NTUC Income’s response to the COIVD pandemic was largely supported by the efforts from the Singaporean government and their quick and decisive response to locking-down the entire country. Borders were shut very early on and ‘Safe Management Measures’ were put into place, which included the mass distribution of masks and the introduction of a contact tracing app. In addition, the government provided many support schemes for the country like job support, tax, work levies and rent relief schemes.
A budget of around SGD 100 billion was made available for COVID relief, which equates to approximately 20% of the GDP. The mutual insurance sector provided programs of support for members as well. As a broader insurance sector, premium payment deferment schemes and flexible instalment payments schemes were put into place across all lines of business and customers.
This has lead to a very interesting time for NTUC Income and calls for a balanced approach towards growth and financial resilience. Singapore’s GDP is highly dependant on exporting manufactured goods and tourism, both have been heavy hit by the pandemic, with the biggest country consumers (China, for example) still battling to cope with their own response to COVID and no tourist being allowed into Singapore. This has led to the need for agility in all business during this troubled time.
In the spirit of agility, NTUC Income has set up a task force to look at the future of work for NTUC Income. This is important for primarily the well-being of the staff and the productivity of the organisation.
This has manifested itself in:
- Protecting and empowering staff – empower staff and agents through technology, make remote engagement possible and scale-up where needed.
- Redesign processes to make it easier for the value chain.
- Communicate regularly and celebrate the wins virtually.
- Remote client engagement – make the sales force productive and enable digital servicing of clients needs.
- Pivoting to the Future of Work – work anywhere and connect anytime.
- Review products and offerings to better suit the new needs of the changing industry.
NTUC Income continues to plan for the future of the business through this pandemic by scenario planning and driving agility in response at each milestone whilst continuing to push to execute on the company strategy.
