CE's new year message to VITAL staff

1.

Good afternoon VITALites. Happy New Year! 2023 is here. I hope all of you had some rest time over the year-end holidays.

2.

We started 2022 with the Omicron variant sweeping through the world. Protected by our vaccinations, we learned to live with COVID-19. Most restrictions were lifted, borders re-opened and it felt almost normal again.

3.

But in 2022, the world has fundamentally changed. We are in a state of permanent crisis – the Ukraine war, global energy crisis, geo-political crisis, supply chain disruptions, economic and social challenges just to name a few.

4.

In December, I went to Germany for a family holiday. I found the place to be austere and cold, literally, since the temperature fell below zero on many days. The heating was kept low, public lighting was dim, all due to the energy crisis. Even Frankfurt Airport felt rather dark – only half the lights were turned on. Changi Airport, and the whole of Singapore, just looked so much brighter when I came home. We are so blessed to live in Singapore!

5.

But we cannot ignore the larger global forces around us. We must continue to transform, stay ahead, and make ourselves relevant to the world.

VITAL’s Contribution to the Public Service

6.

In 2022, VITAL had demonstrated agility to overcome the many challenges thrown at us.

7.

We supported the stabilisation of the new HR & Payroll system for ministries, as well as the onboarding of statutory boards onto the Cumulus system.

8.

We launched the revamped Robotics and Automation Hub portal to share RPA scripts and innovation resources with agencies; all in line with our mandate as the Robotics & Automation (R&A) lead for the whole-of-government in the corporate and administrative services domain.

Global and Industry Recognition

9.

We launched our refreshed Mission, Vision and Values. We received global awards and recognition - a testament that we are making good progress to become a globally recognised leader for corporate shared services. For example, we won the Silver Award in Business Transformation at the Shared Services Outsourcing Network (SSON) Asia Awards. We were the only public sector winner from this region in 2022.

10.

We were invited to speak on the main stage by UiPATH, a leading RPA provider, at their global conference in Las Vegas with 3,500 attendees. This was a proud moment for VITAL, for Singapore. We were also conferred the “Recognition of Excellence Award” by OpenGov at the 7th Annual Singapore OpenGov Leadership Forum.

11.

Our inclusive hiring efforts have also received good recognition. DPM Lawrence Wong made special mention of VITAL in his speech at the Inclusive Business Forum in August 2022. VITAL also received an HR Powerbank Early Adopter Recognition award from President Halimah Yacob at the Istana in November 2022.

12.

VITAL’s inclusive hiring efforts is not just about winning awards. By being inclusive, we as an organisation learn how to be less selfish, to be more empathetic and kinder towards one another. I am proud that VITAL started on this inclusive journey way back in 2016, and today, we are seen as a positive example for others to emulate.

Upskilling & Automation Drive – Our Jobs Are Changing

13.

Looking ahead in 2023 and beyond, I urge all VITALites to embrace our journey of upskilling and automation. Just as the world is rapidly changing, all of us must confront the reality that our job demands and requirements are also changing.

14.

As the central agency for shared services, VITAL is expected to do more, to be more productive, to be more efficient and to be more innovative. How do we do this?

15.

We have to leverage newer technologies in automation, including RPA and workflows. Our new systems like NEXUS and upcoming VISION are in this direction. The way we work will have to fundamentally change – we have to systematically infuse our operations with a lot more automation. Let the machines and robots do the heavy repetitive work, while staff focus on exceptions and other higher value-adding tasks. Every VITALite will have automation tools at your fingertips, to automate and make process improvements.

16.

To support this major shift, we have embarked on the citizen developer strategy. And for every VITALite to be a citizen developer, we are systematically sending all of you for training in these cutting-edge skills.

17.

I am very heartened that till date, more than 132 (26%) staff have gone for either the Certificate of Data Analytics or Specialist Diploma in Data Analytics course. More than 274 (55%) staff have attended a design thinking course, and 87 (17%) staff have attended some RPA training.

Digital Age is Inclusive!

18.

The citizen developer approach is designed for all VITALites regardless of your academic background, training, gender or age. It stems from my deep belief that VITAL has talent everywhere.

19.

Let me cite one example – one of our officers joined VITAL in 2012 (mid-career) as a Senior Executive and retired from service in February 2019. He was re-employed at the same substantive grade, as an Ops-Tech specialist. For many years, he had been picking up new skills on his own, including RPA, PowerBI, Tableau, Excel and more. Hence, he qualified for the Ops-Tech Specialist role.

20.

This officer continued to perform very well. DCE and I have personally seen his work in all the automation and dashboards to strengthen HR and payroll processes, especially for the many manual rectification works that we had to do. He is also the mentor to many of his younger colleagues.

21.

He has been an inspiration, even though he is 65 years young! When his re-employment contract came up for renewal, we put up a strong case to appoint him into a higher grade. This was unprecedented. I am glad to share that MOF HQ has since approved his re-employment at a higher subgrade. This is a historic first for VITAL! Congratulations!

22.

This officer’s story shows us that it is not about age or educational background. It is all about the attitude and willingness to learn. VITAL will provide you with the opportunities to step up, learn, and do more. All this is in line with the ForwardSG thrust as VITAL plays our part in enhancing Opportunities, for a more open and compassionate meritocracy.

23.

We have implemented the Competency Driven Growth approach in your development. Please have regular conversations with your supervisors to discuss your work performance, training opportunities and career development opportunities.

Working Hard and Creating the Culture that We Want

24.

Let me move on to work culture and work arrangements. Many of you have worked tirelessly to stabilise HRP and onboard new agencies for Cumulus. Thank you for your dedication and commitment.

25.

I want to assure you that I have no plans to change VITAL’s existing hybrid work arrangements. I say this to you because you might have read that many companies are recalling their staff back to office. Amoy Street and Maxwell Food Centre seem so crowded during lunch hours!

26.

But let us not take VITAL’s hybrid work arrangements for granted. We need to do two things to keep it going.

27.

First, ensure operational excellence – that means high levels of satisfaction from our service partners, high accuracy and timeliness.

28.

Second, build up the innovative and supportive culture that we all want in VITAL. Some companies are calling back their staff because they think that culture and innovation will take a big hit over time if hybrid working continues, and hence people must come together.

29.

We can create an innovative and supportive culture, even with hybrid work. The key here is that all of you should please make full use of your time back in office to do the things that you cannot do at home. I am very happy that a simple idea like the snacks and beverage machine has turned out to be such a hit that we have launched a second machine last December. It is wonderful that many of you come in groups with your friends to discuss and bond over the vending machine.

30.

As we work hard, we play hard – I enjoyed our party at the VITAL Dinner and Dance. I hope you have also enjoyed visiting the SEA Aquarium with the attraction tickets provided by the PLAY team.

31.

Other initiatives we have introduced include Wind-down Fridays and Hobby Hour to provide you with some personal space and protected time amidst the busy schedules.

32.

The VITAL PLAY team will continue to hold annual health screening exercise; do participate to keep check on your physical health. If you need to speak to someone over work or personal issues, we have a team of Wellness Ambassadors whom you can reach out to.

33.

Initiatives aside, I urge all of you to take ownership of your physical and mental well-being, as well as actively create the collaborative and supportive culture that defines VITAL.

34.

Did you know, by early 2023, at least 10 ex-VITALites would have re-joined VITAL. Common reasons cited for coming back include our culture, our people, our developmental opportunities. As you can see, the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Looking Ahead in 2023

35.

2023 will be an exciting year for us. We will have more VITALites trained as citizen developers. We will empower you to innovate, and ride on this automation momentum.

36.

We will be launching NEXUS this month – our refreshed intranet and a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing.

37.

We intend to have more physical events to come together and have fun. For example, we will organise an inter-division Captain’s Ball tournament, in preparation to compete for the championship title at the MOF Active Day.

38.

We are conducting a short Employee Engagement Survey this month to gather feedback. Please take some time to complete the survey. Your feedback is valuable to us.

Conclusion

39.

To conclude, let me end with three points:

40.

Adapt and grow as citizen developers, as you continue to contribute to VITAL’s transformation.

41.

Take care of yourself and look out for one another.

42.

Be involved, participate in our activities, share your views in the Employee Engagement Survey and co-create with us a better workplace in 2023!

43.

Thank you for being a part of the VITAL family. Here is wishing everyone a fruitful and abundant year of 2023. Please stay happy and healthy! Cheers.