Ever wondered what some of your colleagues are up to at work? Continuing in a series that showcases how we live our Values, we indulge our curiosity today. “Curious” is one of our five core values and it involves seeking to learn new knowledge and understanding different perspectives.
We speak to Clemence Yeo, Head of Partnership Strategic Development and Lee Tsui Lin, Head of Operations on how keeping an open mind helps unlock success.
1. What’s unique about your role?
Clemence: I work closely with our exclusive bank partners (UOB and SCB) to introduce new customer propositions and to promote the key benefits of our products and service offerings to more Singaporeans. We do this through various strategic and digital initiatives, marketing campaigns, product launches and process improvements. This includes enhancing the point-of-sale journey by integrating our bank partners’ and PACS’s systems, and introducing digital insurance via the banks’ digital touchpoints.
Tsui Lin: Operations folks are the mechanics in the behind-the-scenes team that supports the F1 car, which is driven by our employees and financial consultants. We ensure our Prudential engine is well-oiled and operating seamlessly. When there are disruptions, we are activated to troubleshoot, resolve and recover everything. One day I can be in a product meeting, and the next I can be involved in assessing the medical profile of a customer, talking to distributors or even discussing automation with technical teams.
2. What does being curious mean to you?
Tsui Lin: It is what pushes me to want to discover more, know more, ask more, learn more, and understand more.
Clemence: Definitely! It is an attitude — wanting to make things better, first through deep understanding and learning, and then applying, testing and fine tuning.
Tsui Lin: It pushes me to improve and be a better me. It’s a value I’d like my team to embrace, and I will make it a point to share with them what I see and learn as a customer, and ask if we can do likewise.
3. Why do you think being curious is important in helping our business succeed?
Clemence: I think it creates the necessary space in our minds so improvement can take place.
Tsui Lin: I agree. This desire to have questions answered and to learn from others puts us in a better position to look for ways to improve and be more creative. Learning and being curious fuels us to explore how we can do things differently to get better outcomes. For example, when our Agency pivoted to digital sales, we asked how we could make the process even better and faster. I’m proud of how we’ve managed to make the process automated, which made the buying process easier for our customers, streamlined the administrative procedures our financial consultants needed to go through, and helped cut down processing time from an operations standpoint. It was a win-win-win!
Clemence: I think it’s important for us to keep an open mind as well, so that when we encounter new ideas to enhance our business, we are more likely to embrace them, rather than shutting them out.
Tsui Lin: Precisely. Because of that, success will also come naturally. Even in failure, curiosity is what makes us keen to analyse what went wrong. With that, we can do better next time. As Einstein said, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
4. Have you ever been too curious and had your curiosity backfire on you? How did you resolve the situation?
Tsui Lin: Of course. Responding too early without properly thinking it through can backfire. Over-analysis or endless experimentation can also be a showstopper rather than a help.
Clemence: Moreover, there are times people confuse being curious with being nosey. If we don’t articulate properly what’s the real objective of wanting to find out more, it might come across as being intrusive and unwarranted. The best way is to be open about your positive intent, and you’ll be surprised by how willing people are to share their knowledge with you.
5. Have you been in a difficult situation where you’ve had to ask questions sensitively?
Clemence: At the start of a project our bank partners may have different objectives from us and we have to find alignment. Most of the time when we ask the right questions and truly consider our real motives, it’s always the end consumers that we’re both trying our best to serve. Once we establish that everyone is on the same side, that’s also when the challenging conversation becomes less difficult, and everyone moves in the same direction.
Tsui Lin: For me, it’s truly just about managing what you can control. I try to be strategic, but some things just need to unfold naturally — they cannot be rushed.
6. How do you encourage curiosity within your own teams and promote transparent conversations?
Clemence: During team discussions, everyone is invited to ask questions about each other’s initiatives. I believe there’s no such thing as a silly question. For all you know, this “silly question” could be the key to unlocking great ideas.
Tsui Lin: Discover. Discover more. Discover more often. Learn. Learn more. Learn more often.
7. How does curiosity help you to be better at your job?
Tsui Lin: It has been the seed that fuels my imagination, creativity, innovation, ideas and vision. It is definitely a powerful ingredient for growth, development and success.
Clemence: I agree. Over the course of my career, I’ve learned not to be shy to admit I don’t know the answers. At times when I feel like I’m several layers detached from the ground, I’ll make the effort to get off the “ivory tower” and ask around to get a real sense of the situation. This is a great sounding board, and gives me the direction I need to work on the right strategies and business plans.