PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE: SUBSIDIARY CEO SUCCESSION - TRICK
OR TREAT
October 31, 2016. Wilfred Blackburn had just taken up his new appointment as Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (PACS). It was Halloween - the date in
England for remembering saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful who had departed. Blackburn
was unsure of the extent to which this English custom had been adopted in Singapore, but he knew
that that evening, in his hometown in England, children would be out trick-or-treating. Given the
challenges he foresaw with the PACS business, Blackburn wondered about the experiences ahead.
In the context of his career, was this appointment going to turn out to be a trick or a treat?
Prudential plc, a U.K. domiciled life insurance multinational (MNC) headquartered in London, had
a long history in Singapore. PACS was established in Singapore in 1931, a century after the city had
become the capital of the British Straits Settlements. PACS had served and prospered over the
decades to become the largest life insurance provider in the country. However, in 2015, after a
succession of five CEOs over the past ten years, PACS had lost its coveted number one market
position.
PACS had been the powerhouse of the Prudential Corporation Asia (PCA), an autonomous division
established within Prudential plc in 1994. PCA, with its head office in Hong Kong, was responsible
for overseeing the performance of Prudential’s fourteen country business units in Asia, including
PACS. The recent lacklustre performance of PACS was of serious concern to PCA as well as to
Prudential Plc.
During his career, Blackburn had gained a reputation as a transformational leader. However, all his
CEO appointments since the year 2000 were in emerging markets like the Philippines, Thailand,
China, and Vietnam, where his task had been to oversee a high growth business within high growth
emerging markets. Singapore, on the other hand, was a developed and quite sophisticated market.
Blackburn knew that it was common for an incoming CEO to rapidly assess the situation and devise
a new strategy within the first one hundred days, as his four predecessors had probably done. But, he
wondered about the impact of all these leadership changes, as well as the drop off in the market
positioning, on an organisation that had enjoyed success for most of its 85 years. The results of a
recent culture survey conducted in the organisation were not encouraging either. As the incoming
CEO of a troubled first world business, what approach could he take to turn around the organisation?
Moreover, how quickly would he need to do it?
This case was written by Professor Gordon Perchthold and Lipika Bhattacharya of the Singapore Management University.
Special thanks to Jenny Sutton, Senior Associate at LIC, for her advisory support to the case. The case was prepared solely
to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a
managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.
Copyright © 2019, Singapore Management University
Version: 2019-02-22
Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
Life Insurance in Asia
Asia was among the most attractive regions in the world for insurance MNCs. 1 American
International Group Inc. (AIG), leveraging a strong agency distribution channel, dominated the life
and general insurance markets across the region. Established by an American entrepreneur in
Shanghai in 1919, AIG had never wavered on its commitment to Asia, even after World War II when
its peer MNC competitors had retreated to their home markets.
From the mid-1980s onwards, with the growth in gross domestic product (GDP) led by Japan and
the Asian tiger economies, once again Western insurance MNCs began to recognise the Asian
opportunity with its huge populations, declining protectionism, increasing per capita income, and an
underinsured populace exposed to general, health and life risks. Many well-known insurance brands,
including Sun Life and Manulife from Canada; Aetna, Mass Mutual, MetLife, New York Life, and
Prudential Financial from the US (Prudential Financial had no relationship to Prudential plc);
Norwich Union (which after a merger with Commercial General became Aviva in 2002) and
Prudential plc from the UK; Colonial and National Mutual from Australia; Allianz from Germany;
AXA Insurance and Cardiff from France; Generali from Italy; ING Group from the Netherlands and
Zurich Insurance from Switzerland, began to establish their presence throughout Asia. This wave of
new entrants contributed to a highly competitive environment throughout Asia, competing first with
each other for licences to operate, and then with other new entrants and entrenched local insurance
companies for agents and customers. The tailwind of rising per capita income meant that most
insurance companies experienced very attractive, often double-digit, growth rates that far exceeded
the growth rates in Western countries (refer to Exhibit 1 for the Growth of Insurance in Advanced
and Emerging Markets).
Over centuries, agency distribution had been the dominant distribution channel for insurance in
Western countries. The same was true in Asia. However, just before the turn of the 21st century, with
changes in the regulatory environment, a new distribution channel emerged in Asia – bancassurance.
Banks in Asia had historically been the custodians of the population’s financial assets. Citibank,
HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank were significant MNC banks operating across Asia for a century
or more. DBS, headquartered in Singapore, was the most prominent of the Southeast Asia banks
expanding across multiple countries in Asia.
In 2005, PCA grabbed an opportunity to establish a 10-year pan-Asia relationship with Standard
Chartered Bank (SCB). This relationship was renewed in 2014: a 15-year exclusive agreement for an
access fee to SCB of US$1.25 billion (for further details, refer to Exhibit 2 for large Bancassurance
deals in Asia). At the same time, local banks in each country in Asia were also tying up with one or
more foreign and local insurance companies as insurers competed to secure distribution agreements
with remaining unattached banks.
Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company, based in Zurich, had estimated in 2015 that despite the
perceived success of many insurance companies in Asia, the mortality protection gap in Asia was
continuing to rise and exceeded US$58 trillion.2 Asia was a market that had yet to be fully penetrated
by the insurance sector, possibly because the focus of insurance MNCs had always been on the
wealthier segments of the population in the region. However, with changing demographics, the
attention was increasingly being redirected to target the burgeoning middle-class population. By
1
Swiss Re, 3/2016 Sigma World Insurance in 2015, http://media.swissre.com/documents/sigma_3_2016_en.pdf, accessed November
2017
2
Swiss Re, Asia Pacific 2015 Mortality Protection Gap,
http://www.swissre.com/publications/Mortality_Protection_Gap_Report AsiaPacific_2015.html, accessed November 2017
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
2030, Asia was projected to account for 66 per cent of all middle-class insurance consumers’
worldwide, totalling approximately 3.2 billion people.3
Changes after the Global Financial Crisis
After the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, disruption in the business environment due to regulatory
changes as well as technology innovations forced the insurance industry, which until then operated
more or less traditionally, to diverge from the past and begin to adapt to some of these changes slowly
but gradually. Market fundamentals, such as on-going low-interest rates as well as moderate
economic growth rates, were challenges that traditional life insurance companies had historically
faced. But the advancement of technology not only empowered consumers but also enabled new
business models, driven by the explosion of accessible information, data analytics (powered by lowcost virtual servers) and mobile platforms. InsurTech platforms and technologies leveraging evolving
technologies created by technology giants and start-ups started to emerge. 4 Hong Kong and
Singapore, city-states that had traditionally competed to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) of
Western MNCs, were now competing to foster ecosystems of digital innovation in banking and
insurance sectors by establishing Fintech hubs. The Asian middle-class population was driving an
exponential trend towards mass digital adoption.
The insurance industry in the region and worldwide had been slow to utilise some of the innovations
that digital technology offered. Customer centricity, much talked about in strategic plans and
leadership meetings within the insurance sector, had not yet become an internalised commitment
within the organisational cultures and operational processes of the life insurance industry. In fact, in
many companies, the debate still raged as to whether the “customer” of an insurance company was
the agent or the actual buyer of insurance. A “one size fits all” product, and focus on agents rather
than customers, continued to be the reigning norm.
Prudential plc
In 2016, on an asset basis, Prudential plc was ranked as the largest life insurance company in the UK,
and seventh worldwide. Established in London in 1848, it had been a leader in the insurance sector
for decades and had a history of serving the working-class population with its agents (affectionately
referred to as the “Man from the Pru”) going door-to-door to collect premiums.
Prudential plc had begun to expand outside the UK in the 1920s, initially following the trade routes
to British Commonwealth countries, aiming to provide continuing service to expatriates working
overseas. The company established its operations in Singapore, a major port in the East, in 1931.
After the devastation that followed World War II, Prudential rebuilt its operations in Malaysia and
Singapore, but not elsewhere. In 1964, almost by chance, the business plan and resources initially
intended for Dubai were diverted to Hong Kong, and Prudential Hong Kong was launched.
Prudential plc’s dominant market position in the UK caused it to become a target not only for other
competitors but also for increasingly active regulators. By the early 1990s, Prudential plc’s
management recognised that overexposure to its home market could subject its shareholders to
unexpected volatility in its earnings. The Global CEO at the time made it a strategic imperative to
3
OECD, An emerging Middle Class 2012, http://oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/3681/An_emerging_middle_class.html,
accessed November 2017
4
InsureTech, British Insurance Broker’s association, https://www.biba.org.uk/current-issues/insuretech/, accessed Nov 2017.
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
build operations in the U.S. and emerging markets in Asia with the objective that each region would
become equal in weight to the existing UK business. In particular, he did not want to be remembered
as the CEO who missed the opportunity in China, a country that was in the process of opening up to
foreign direct investment. In what was considered to be a highly unusual move for an Anglo-Saxon
MNC, Prudential sold its businesses in Australia, Canada and South Africa in order to focus on Asia.
In 1994, Mark Tucker, at that time Chief of Staff to Prudential’s Group CEO, was relocated to Hong
Kong and tasked with building the business across the Asian markets, and Prudential Corporation
Asia (PCA) was established as a separate business unit with its headquarters located in Hong Kong.
A few years later in 1999, to emphasise the strategic imperative of the tri-regional strategy, the
regional CEOs of Asia, the UK and the U.S. were appointed as Executive Directors to the corporate
board of Prudential plc.
Over the next decade, PCA extended its footprint from three to twelve countries in Asia. Premium
revenue grew rapidly through aggressive agency distribution and a unit-linked product platform
coupled with an insurance rider which was less capital intense than traditional insurance products.
PCA gained market share and soon became the top ranking insurance company in most markets in
Asia, challenging American International Assurance Company Limited (AIA)’s reign as the number
one pan-Asia life insurance MNC.5 Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia, in that order, became the
largest contributors to PCA premiums. By 2008, PCA was responsible for over half of Prudential
plc’s global revenues.
Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (PACS)
PACS was considered the jewel in the crown of PCA’s business. From its ongoing community
investment initiatives, to winning Asia Insurance Review’s Life Insurance Company of the Year
award and to forming a 12-year bancassurance relationship in 2010 with United Overseas Bank (one
of Singapore’s the top three banks), the company demonstrated how far it had come since it first
began selling insurance policies in Singapore during the pre-World War II era.
In the early 2000s, the morale of employees in the company was at an all-time high. PACS’ agency
distribution channel and key strategic bancassurance relationships formed a wide moat. 6 Prudential,
AIA, and Great Eastern Life led the rankings among the life insurance companies in the market.7
Suddenly, however, PACS performance in the market started to waiver.
Era of Confusion
PACS had always been a performance-driven organisation. But warning signs of the downturn had
been visible. In 2015, the company lost two key bancassurance partnerships. PAC’s annual new
business premiums dropped by US$ 82.7 million, and its market share slipped by almost five
percentage points.8 PACS lost its coveted position as the top life insurance company in Singapore
(refer to Exhibit 3 for Weighted Premium 10-year Trend in Singapore).
5
In December 2009, AIG had formed AIA and continued to operate in Asia under the name over the years.
A wide economic moat is a type of sustainable competitive advantage possessed by a business that makes it difficult for rivals to wear
down its market share. Will Kenton, Wide Economic Moat, Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wide-economicmoat.asp, accessed February, 2018.
7
Claire Huang, “When Bigger is Better in Life Insurance”, Business Times, Dec 12, 2016,
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/when-bigger-is-better-in-life-insurance-amended, accessed Nov 2017.
6
8
S$1 = 0.74 US$, https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/, conversion rate as of 05 April, 2019..
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
The following year, the company lost a long-standing high performing agency to a competitor. By
2016, staff across the organisation began to feel the pinch of the declining performance. Although
reports and presentations circulating within and outside the organisation continued to promote the
achievements of the company, employee bonuses were at rock bottom for a second consecutive year.
More than the loss of top-ranked status, the sustained decline in bonuses felt like personal retribution
to the staff for the company’s underperformance (refer to Exhibit 4 for Weighted Market Share by
New Business Premium 2016).
Continued lower employee bonuses due to missed business performance target was indeed a wakeup call for most, explained Tara Ban, a senior executive in Operations. But it was not just
comparatively lower performance that was plaguing the organisation. With Blackburn’s appointment,
Ban, who joined the organisation in June 2009, was now working with her fifth CEO in her seven
years with the company.
Frequent CEO changes
Each CEO had his own unique, quite contrasting style of leadership, and this quick succession of
changes yielded different business strategies, with many not seen through their full completion.
Back in September 2006, Justin Lim had become CEO after a long career within Prudential Singapore,
where he had begun in 1978 as an agent. Ban explained,
Justin was highly personable. He remembered the birthdays of employees and was much liked by
employees. His style of leadership was non-confrontational. He preferred to keep status quo and
draw on relationships to build business results.
In January 2010, Justin became PCA’s Regional Chief Agency Officer, and Thomas Contri took over
the reigns as CEO in Singapore. An American, Contri had worked in the general insurance sector in
the US for a dozen years before joining AIA in Malaysia, where he had been for four years. In 2000,
he was recruited by PCA as a Regional Agency Director, and then relocated to Indonesia where he
held the CEO role for seven years prior to taking on the Singapore CEO role.
Ban added,
Generally, Justin and Contri focussed on steering the ship and focusing on strategies that worked
to make sure we accomplished financial numbers.
In January 2013, Lee Johnson was appointed as the CEO of PACS. Also, an American, Lee had
worked with a number of general insurance companies in the U.S. before relocating to China to
assume a position with AIG for four years. He joined PCA in 2008 to take on regional roles in
marketing and distribution. Lee assumed the role of CMO during Contri’s leadership before taking
over as CEO. Samuel Gen, a senior executive in Human Resources, recollected,
Lee’s style of leadership was pretty autocratic. He thought my way was the right way. He was
very demanding, and his style of leadership was very granular. He personally took on too many
tasks.
Netta Maple, Finance Director at PACS, added,
Lee wanted to make this a successful business, but he didn’t have the levers or mandate to do
what needed to be done. He did not have the support of the rest of his management team. He was
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
very detail-oriented and tended to take too much on his own plate. That essentially meant we
were trying to run the business on the back of one man’s ideas.
Lee’s autocratic style was not conducive to PACS’ relationships with either its bancassurance
partners or its agency force. Prudential lost a few major bancassurance bids, and an existing
longstanding bancassurance partner declined to renew their relationship. This was a huge blow to
what had been a stable business. Major agency relationships were also under pressure.
In October 2015, Justin Lim was hastily reassigned from his position as Malaysia CEO to assume,
once again, the CEO role of PACS. Maple explained,
Justin was brought in to stabilise, and he did exactly that. We were stable and static. We needed
to proactively start to invest in the future, and that, unfortunately, didn’t happen.
Ban added,
Justin had seen through the ups and downs in business. In Malaysia, where he went through a
sales crisis, he reacted with composure and calmness. When the company lost a big agency in
Singapore, again he was not ruffled.
Although the top management team was directly impacted by the continual change in leadership
styles and direction, employees working further down in the hierarchy operated as they had always
done. They were still happy working for the top-ranked insurance company in Singapore. That was
until bonuses were impacted. Ban further explained,
If we looked at our employee performance bonus, it was at the bottom of the abyss. We had never
seen such low points before. When it hit the pocket, people started to realise things were not all
that rosy and morale was affected.
.
Too Many Walls
Gen had observed the rising frustration among staff across the organisation. There was discord
between departments, and each unit preferred to work in its own silo. He recalled that when
employees were asked to interact with other departments within the organisation, there was a sense
of fear and discomfort amidst them. He added,
Teams would try to protect their own people. Performance was sales driven, and the overall
attitude was very defensive. Targets set were not aligned to expectations, and hierarchy was
pervasive. Many teams were not paying attention to the right issues and were busy trying to
untangle themselves from the fire-fighting mode.
Maple recollected,
There was zero tolerance for failure in terms of employee performance. So, there was absolute
fear in staff, and hence most major issues that needed discussion and resolution were never delved
into. We were busy trying to project the numbers that made us look good, instead of focussing on
the real situation. We had lost deals, but we were still in a denial mode. Even though some staff felt
strongly that things needed to change, the hierarchical culture was a real
bottleneck. We had been a top performer in the market, and the entire focus then was to try and
keep projecting ourselves as a top performer, rather than invest time and energy into gaping
issues that needed attention.
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
Cracks in the Fortress
PACS had always done well relative to other PCA operations in the region. Management in PACS
were used to dealing with their day-to-day problems themselves with minimal interference from the
PCA regional office in Hong Kong. Maple, who had worked at PCA before she was transferred to
the Singapore subsidiary, recalled,
Prudential Singapore was always this fortress that was difficult to penetrate. They hardly relied
on the regional office, and since their performance had always been more or less stellar, the
regional office had not interfered much in the organisation’s day to day affairs. However, there
was undoubtedly little trust between the regional office and Singapore office, primarily because
there was little interaction, and as a result, little warmth shared between the staff of the two
offices.
Reflecting sentiments built over a number of years, in mid-2016, a highly productive team of agents
from PACS’ largest agency unit resigned and joined a rival insurer, leaving a gaping hole in sales
production. PCA realised that they had to fix multiple aspects of the business to regain and maintain
PACS’ performance in the Singapore market. To begin with, they had to demolish the walls of the
fortress itself. But they also had to transform the business to cope with technology disruption and
changes in the market that were not just impacting Singapore but the broader insurance industry as a
whole. They needed an experienced change agent.
The Next CEO of PACS
Wilf Blackburn had begun his career in the UK in an actuarial consultancy and then worked in
distribution for several years. His initial years in Asia were at Singapore within the Asia regional
office of Allianz, global life and general insurance MNC. His career as a CEO had begun in the
Philippines at the age of 35. He recollected,
My first experience working as a CEO was for a joint venture of an insurance company, a fiftyyear-old family business in the Philippines. I was the fourth CEO in five years in the company,
and I quickly realised the pitfalls of a joint venture. Next, I got the role of CEO in Thailand. They
were looking for a transformation agent; the role helped me develop my expertise as a change
leader. I also got to work in China for a while where I got to handle transformation, innovation
and customer centricity which required me to bring in new people with new ideas. I was
experimenting with hiring a lot of people from different places. Some industries had way better
training for their employees than financial services. Employees from these industries were able to
understand the value of new ideas, so we brought in people with different mind-sets. It is hard to
copy success without the DNA of the right mind-set. But it is also hard to maintain intellectual
potential as people constantly move to different organisations in this competitive world. But again,
the benefit in this is if people did not move, new people with fresh ideas could not be brought in,
so there are two sides of the coin.
Blackburn was not new to organisational transformation. His multiple postings had made him quite
aware of the broader pressures being placed on the industry. He believed that the best decisions arose
when there were opposing perspectives, and therefore, staff diversity was a prerequisite to change.
Blackburn also believed in collaboration, an open mind-set, and a willingness to change and adapt
for the better. His years of experience had taught him to observe, listen, understand, and coach staff
to make their own decisions, thereby embracing the accountability they had been entrusted with.
PCA was known to hire talent whenever they noticed it, rather than searching under pressure for
talent when a vacancy occurred. It developed its senior hires by exposing them to various regional
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
projects and country operations. It was under this programme that Blackburn had joined PCA in 2012.
His first assignment was to oversee the launch of PCA's subsidiary in Cambodia and the opening of
PCA's representative offices in Myanmar and Laos. In 2014, Blackburn was appointed as CEO of
Prudential Vietnam and entrusted with the task of catalysing organisational change. As a symbolic
action, as the Vietnam office was restructuring its office space, he insisted on a shared, open space
plan situated amongst his employees. It was unheard of for a CEO to share workspace with other
employees in a large organisation, particularly in Vietnam, never mind in most of Asia. While PCA
would have liked to transfer Blackburn earlier to Singapore, he first had to bring to closure what he
started in Vietnam.
What next?
When Blackburn took over as CEO of PACS in October 2016, many employees were at a crossroads.
The results of a recently conducted Barrett organisational culture survey (refer to Exhibit 5 for 2016
Barrett Study) indicated a level of cultural entropy reflecting ‘significant problems requiring
immediate attention.’ There was a significant mismatch between the actual organisational culture at
PACS and the culture desired by the employees and management. The organisation was characterised
as bureaucratic, controlling and focused on short-term results. Competitors were keen to attract some
of the talents of what had been the top-ranked insurance company for so many years.
PACS had traditionally been a proud and confident organisation. It had experienced year upon year
of success over a succession of CEOs. Yet, defections in the market along with a decline in market
share and reductions in staff bonuses clearly indicated that change was necessary.
Ban recalled,
People were expecting a change in leadership when Wilf came. But we were sceptical and unsure.
We did not know what to expect. We hoped the new CEO would be able to turn the business
around, improve the work environment and invest in the future. Notably, there was also a huge
desire amongst some of the senior staff to change for the better, and evolve and adapt ourselves
to the rapidly changing business environment. But we were deep-rooted in many ways as an
organisation, so we had no idea on what would be the strategy for the change, how fast that
change would happen, or would it happen at all!
Everyone wondered, how PACS could transform as an organisation? What would Blackburn do now?
How quickly would he act?
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
EXHIBIT 1: GROWTH OF INSURANCE IN ADVANCED AND EMERGING MARKETS
Life
Non-Life
Source: Sigma Report, Swiss Re Economic Research & Consulting, World Insurance in 2014: back to life,
https://www.tsb.org.tr/images/Documents/Raporlama/2015/sigma4_2015_en.pdf, accessed May 2018.
EXHIBIT 2: REGIONAL BANCASSURANCE AGREEMENTS IN ASIA
Year
Est.
2012
2013
Regional
Regional
Bank
Life Insurer
HSBC
Allianz
Citibank AIA
2014
SCB
2015
DBS
Prudential
Plc.
Manulife
Countries Covered in Partnership
AU, CN (ex HK), ID, LK, MY, TW
AU, CN, HK, ID, IN, KR, MY, PH, SG,
TH, VN
CN, HK, ID, IN, KR, MY, PH, SG, TH,
TW, VN as well as countries in Africa
CN, HK, ID, SG
Source: Company Data
9/12
Upfront Year
Fee ($M) Until
100 2022
1,000 2028
1,250 2029
1,200 2030
Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
EXHIBIT 3: WEIGHTED PREMIUM 10 YEAR TREND (SINGAPORE)
Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore, “Statistics”, accessed December 2018.
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
EXHIBIT 4: LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES - WEIGHTED MARKET SHARE BY NEW
BUSINESS PREMIUM (SINGAPORE 2015)
Weighted
Premium
Name of Insurer
Market
Share
by Weighted
Premium
Market Rank
by Weighted
Premium
AIA Singapore Private Limited
684,114,215
18.72%
1
Prudential Assurance Co. Singapore (Pte) Ltd
649,074,565
17.76%
2
The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited
470,764,075
12.88%
3
Aviva Ltd
422,575,207
11.56%
4
NTUC Income Insurance Co-Operative Limited
304,193,790
8.32%
5
The Overseas Assurance Corporation Limited
247,566,576
6.77%
6
Manulife (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
194,855,336
5.33%
7
AXA Insurance Pte Ltd
140,672,376
3.85%
8
Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore Ltd
123,761,371
3.39%
9
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Limited
90,709,836
2.48%
10
Transamerica Life (Bermuda) Ltd. (Singapore Branch)
77,970,343
2.13%
11
Zurich International Life Limited (Singapore Branch)
54,211,509
1.48%
12
Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd.
46,739,494
1.28%
13
Swiss Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
39,596,462
1.08%
14
Friends Provident International Ltd (Singapore Branch)
29,270,830
0.80%
15
Old Mutual Intl Isle of Man Limited Singapore Branch
27,972,607
0.77%
16
Raffles Health Insurance Pte. Ltd.
25,736,913
0.70%
17
Generali Worldwide Insurance Company Ltd, Spore Branch
9,971,881
0.27%
18
Zurich Life Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd
8,749,764
0.24%
19
St. James's Place International Plc (Singapore Branch)
5,122,513
0.14%
20
Life Insurance Corporation (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
379,800
0.01%
21
China Life Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
112,400
0.00%
22
Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore, “Statistics”, accessed December 2018.
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Prudential Singapore: CEO Succession – Trick or Treat
EXHIBIT 5: PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE (SUMMARY OF 2016 BARRETT STUDY)
The Cultural Entropy score as described by the Barrett Values Centre
‘reveals the degree of
dysfunction (friction and frustration) in an organisation or any human group structure (community
or nation) that is generated by the self-serving, fear-based actions of the leaders. As the Cultural
Entropy score increases, the level of trust and internal cohesion decreases. ’
PACS Cultural Entropy Score
Source: Company Data
12/12
1
Running head: PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
Prudential Singapore Communications Plan Foundation
Yuanyuan Fang
Northeastern University
2
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
Prudential Singapore: Communications Plan
Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (PACS) was established in Singapore in 1931. Over the decades,
PACS has become the largest life insurance provider in Singapore and the strong powerhouse of Prudential
Corporation Asia (PCA). PCA is an autonomous division within Prudential plc ( a U.K. domiciled life
insurance multinational) However, in 2015, PACS faced a serious problem of losing its number one market
position in the insurance industry in Singapore along with the problem of constant CEO succession.
(Perchthold & Bhattacharya, 2019)
Part 1: Situation Analysis (SWOT)
Strengths
•
The new CEO – Wilfred Blackburn has the
Weaknesses
•
reputation as a transformational leader,
he prefers to have collaboration and
bond with customers.
•
keep open perspectives with employees.
•
•
Long experience in communication
Cultural differences among employees,
top management and customers.
•
Little trust and communication with
because of the 85 years success.
regional headquarter in Hong Kong (PCA),
Strong external communication based on
management were used to dealing with
the established relationship and
day to day problems themselves.
partnership with top leading banks and
•
agencies.
•
Lack of customer centricity, the external
Have experience year upon year of
Employees have fear and discomfort to
communicate with top management.
•
success over a succession of CEOs.
Continual change in leadership style and
direction, employees and top
management team are impacted.
•
Mismatch between actual organizational
culture and culture desired by employees
and management.
•
Discord between departments and each
unit preferred to work alone and only
care about themselves. Employees are
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PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
reluctant to interact with other
departments.
•
Hierarchical culture in PACS, 0 tolerance
for employee performance failure.
Opportunities
•
Aiming middle-class insurance
Threats
•
Facing competitors such as American
consumers.
International Group Inc. (AIG) and
•
Finding partnership with more banks.
bancassurance.
•
Increasing engagement with technology
•
Increasingly active regulators.
platform.
•
Some of the partnerships went to join
•
technology.
•
rival insurer.
Utilize innovations offered by digital
•
Technology disruption and changes in the
market.
Focus on customer centricity.
•
Decline in market share and the
possibility of employee job hopping.
Strengths
Having the experience of 85 years of success helped Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (PACS) to
gain an enormous reputation and became the number one leading insurance company in Singapore
before 2015. In the aspect of the communication network, the long experience that PACS had from
teaming up with employees, top leading banks and agencies has formed a strong communication base
both internally and externally. There are success stories that worth reference for building PACS new
communication strategy in the future. For example, the leadership style that Justin Lim (CEO in the year
2006) had is very important on building an effective vertical communication because he preferred building
a personal relationship with employees and keeping a frequent and relaxed communication with each
other. The established relationships with the world/region top leading banks such as the 10-year pan Asia
relationship with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and the 12 year bancassurance relationship with United
Overseas Bank helped PACS to have a strong external communication channels.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
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Weaknesses
With the frequent CEO changes in PACS over the years and both of the employees and management team
are confused by the different leadership styles in the company, there is a problem that everyone don’t
know the appropriate way to reach out and communicate with each other. Therefore, there are
deficiencies in the company’s vertical communication (both upwards and downwards). According to our
textbook, “the top leader’s role is indispensable in forming, shaping, and sustaining the People Channel.”
(Matha & Boehm, 2008, p. 167). The fact that PACS has lost two key bancassurance partnerships in 2015
and a high performing agency in 2016 illustrates that the company’s external communication strength is
declining. Because PACS is a performance driven organization that focuses on hierarchy culture,
employees would feel discomfort and have fears to talk with each other, other department as well as the
top management team. “Direction can get confusing fast if people have multiple reporting relationships
in an organization.” (Matha & Boehm, 2008). There have been increasing staff frustration based on the
low employee bonuses. Every department and unit in PACS are reluctant to exchange information and
communicate with each other, the problem of discord between departments has occurred.
Opportunities
“By 2030, Asia was projected to account for 66 percent of all middle-class insurance consumers’
worldwide, totaling approximately 3.2 billion people.” (Perchthold & Bhattacharya, 2019, p. 3) Therefore,
PACS needs to start switching the company’s demographic focus to middle-class insurance consumers and
figuring out what’s the new generation needs and expectations. With the world turns to more digital
technology oriented, PACS should develop their areas in technology to replace the traditional life
insurance and adapt new market changes gradually. PACS will have potentials on developing or partnering
with Insurance technology platforms. In communication perspective, PACS leaders also have the
opportunity to develop a Conversation Platform where “it simplifies concepts and the information will be
easily remembered and articulated by top leaders, managers, supervisors and employees alike.” (Matha
& Boehm, 2008, p. 114). The communication Platform allows the top management to pass down the
essence of the organization in a short communication.
Threats
Threats of incoming technology disruption replacing the traditional insurance platform and the changes
in the market (including regulatory environment) impacted PACS as a whole. Even though PACS is located
in Asia where it is the largest market for insurance, the company is still facing intense competitors from
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PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
worldwide such as the American International Group Inc. (AIG) and other global leading insurance
companies. Bancassurance from banks also threaten PACS overall sales and the risk of fighting partnership
over other competitors. Employees frustration inside PACS cause work inefficiency and the risk of
reducing employee turnover.
Part 2: Stakeholder Analysis
Key
Internal Stakeholders
Stakeholder
s
External Stakeholders
Attributes*
What we know:
What we need to
find out:
Know:
● Blackburn is from
CEO-Wilfred
Blackburn
Concerns/Expectations
(What’s on their
minds?)
● Worried about the
Desire impact on:
Communication
Attitudes,
preferences**
knowledge,
behaviors
● Use shared and
● Help PACS to focus
impact caused from
open space with
both on short-term
England and he is
previous company
employees to
and long term
currently in his
leadership changes.
exchange ideas in
results.
middle age.
● Social Technographic
is more likely to be a
Joiner or Spectator.
According to the
● Supporting the value of
new ideas and different
mind sets.
● He expects staff
diversity.
person.
● Mix with formal and
● Influence
organization’s
informal
culture and retain
communication.
loyal and talented
● Phone calls.
Forrester’s European
● E-mails.
Technographics
● Meetings.
employees.
● Successfully
transform PACS to
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
6
Benchmark Survey
regain the position
on Groundswell,
of being number
European customers
one leader in the
from the country of
insurance industry
United Kingdom,
in the country.
Joiners and
Spectators make up
the highest
percentage of 50%
and 55% among
online adults.
● Had experiences of
working in various
countries such as
Philippines,
Thailand, UK, China
and etc.
● Hold reputation as a
transformational
leader.
● Singapore is a
sophisticated market
to him.
● Believe in
collaboration and
open mind set.
● Joined PCA in 2012.
● High paid.
Need to find out:
● What would he do to
change the situation
of PACS?
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PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
● How long does he
need to transform
the organization?
Know:
● Because their large
population and
● They are reluctant to
interact with other
technographic is a
departments inside the
mix of creators,
organization.
● Less hierarchy
● Regain their trust to
focused
PACS and have a
communication.
clear understanding
● Open in person
conversation.
● E-mails.
organization’s
culture.
● Increasing frustration.
joiners, spectators
● They become defensive
less frustration.
and inactives.
after the company’s
● More cooperation
Everyone has
poor performance.
● They are in a
● They want changes in
the company.
● Meetings.
of the
critics, collectors,
media preferences.
Employees
performance bonus.
diversity, their social
different social
PACS
● They expect high
● Positive morale and
with other
departments and
maintain a frequent
communication
performance driven
with the region
organization, and in
office in Hong Kong.
early 2000s, their
morale was at the
highest.
● Happy working for
top-ranked
insurance company.
● They have good pay
and bonus rate, their
age ranges from 20 40.
● Experienced
continuous changes
of organizational
leadership style and
business strategies.
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PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
● Little warmth shared
with PCA regional
office staff.
Need to find out:
● Are there any other
factors (besides
bonus) drive
employee work
performance and
morale?
Know:
● Social Technographic
Senior
executive in
Operation –
Tara Ban
● She expects the new
leader to make
● In person
communication.
● Assist Blackburn on
communicating
is a mix of Joiners
necessary changes to
● Meetings.
with employees
and Spectators. She
the organization by
● Phone calls.
and gathering
likes to maintain her
improving the work
● Workshops.
thoughts from
profile on social
environment, investing
● E-mails.
other management
media and read
in the future and turning
● Travel visiting.
leaders to
social contents such
PACS business around.
as blogs and videos.
● She has worries to stand
transform PACS
together.
According to
up because of the
Groundswell, Joiners
hierocracy culture in the
insights on assisting
and Spectators make
organization.
Blackburn on the
up the highest
percentage among
age from 35 to 54.
● She is currently
working with her 5th
CEO in her seven
years with PACS.
● Ban has her
knowledge and
experience about all
the past CEOs.
● Provide positive
new strategy.
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PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
● Female leader in her
middle age.
● High paid.
Need to find out:
● What’s the biggest
weakness she think
PACS need to
address first?
● What is her thought
and suggestion on
the new strategy?
Know:
● Social Technographic
● They expect both high
● Meetings.
● Provide support to
performance of the
● Phone calls.
Blackburn and
is a mix of Inactives,
company and
● E-mails.
increase
Joiners and
employees.
● Formal
collaboration with
Spectators. They like
to collect
information online
● Focus on leading PACS
conversation.
every management
to a top performer.
leader and the
● They expect the new
communication
for research and
CEO to make new
with the Hong Kong
knowledge,
changes and efficiently
region office.
however, there is a
address PACS’ current
possibility that they
issues.
● Build stronger bond
with PCA and get
PACS Board
don’t have interests
assistance to help
of Directors
in participating
transform PACS.
social media due to
their older age.
● Generation X and
baby boomers.
● High paid.
● Located in
Singapore.
● Zero tolerance for
failure in terms of
employee
performance.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
10
● Hierarchical culture
of PACS.
● Minimal interference
with PCA regional
office in Hong Kong.
● Little trust with
regional office.
Need to find out:
● What is their desired
organizational
culture?
Know:
● Social
Technographics is a
mix of Creators,
worthy insurance brand
and product.
● They expect the
● In person
communication.
● Appointment.
● E-mails.
● Increase loyalty and
satisfaction to
PACS.
● Increase
Conversationalists,
insurance company to
● Text.
engagement with
Critics, Collectors,
actually care about their
● Newspaper.
PACS platforms.
Joiners, Spectators
needs and voice.
● Website pages.
and Inactivies.
Because their age
PACS Clients
● They expect a trustful
● They expect high quality
after sales service.
● Phone calls.
● Social Medias.
● Increase perception
to PACS value.
● Increase volume of
differences, and men
sales and
and women’s social
customers.
technographics
could vary even
among the same age
group. For example,
according to
Groundswell article,
“Young men are
more active Creaters
and Critics than
young women, but
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
11
young women are
more likely to be
Conversationalists.”
(Li & Bernoff, 2011,
p. 8) However, it is
clear that customers
in Asian countries
can move
aggressively and
they are more likely
to stay active in
social media as the
trend is moving to
the digital platform
even in the
Insurance industry
according to
Prudential case
study.
● Demographic slowly
changes from
wealthier segments
of the population to
middle-class
population.
● By 2030, 66% of all
middle-class
insurance customers
would come from
Asia.
● Include both female
and male, different
age group, income
level is middle to
high income.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
12
● Family, working
people, elder people
and children in
school.
● Increasing trend of
adopting digital
insurance platforms.
Need to find out:
What do they like
about PACS the
most?
How do they
differentiate PACS
from other
competitors?
Objectives
Business Objective(s)
Strengthen PACS leadership and team cooperation in order to recapture the number one market
position.
Primary audience (1)
CEO-Wilfred Blackburn
Influencers:
PACS executives, PCA management, Prudential plc management, PACS employees, Asia region
customers.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
13
Communications Objective:
Successfully transform PACS into a company where both the company’s culture and leadership style are
desired by the employees and increase the awareness and practice of team working among employees
and every department inside the company.
Primary audience (2)
PACS Employees
Influencers:
PACS executives, PCA management, Prudential plc management, Asia region customers, CEO –
Blackburn.
Communications Objective:
Have less frustration and higher morale by 70% in the next 6 months.
Primary audience (3)
Senior executive in Operation – Tara Ban
Influencers:
PACS executives, PCA management, Prudential plc management, PACS employees, Asia region
customers, CEO – Blackburn.
Communications Objective:
Provide consistent assistance to CEO – Blackburn and a communication bridge that connects employees
to top management.
Primary audience (4)
PACS Board of directors
Influencers:
PCA management, Prudential plc management, PACS employees, CEO – Blackburn
Communications Objective:
Strong personal bond among PACS executives and maintain an effective communication with Hong Kong
region office.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
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Primary audience (5)
PACS Clients
Influencers:
PACS executives, PCA management, Prudential plc management, PACS employees.
Communications Objective:
Increase clients’ awareness of PACS brand integrity by 50% as well as creating a meaningful experience to
differentiate itself from other competitors in the next 6 months.
References
Matha, B., Boehm, M. (2008). Beyond the Babble: Leadership Communication That Drives Results.
Jossey-Bass.
Perchthold, G., Bhattacharya, L. (2019). Prudential Singapore: Subsidiary CEO Succession - Trick or Treat.
Harvard Business Publishing.
Messages
Cause: The frequent changes of leadership styles and the lost partnerships with top leading
banks and agencies to competitors. PACS wants to regain the position of being number 1 in Singapore
insurance industry while enhancing team corporation and employee morale.
DO 1: Work together with colleagues and other departments on exchanging information and
maintaining a consistent flow of communication. Always keep a sense of teamwork.
•
KNOW 1: There is a succession of five CEOs over the past ten years and each CEO had
his unique style of leadership and different business strategies.
•
KNOW 2: “There was mismatch between the actual organizational culture at PACS and
the culture desired by the employees and management.” (Perchthold & Bhattacharya,
2019, p. 8)
•
FEEL 1: Employees have frustrations because of the low performance and are confused
by which kind of leadership to follow. They like the kind version of leadership in 2006 by
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
15
Justin Lin but not prefer the autocratic leadership by the company CEO Lee Johnson in
2013. Employees need to feel the emotional connection with their leaders and are willing
to put more beliefs in the company’s new strategy.
•
FEEL 2: Employees and management team have the perspective that the organization is
being bureaucratic and only focuses on short-term results. They expect changes and
solutions to address the company problems. It is important for PACS to hear employee’s
voices and their feedbacks on previous actions and the company’s new strategy.
DO 2: Understand cultural diversity and respect other people’s perspective. Have the courage
to reach out, listen, identify the good differences and make improvements on yourself.
•
KNOW 1: There is rising frustration among staff across the company and they don’t like
to interact with each other and other departments.
•
KNOW 2: There is discord and inconsistency between departments and each unit only
cares about their own team and prefers to work on their own.
•
FEEL 1: Employees have fears such as the worries of layoff, and decreasing confidence
because of the company declining performances that they felt like personal retribution.
Lower employee bonuses also contributed to lower morale and work motivation.
Employees should get more encouragements from PACS leaders and more projects
focusing on team collaboration.
•
FEEL 2: Teams preferred to protect their own people and had an overall defensive
attitude. Because the company is a sales driven organization, every department cares a
lot about keeping the good financial numbers instead of focusing on the right issues.
Employees should understand the disvantages of their actions and picture all
departments in the company as a whole to assist each other along the journey in the
future.
DO 3: Reach out to HR department if you have any communication concerns or discomfort. It is
important to speak up and ask for help. Employees could submit feedback letters anonymously.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
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KNOW 1: The regional office in Hong Kong (PCA) had not interacted that much in PACS
day to day affairs.
•
KNOW 2: There is little trust between PCA and PACS because of the little interaction and
information sharing.
•
FEEL 1: Both employees and management team are not familiar with the headquarters
procedure hence having a strained relationship with PCA staffing. Therefore, PCA would
not know PACS situation as well as providing the accurate assistance. Employees in each
department from two sides should contact and give each other an information update at
least once a week either by e-mail, phone calls or meetings.
•
FEEL 2: Staffing in PACS felt discomfort to interact with PCA staffing and because of the
hierarchy culture that they felt uncomfortable to speak up and share frequent update
with each other. When employees have communication concerns, they should go to talk
to the person in charge in the company to assist their issues and find an appropriate
channel and communication style to communicate with each other. PACS should take
employees communication issues seriously and promote the idea of team collaboration
to employees and build a communication platform considering cultural diversity.
DO 4: Enhance external communication with agencies, banks and direct customers. Find out
what’s their communication preference, market desire and changes that they want PACS to make. Reflect
these feedbacks back to the company along with personal suggestions. Do further research on digital
insurance platform.
•
KNOW 1: PACS has lost two key bancassurance partnerships in 2015.
•
KNOW 2: Customer centricity had not yet become an internalized commitment within
the organization culture.
•
FEEL 1: Company staffing doesn’t know which party to focus. (Customer? Agency? Or the
bank.) Since the market is moving to the middle-class and pursuing digital platform, PACS
employees and agents need to readjust their communication method and explore the
current market’s communication preference. It is important to not only focus on one
party.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
17
•
FEEL 2: Company staffing felt worried and threatened by the lost partnerships to their
competitors because their decreasing bonuses and the fact that PACS has lost the number
1 insurance company positon in Singapore. Employee’s morale is decreasing and there is
a higher chance of job hopping. Employees should put their belief in the company based
on the previous success and positively assist the company to move forward making new
changes.
Reference
Perchthold, G., Bhattacharya, L. (2019). Prudential Singapore: Subsidiary CEO Succession - Trick or Treat.
Harvard Business Publishing.
Communications Tactics
Vertical Communications Network Strategy
CEO Wilfred Blackburn passes down clear and streamlined messages and direction to all executives and
then engage to every employee as well as actively pulling back feedbacks from the bottom to the top of
the company.
- Tactic 1
Media and General Description.
Wilfred Blackburn will redefine PACS organization culture to focus both on short term and long term goals.
He will stabilize the company leadership style that is desired by the employees and pass down specific
direction and instructions on how to help the organization to achieve these short term and long term
goals to every executives and employees. Management team could reference the strategy of the short
and five-point story mentioned in our textbook which the company could use one point to explain the
cause and four other themes of what employees need to do to achieve the cause. PACS executives will
develop a digital survey platform where employees could join and provide their suggestions and feedbacks
on the company’s strategy and project. PACS executives themselves could also participate in the survey
and and make a bi-weekly report in the form of meetings (could be virtual or in person) to Blackburn to
reflect any problems and propose new changes. Blackburn will carefully review these reports and discuss
with other board of directors either by group phone calls or meetings. Blackburn and all other company’s
leaders will receive in person training by workshops about communication strategy and how they can
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
18
effectively communicate to employees.
Schedule.
At the beginning of next month.
Location.
Singapore office & Virtual Online
Indicators of success.
We will know after 6 months that the communication tactic is working by monitoring the following:
•
Employees communication satisfaction improves by 80%.
•
More than 60% of PACS staff know what to achieve and their value in the organization.
- Tactic 2
Media and General Description.
PACS will create an online portal for both employees and top management to communicate with each
other. Employees could use this portal to ask questions and make decisions about their work. Top
management has to make sure that they are delivering a consistent message to all employees as well as
interchanging their knowledge and personal motivation. According to our textbook, an effective channel
can “provide tools to help engage leaders and employees in an ongoing conversation about strategy, so
people have an opportunity to increase their understanding of strategy and offer their ideas and
perspectives on how to improve it and execute better.” (Matha & Boehm, 2008, p. 54) On this online
portal, employees could also have the access to view their short term and long term incentives/benefits
plan to motivate participation. Further research such as the employees’ social technographics profiles will
be done to understand employee’s social preference and what additional features they would like to use
on the portal.
Schedule.
At the beginning of next month.
Location.
Singapore Office & Virtual Online
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
19
Indicators of success.
We will know after 6 months that the communication tactic is working by monitoring the following:
•
Employees’ participation on the online portal achieves to 80%.
•
Top management’s participation on the online portal achieves to 90%.
- Tactic 3
Media and General Description.
PACS’ CEO and management team will host workshops outside workplace that featuring mentor and
mentee program. This program will assign each employee a mentor who could be their direct supervisor,
department manager or leaders from other departments for them to enhance relationship. During the
program, leaders could partner with the employees to finish certain project together. The program
provides both the company’s top management team and employees a platform to have conversation with
each other, ask questions and clarify issues. According to our textbook, “leaders can be informed through
means that don’t require long production times or expense such as phone calls and memos.” (Matha &
Boehm, 2008) It is also important for the leader to understand their mentee’s needs and social
technographics profiles if he or she wants to reach out to that employee outside workplace. For example,
if the mentee is a Critics, the leader could use online forum or a section where the employee can write
rating comments to collect feedbacks.
Schedule.
At the beginning of next month.
Location.
Singapore Office & Outside workplace
Indicators of success.
We will know after 6 months that the communication tactic is working by monitoring the following:
•
Employees’ frustration is reduced by 70% in the organization.
•
Employees’ career confidence and morale increase by 50%.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
20
Horizontal Communications Network Strategy
PACS encourages the collaboration and consistency among departments as well as with the Hong Kong
regional office. Employees have more chances to work with each other and develop positive friendship
and teamwork to beat the competition.
- Tactic 4
Media and General Description.
PACS’ CEO and management team will host events in the office or outside workplace every three month
to gather all employees among all departments to build personal bond and connections. For example, the
company can host a barbecue lunch event during summer where employees could have an opportunity
to cook and eat with each other. Employees could also bring their food or drinks that represent their daily
life and culture for the understanding of cultural diversity. To engage all the employees, managers will pas
down the sense and importance of team to employees. During these events, managers will discuss with
each other and come up with games that are good for facilitating employee’s entertainment while
developing teamwork skills.
Schedule.
At the beginning of next month.
Location.
Outside office.
Indicators of success.
We will know after 6 months that the communication tactic is working by monitoring the following:
•
Cooperation between PACS units increases by 50%
- Tactic 5
Media and General Description.
PACS will develop a cost effective plan to distribute budget on investing staff traveling. Board of directors
will have more chances to visit Hong Kong regional office (at least 4 times a year) and talk to Hong Kong
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
21
management in person to discuss issues, update information and build personal connection. For every
two weeks, there should be one video conference call between the Singapore office and Hong Kong region
office to keep the consistent information and communication flow. According to Groundswell article, “the
fundamental emotions that drive people is the desire to connect, to create, to stay in touch and to help
each other.” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 11) Therefore, it is important for everyone in PACS to keep this
knowledge in mind when communicate with each other.
Schedule.
At the beginning of next month.
Location.
Singapore, Hong Kong & Virtual Online.
Indicators of success.
We will know after 6 months that the communication tactic is working by monitoring the following:
•
Communication between PACS and PCA improves by 80%
- Tactic 6
Media and General Description.
PACS will develop a digital platform where employees can exchange ideas and communicate with each
other. On the digital platform, employees can have the access to their department group chat, send text,
voice messages or even video calls in the case of emergency. PACS management team will also provide
employees training on cultural diversity and establish good communicator examples within the
organization. The company will encourage employees to share their goals and information frequently and
provide an opportunity to see how each team is working together align with the company’s goals for
reference. Teams with best cooperation performance will be announced every month and share their
success stories and tricks on the company’s public board.
Schedule.
At the beginning of next month.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
22
Location.
Virtual Online & Outside office workshops.
Indicators of success.
We will know after 6 months that the communication tactic is working by monitoring the following:
•
Communication among employees improves by 70%.
References
Matha, B., Boehm, M. (2008). Beyond the Babble: Leadership Communication That Drives Results.
Jossey-Bass.
Perchthold, G., Bhattacharya, L. (2019). Prudential Singapore: Subsidiary CEO Succession - Trick or Treat.
Harvard Business Publishing.
Li, C., Bernoff, J. (2011). The Social Technographics Profile: Applying Social Media Demographics to your
Business Strategy. Harvard Business Publishing.
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