Cultivating a culture of experimentation and innovation

Applying human-centred methodologies and leveraging advances in technology, AIA Singapore and Hyper Island have co-designed an agile collaboration programme titled Digital Ei8ht.

The programme is designed to move beyond typical isolated two-day training sessions and workshops, to online live-learning sessions for employees to undertake transformation through experimental habit forming.

According to AIA Singapore and Hyper Island, employees and managers do not change if their leaders are not role-modelling and supporting, and change happens through the adjustment of habits, rather than knowledge or processes.

More than 1,000 AIA Singapore employees were onboarded via online live-learning lessons, a bespoke structured learning pathway that is routine-focused, and where learners received a combination of agile challenges and design-thinking techniques to practice new experimental actions.

A constantly evolving stack of digital tools such as video conferencing, drawing boards, and the use of a proprietary Hyper Island chatbot, were integrated to gamify learning, ensuring that employees remain engaged throughout.

Aileen Tan, CHRO, AIA Singapore, said, “Since the start of the year, we have seen numerous business models evolve and customer demands intensifying. AIA Singapore stands by our promise to our people, with developing their skills as an integral part of our commitment.

“Sealing our leadership in this economy requires us to embrace new norms by harnessing a culture of innovation and teams with the right resilient skill sets, all with a key focus of putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.

“The Learning and Development faculty of our organisation takes a long-term approach to ensure that the right support for our employees is in place today, not only to get through this challenging period, but to be better placed for leveraging unique opportunities in a post-pandemic economy.”