintain a balance between work and personal needs. Only then will we be able to have an effective organisation. The challenge of course is to achieve this while meeting the needs of the organisation and those of our employees. Our Work-Life Policy aims to do just that.”
SingHealth and its seven winning institutions have adopted a single, common Work-Life Policy Statement since October 2002. Part of the strategy to retain talent and enhance employee satisfaction, this statement has helped the institutions to develop programmes that have allowed employees flexible work schedules, days off to care for sick immediate and extended family members, and the benefit of peer support in times
of crisis. All these have helped employees attain a well-balanced lifestyle between work, family and personal needs, while meeting the 24/7 operational needs of the institutions.
SingHealth and its institutions have benefited from being part of a larger family. Regular meetings enabled the institutions to share best practices. Institutions that have been particularly successful in their Work-Life programmes, such as three-time winner KKH, played the role of advisors and consultants to the other institutions.
SingHealth institutions also saw an improvement in employee satisfaction. A recent biennial Employee Opinion Survey at CGH, for example, showed that employee satisfaction levels were higher than the national average. At KKH, focus group discussions have shown that employees on the flexible work
arrangements are more satisfied, because they have enabled them to better balance their work and personal lives. Its last staff opinion survey (2002) revealed that the percentage of staff who said their work schedule allowed them sufficient flexibility to meet their personal / family needs was higher than the Singapore national norm.
“’Commitment’ is one of SingHealth’s shared values, where we are genuinely dedicated to the welfare of our patients, our staff and our community,” added Prof Tan. “We are therefore committed to develop more activities which will continue to help our staff balance their work and personal commitments.”
The Singapore Family Friendly Employer Award (formerly known as the Family Friendly Firm Award) is a biennial award which extols the benefits of balancing work with a healthy family life. Introduced in 1998 by the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, Singapore National Employers Federation, Ministry of Manpower, and the National Trades Union Congress, the award confers recognition upon organisations which promote pro-family efforts, and encourages the introduction of innovative pro-family practices and policies for their employees.
Here are some of the key work-life, family-friendly programmes of SingHealth and its institutions:
- NHC employees with at least six months of service enjoy a day off on their birthday, where they can take time away to relax, give themselves a treat or do something meaningful.
- SGH employees with children between the ages of six and 12 can participate in the Complete Reading Experience (CORE) Programme, where there are reading classes for preschoolers and educational activities for primary school-goers. Conducted by employees, who have been specially trained to run this programme, the mode of learning is adapted to the children’s pace. Ms Tay Swee Eng, mother of a six-year-old and four-year-old, found this programme beneficial saying, “Prior to joining CORE, my four-year-old daughter could not read and write. After only one term, she now does both with such pride.”
- Flexible work programmes are available in all institutions, where employees can enjoy the option of a compressed work week, flexi-hours, job sharing, permanent part-time work and telecommuting. Ms Han Wee Meng, a Dietician at KKH who is on an Enhanced Part-time scheme and pursuing a PhD, said, “Being given the opportunity to balance work and pursue personal achievements beyond family commitments is great! I appreciate that the organisation recognises the importance of work-life balance through its flexible work arrangement scheme. It has certainly encouraged me to continue to give my best performance at work.”
- Employees at CGH enjoy a holistic work-life programme, which include healthy lifestyle activities,
emergency childcare services, holiday enrichment programmes for staff’s children, and convenience services (eg. courier pick-up, weekly fruits and vegetables sale). It has also launched a psychological support programme, a first of its kind in Asian hospitals, which provides counseling and support to employees who may be affected by stressful traumatic events. Said Mr Tan Hai Yang, Principal Physiotherapist, Rehabilitative Services, “I am happy that I am able to place my children in our inhouse childcare centre, as it will allow me to attend to them immediately if the need arises. Knowing that the centre shares the same values as CGH, I am assured that my children receive top-quality care from their caregivers.”
- SNEC employees enjoy varied activities which enhanced employee and family interaction after office hours. These include overseas visits, family days, group tickets to shows like Cirque de Soliel’s Saltimbanco and school holiday programmes for employees’ children. Ms Serene Foo, Director of Quality Service at SNEC reflected, “I am really glad that SNEC not only cares for me as an employee, but also remembers to reward my family’s support by organising lots of activities for them. I’m able to have greater peace of mind at work, too, with my children adequately occupied during the school holidays.”
The spirit of cooperation and sharing amongst SingHealth institutions has enabled institutions located close to each other to leverage on one another’s activities. For example:
- SNEC and NDC pooled their resources and co-organised the Kids@Work programme during the school holidays in 2002 and 2003, where employees’ children were able to learn more about what their parents do and the integral role they play in public healthcare.
- Employees of institutions within SingHealth’s Outram Campus were also able to enjoy the staff activities organised by SGH, such as life-skills courses, where they could learn to cook, sew or make paper flowers.
Note to media:
We would be pleased to arrange interviews with winning institutions and their employees on the successful Work-Life programmes and activities.
About SingHealth
SingHealth is the largest provider of acute healthcare in Singapore, made up of 3 Hospitals, 5 National
Specialist Centres and a network of 8 polyclinics. We are dedicated to providing quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible to our patients.
At SingHealth, we are inspired by our shared values of Clinical Excellence, Commitment and Collaboration to provide Genuine Care to all our patients.
Members of the SingHealth group:
Hospitals
Changi General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Singapore General Hospital
National Specialist Centres
National Cancer Centre, National Dental Centre, National Heart Centre, Singapore National Eye Centre and National Neuroscience Institute
SingHealth Polyclinics
Bedok, Bukit Merah, Geylang, Marine Parade, Outram, Pasir Ris, Queenstown and Tampines
For further information, please visit us at www.singhealth.com.sg
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For more information and media interviews, please contact:
Ms Herniwaty Husni
Corporate Communications
SingHealth
DID: 6557 4950
Email: herniwaty.husni@singhealth.com.sg