People and Future of Work

Investing in our people is critical to our success. And building a future-ready, purpose-led workforce is the cornerstone of talent attraction and development. We provide an annual performance and career development review for all our employees across the different levels the organisation and emphasise the importance of regular performance conversations between leaders and their team members. We believe that such continuous dialogues can help clarify expectations and provide timely feedback on employee performance, which is beneficial for individual growth and career advancement, as well as achieving overall business objectives collectively.

Talent attraction and retention

The key to securing Singtel Group’s future capabilities is to identify digital talent early, enhance their experience and provide an environment where they can thrive. Today, we have a robust talent pool under various programmes, such as Singtel Management Associates, NCS NUCLEUS, Optus Graduates, scholarships, apprenticeships and internships. We also invest in continuous development and foster career growth for our leaders through leadership development programmes.

Career growth opportunities, recognition, reward and work satisfaction are important for employee retention. We regularly review our remuneration and benefits policies to ensure competitiveness and alignment with the market and our internal reward strategies. Our competitive remuneration packages include a basic pay structure based on job roles and functions along with performance-based incentives. We also recognise and reward according to individual and team performance, and their embodiment of our core values. Our compensation model also builds in more value for risk-taking, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Career mobility

Our career mobility policies and practices remove roadblocks to exploring new career opportunities. Talent is recognised and nurtured regardless of previous roles.

To further accelerate career mobility, we launched BIG Marketplace, a Group-wide platform designed to connect employees with internal opportunities. The BIG Marketplace acts as a central hub for employees to explore and apply for internal positions, short-term projects and even volunteer opportunities. It offers powerful career planning tools, allowing employees to chart personalised development paths and identify targeted learning courses to bridge any skill gaps.

People development

Building a future-ready workforce is key to adapting in an ever-evolving world. We invest significantly in employee training and development to keep our workforce agile and prepared for the future, while supporting our corporate strategic priorities and business and customer needs.

Singtel Group’s commitment to employee development extends to all employees through our four corporate academies – Singtel 8George, Singtel’s learning academy; NCS Dojo, NCS’ immersive learning academy anchored on business and people transformation priorities; Optus U, our micro-credential programme in Australia; and Data Centre Academy. The four academies collectively offer four pillars of training for Personal Excellence, 5G/Tech Acceleration, Leadership Excellence and Future Readiness.

Our people development framework anchors on the following A.C.T. principles:

1. Accelerate with skills equipping – We invest in in-person workshops and digital learning modules. #CURIOUS, our learning platform, offers over 100,000 accredited learning resources and facilitates self-directed learning. This empowers our people to take ownership and personalise their development journeys based on their individual needs.
2. Co-create skills pathways – Our academies have established strong ecosystem partnerships with business units, learning institutions, academies, government agencies, unions and think tanks. We provide broad-based and role-specific curricula to enhance skills and competencies, ensuring our employees remain relevant. Our ‘co-create, co-own, co-execute’ approach has increased learner engagement and sets the stage for effective upskilling and reskilling.
3. Transform jobs and roles – We place high priority on continuous skills upgrading and role transformation to equip our workforce for the future. The 5G Workforce Transformation Committee (5G WTC) and Professional Conversion Accelerator (PCA) are two examples of initiatives that have successfully driven role transformation in our organisation.

The health and safety of our people is paramount. We are committed to creating a work environment that promotes employee well-being, where people feel confident and have peace-of-mind in championing the organisation’s growth while pursuing their own professional and personal development.

Our commitment is reflected in our Singtel Group Health, Safety and Security Policy, endorsed by the Group CEO. This policy sets the direction and priority for all business units in providing a safe and secure work environment, resources and support to ensure employee safety and well-being - in support of our goal of zero major accidents.

WSH performance is tracked, monitored and reported to the Singtel WSH Steering Committee (WSHSC) to assess if the processes and programmes are effective, and improved on if there is a need to do so. The quarterly WSHSC meetings, chaired by senior management, provide the strategic direction for the Group which is subsequently cascaded down to the various business units. Each WSH committee of our business units conducts monthly meetings to address operational WSH issues.

Singtel, NCS and Optus are ISO 45001 certified. Singtel and NCS are also bizSTAR certified. These standards are recognised both internationally and locally as the best standards to be adopted for any occupational safety and health systems.

Our WSH risk management process is integral to the Singtel Group’s organisational work processes, from strategic planning to project and change management. In Singapore and Australia, the process is established in accordance with ISO 45001 and the Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management. It covers all work activities carried out by employees and contractors where Singtel is a principal to the works. It requires risk assessments to be conducted to identify hazards and mitigate the risks of injury and ill health. 

A key component of our WSH management system is the hierarchy of controls. Risk control measures are selected in this order of preference: elimination, substitution, engineering control, administrative control and, lastly, personal protective equipment. Elimination is preferred on the hierarchy of controls as it is the most effective by completely removing workers’ exposure to hazards. To continually improve our WSH system, we conduct internal audits annually to validate the control effectiveness, identify shortcomings and propose improvements.

Employee well-being

We offer our people comprehensive benefits to help them stay healthy and manage their professional and personal demands. This includes medical and insurance coverage, free annual health screening, a disease management programme, flexible benefit dollars, and an annual cash payment to meet lifestyle needs. We also accord eligible employees paid parental leave – 16 weeks maternity and two weeks paternity leave. In Australia, we have paid parental leave and support for stillbirth, pregnancy loss, and family and domestic violence entitlements.

Our family-friendly policies include flexible work arrangements such as flexible work schedules and workplace, flexible work like part-time, and various family leave arrangements, such as childcare and family care leave. Our Better Ways of Working (B-WoW) policy offers flexible work options to meet employee needs. Employees are empowered to inform their managers if the need arises for remote work, such as for focused work or pressing personal commitments.

We partner mental healthcare company, Intellect, to provide a suite of mental health services for Singtel and NCS employees and their dependants accessible anytime, anywhere. The app provides a range of programmes to strengthen employees’ emotional well-being, resilience and personal development. This includes one-on-one behavioural health coaching, learning paths, journal prompts, and even meditation and breathing exercises.

Optus’ mental health e-learning modules include best practice tips and resources for managing mental health. It empowers employees to recognise signs and symptoms of common conditions like depression and anxiety. They will learn about fostering a positive mental health culture within the workplace and become familiar with the various resources available to support them.

Our Employee Assistance Programme offers services such as clinical counselling, work-life support (e.g. financial and legal support) and rapid response to provide effective assistance to employees for trauma management.

To support the physical well-being of all our employees across the Group, we offer a comprehensive suite of benefits designed to enhance their health journey. We conduct annual reviews of our employee health and medical programmes to ensure they stay relevant to the changing needs of our employees and their dependents. Based on the insights from these reviews, we launched a new enhanced healthcare and medical benefits programme which provides even better coverage and greater flexibility. Enhancements include increasing annual Flexible Benefits Dollar amounts, introducing a Shield Plan Subsidy to help defray Integrated Shield costs, removing co-payments for the first five visits to panel General Practitioner clinics and improved health screening tests tailored to individual needs.

The Singtel Recreation Club organises a variety of events to promote inclusivity and cohesion across Singtel’s extensive workforce, ranging from exercise sessions, mass participation in marathons to nature walks. 

At Singtel Group, we embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) principles and practices which continuously allow us to foster innovation, positively impacting our stakeholders who include our customers, employees and communities.

Diversity: We believe in fostering a talent pool that is rich in experiences and perspectives, one that truly reflects the communities we serve. We embrace individual differences as a sign of a healthy organisation with diverse talents and perspectives. Diversity allows us to make better business decisions and innovate to offer better products and solutions.

Equity: Through fair and respectful policies and actions, we actively create a level playing field where everyone has access to opportunities. We recognise individual differences and remove systemic barriers that hinder advancement.

Inclusion: With an inclusive environment, we empower our people to embrace differences and celebrate identities and encourage learning from one another. Inclusion fosters a sense of belonging with shared team identity to fuel innovation and build a more dynamic workplace.

Belonging: We take a step beyond inclusion to ensure our employees feel accepted and valued as part of the Singtel community and connected to our Group purpose, values and culture.

We respect the rights of individuals and do not discriminate based on their backgrounds, beliefs and abilities. Guided by the Singtel Group Human Rights Statement, we are committed to providing employees with a work environment that is conducive, safe and free from discrimination and harassment. We also prohibit any form of retaliation against any person for making reports in good faith concerning allegations of discrimination, harassment, violation of our Singtel Group Code of Conduct or any other allegation of improper behaviour.

Our operating framework for DEIB ensures that we take actions with a holistic and multi-pronged approach, covering awareness to engagement, leadership to team experience, and measurements to policy integration. This ranges from internal initiatives to international partnerships while augmenting accountability and sustainability.

Gender diversity

As a leading employer, we support a gender-balanced workforce and offer equal opportunities in all aspects of employment. We continue with our efforts to increase the representation of women in our senior leadership and technical roles.

Across the Group, female employees account for a third of our total workforce, comprising 33% of our workforce and 31% in management as at 31 March 2024, against our target of reaching 32% of women in management by FY2025. Women representation in Singtel Group Board of Directors and Management Committee is industry-leading at 46% and 30% respectively.

Persons with disabilities

We value the inclusion of persons with disabilities in our company, in line with our aim to build an inclusive workplace and society. We continue to play an active role in connecting with partners to advance the disability employment agenda.

As one of the founding members, Singtel participates actively in the Singapore Business Network on DisAbility (SBNoD), set up in 2015. The network meets regularly to share expertise, experiences and resources to help advance the equitable inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of business. We regularly participate in SG Enable’s RISE mentorship programme that aims to encourage mentors to be more confident working with persons with special needs and for the student mentees with disabilities to discover their strengths, abilities and confidence.

Optus became the first telco and tech company in Australia to integrate the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. It is a simple tool for people to voluntarily share that they have a disability or condition that may not be immediately apparent. It aims to promote accessibility and reduce stigma for employees and customers who have a hidden disability. This includes training all employees to help better identify people who may be vulnerable and improve interactions with them.

Access our FY2020 to FY2024 People Performance Indicators here.