Over the past month, there have been numerous reports on resurgence in cases in countries or communities that have reopened after lockdown, and the risk of that happening in Singapore remains. We must continue to be cautious in our approach in resuming activities to keep our staff and the wider community safe.
The taskforce comprising our COO, CTO, CFO, CHRO, and GM for Corporate Business convened to review the ‘Future of Work’ at Income is drawing up plans on how to progressively assimilate staff into our new way of working as Singapore continues to manage COVID-19 with the long term in mind. Income’s ‘Future of Work’ is being considered with staff and advisors’ well-being and morale as a priority, taking into account staff feedback received through the recent ‘Future of Work’ iSurvey. The plans are also being assessed from the perspective of our operational efficiency, customer pain points and service level, productivity, as well as, pandemic risk management, to ensure that we take a balanced approach. We will share more information on how this will impact your working arrangements soon.
In the meantime, we would like to remind you to adhere to the following precautionary measures that have been put in place to safeguard our collective safety and well-being.
- Updates to 14-day monitoring
Please take note that staff will be asked to observe a 14-day monitoring period as a precautionary measure if you have had close contact with someone who has been:
a) Confirmed to have COVID-19;
b) Issued a Quarantine Order (QO); or
c) Issued a Stay Home Notice (SHN).
A close contact is someone who shares the same living space or household, i.e. family member, housemate or roommate.
- Returning to the office for ad-hoc matters
Staff currently not registered/assigned to work on premise should not come to the office and continue to work from home (WFH). You must obtain prior approval from your manager and submit your request to the IRT if you need to come back to the office for urgent matters, including in the case of resignations. The IRT will assess each request and approval will be given if the matter is deemed urgent/necessary, as we continue to limit the number of staff on premise at any one time, and maintain daily log of staff on premise, in accordance to guidelines from the authorities.
All request to return to the office for ad-hoc matters should be submitted to Ng Su Leng (suleng.ng@income.com.sg) from the IRT at least three (3) working days ahead of the intended return to office.
- Maintaining Safe Work Spaces
Staff who are working at the office should continue to observe the following:
- Work at your designated work spaces and within your designated work hours which have been staggered so that safe distance can be maintained at the office.
- Remember to wear your face mask whenever you are at the office. Staff in the frontline should also remember to put on goggles when serving customers, where required.
- Avoid visiting other floors within the office building, or other offices.
- Continue to use virtual meeting platforms as much as you can and avoid prolonged close contact with colleagues, even within groups of five. Do also use the video-mode during meetings whenever possible to foster better team camaraderie.
- Meetings with external parties such as suppliers and vendors at Income offices are strongly discouraged.
- Resumption of customer service operations
So far, we have reopened our Bras Basah (19 Jun), Ang Mo Kio and Westgate (1 Jul) branches. In addition, our Motor Service Centre and Orange Force roadside assistance resumed operations on 6 July. We will be looking to reopen more branches in August if the situation permits us to do so. Even though FI representatives have been allowed to resume in-person interactions with customers in Phase 2, i.e. since 19 Jun, Income reps / agents are encouraged to continue to work from home and engage customers using the Remote Client Engagement (RCE) process as much as possible.
- Other Matters
- Do not come to the office if you are feeling unwell and seek medical attention as soon as possible.
- Take and report your temperature twice a day via this online form.
- Check in and check out using SafeEntry and tap in and out with your staff pass every time you enter or exit Income premises. This is necessary support contact tracing when required.
- Download and activate TraceTogether and keep it on at all times.
- Remember to protect yourself and wear a face mask whenever you leave your home, and maintain good personal hygiene.
We hope you have been keeping well, and please continue to stay safe.
Thank you.
Chen Boon Khing
Head of BCM Workgroup