December2017
Moving it in aged care
Making a song and dance about exercise
Smarter partnerships
Bupa’s winning support of universities
Home is where the heart is
The move that created a happy, harmonious and full home
Connecting our people across Australia and New Zealand
“ I am incredibly #grateful to get up every day to a healthy, happy family and a job I love. What more could I want in life?”
#grateful2017 moments Increasing our capacity to express gratitude can be one of the most important things people can do to better mental and physical health, strengthen relationships and increase resilience. To help celebrate and identify all the wonderful work across Bupa A&NZ in 2017, we asked you to share your #grateful2017 moments.
Happy and healthy
Fearless leaders
Priceless moments
I’m super grateful for my happy mind and healthy body! It’s very easy to take those two for granted, but they really are wonderful things! :)
I’m #grateful to be part of an organisation that has fearless leaders who speak out to enable us to be who we are and bring our true self to work.
Despite the challenges and struggles of having elderly parents, I am #grateful that I still have them both. Each and every moment with them now is priceless.
Rachel, Corporate Affairs
Angela, Health and Benefits
Wonderful life
Back to normal
I have food on the table, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, love of family & friends, good health, happiness & a job I love with amazing people around me. Be #grateful for all we have - many don’t even get one of these.
I am incredibly #grateful to say that after fracturing three vertebrae in my back one year ago, I have gained back my full strength and fitness. Thankful for the amazing support I received from Bupa and my family while recovering.
Getting sweaty
Exercise success
Julie, Health and Benefits
Judy, Customer Growth
My family, my home as well as a job I love. But recently I started some exercise classes that really push me to the limit and I find myself in a sweaty panting heap… however, I do feel grateful that I’m able to exercise. Every day I see my residents struggle with exercise and some that are not able to exercise at all and wish they could. So yes, I’m grateful that I can move my body and I can exercise regularly (even if I’m not that good!)
As a physiotherapy assistant, I am greatly grateful that our chair exercise in Bupa Ballarat has received wonderful feedback from our residents. Now we have 20-35 residents join in our group exercise every week.
Gender Agenda
Incredible support
I am #grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Gender Agenda 2017. Not only was it great personal growth, but I met amazing women and networks along the journey.
I am grateful for my manager, Jane McNab and the BA Admin Ops Team. It is one thing to work for an organisation that supports staff, but to work for one that also encourages living a better and healthier life has been the best experience. This year, I was hospitalised twice in less than two months, in two different countries. The support of my manager and my team helped me to get better. They rallied around me and helped me to stay positive in a tough situation. They are amazing people, who inspire me to do what I love at Bupa, and to do it even better. I am so grateful.
Andrea, Bupa Aged Care Wellness team No matter what the customer need or what the business problem, the Wellness team rise to the challenge. Every single day, I am #grateful to be surrounded by amazing caring passionate people who support each other and work hard together to do great things for our customers. They inspire me on a daily basis and help me to love working at Bupa.
Sonia, Customer Experience 2 | beat
Jacqueline, Health and Benefits Extended family #gratefull2017 for still being a part of my amazing Bupa family at BMVS Adelaide. Wiser from learning new things from each and every one of them and absolutely amazed that I get to do what I love every day! (How many people can say that?!)
Julianna, Bupa Medical Visa Services
Hugo, Bupa Aged Care Beautiful boy During 2017 I’ve been so grateful for being able to watch my beautiful child grow from a baby to a little boy, and for Bupa who supported me throughout my journey returning to work #grateful
Skye, Customer Service
Kirillee, Customer Growth Every day I am incredibly #grateful to get up every day to a healthy, happy family and a job I love. What more could I want in life?
Janine, Customer Service Work/life balance
One of the things I am #grateful for is our people at Bupa who bravely tell their stories on Workplace; listening to the voice of our people across the business is so powerful.
I am #grateful to work for a company that allows its employees to have a great work/life balance. There is nothing better then feeling valued at work, but not guilty for leaving at 5 on Friday to enjoy your weekend and time with friends/ family.
Carol, People
Tash, Customer Growth
The voice of our people
Seketi, Bupa Aged Care Australia
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Putting the active into aged care activities
Growth, partnerships and support
Ask the Doc Home remedies
Make your New Year’s resolution stick
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The Resilience Project Learning to bounce back
A happy, harmonious and full home
Rhythms Emily Amos
How giving can be so very rewarding
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The ultimate Aussie experience
Leadership programs with a purpose
A winning formula from the west
Day in the life Marie Ng
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A wonderful career full of senior moments
Bupa Bites Information from the world of Bupa
Years of service Looking back, looking forward beat | 3
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Ensuring residents stay active in aged care is vital for health and wellbeing, but it can be challenging to encourage people to attend exercise classes. So Bupa’s care homes in Australia and New Zealand have devised some very enjoyable alternatives to a traditional ‘work out’ regime. “Having an active body is such an important part of everyone’s life, and for the residents in our care homes, we need to encourage them to keep moving as much as possible, because it has so many benefits,” explains Jill Thorp, Occupational Therapist, Bupa New Zealand. “When creating activities for residents, we like to look at the whole person, considering their physical, intellectual and social needs as well. And that is why having fun is so important to keeping people active in aged care.” One common theme between having fun, and keeping people active in Bupa’s care homes, is the power of music and at Bupa Coburg, that involves a rousing march to kick off their daily ‘Move it or lose it’ activity. “We start ‘Move it or lose it’ by playing the Colonel Bogey March 4 | beat
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Putting the active into aged care activities from The Bridge on the River Kwai, and this is a signal for everyone to join in as we march through the home gathering numbers along the way,” explains Kerry O’Brien, Lifestyle Officer at Bupa Coburg. “We then end up in either the main living area, or outside if it’s nice, to continue the program and dance and move along to many more well known tunes, such as Boney M’s Rivers of Babylon, YMCA from the Village People and sometimes we even throw in the Chicken Dance,” laughs Kerry. The ‘Move it or lose it’ program was created on the advice of Bupa Coburg’s visiting physiotherapist, Madeleine Haynes, from The Physio Co, to help improve strength and reduce falls. “We’ve developed a three tiered approach for the program, based on the best available evidence for preventing
falls,” explains Madeline. “Firstly, we have weight bearing activities that help with bone health and cardiovascular fitness. Secondly, we have exercises to improve static and dynamic balance, and thirdly, we have strengthening exercises to help residents stay strong. Overall, we’re aiming to ensure residents stay safe, mobile and as happy as they can be.” At Bupa Clayton, residents have been enjoying Chair-Dancing classes every fortnight, when visiting trainer Michelle Harrison arrives, much to the delight of resident Peter Wilson. “I love music, and I play a number of instruments myself, such as the ukulele and the piano, and I also enjoy singing,” says Peter. “It is so nice when Michelle arrives on a Thursday, and I just put my hand to my heart when I start listening and moving to her music.”
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Residents at Bupa’s three Care Homes in Tauranga, New Zealand, enjoying the ‘4th of July’ themed ‘Shall We Dance’ event
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‘Move it or lose it’ sessions at Bupa Coburg start off with a march through the home, then plenty of music to keep the residents active
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Resident Peter Wilson at Bupa Clayton has a love of music and finds the ChairDancing classes both physically and emotionally moving
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Residents at Bupa Clayton getting fully into the swing of the Chair-Dancing classes
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Red, white and blue colours dominated at the ‘4th of July Party’ in NZ
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Team members at Bupa Clayton get actively involved in the Chair-Dancing classes to help motivate the residents
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Instructor Michelle Harrison (far right) started running Chair-Dancing seven years ago when her mother-in-law moved into a care home
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“ Exercise is all about labour, whereas dance is all about fun.”
“ When creating activities for residents, we like to look at the whole person, considering their physical, intellectual and social needs as well.”
One of the ways of getting residents active at Bupa Clayton is to not call it exercise at all, explains Annette Karipidis, Lifestyle Team. “Our normal exercise programs just don’t get the same turn out as Chair-Dancing,” says Annette. “Exercise sounds like hard work and labour, and all too often people can just say no thanks. But with Chair-Dancing, the music is so uplifting and it’s a great social interaction between the residents and the Bupa team, that it gets so many more people involved.” Michelle Harrison has been a dance instructor for more than seven years, but it was after her mother-in-law moved into a care home three years ago, that she decided to create the Chair-Dancing program. “I run Chair-Dancing in more than 12 care homes, and because residents are also having fun, they tend to get more physical and active than they would in normal exercise classes,” explains Michelle. “And the program also seems to have a positive calming effect on residents, who appear less agitated after completing the ChairDancing sessions.” In Tauranga, New Zealand, Bupa’s three care homes, Arcadia Manor, Cedar Manor and Greerton Oaks, hold an annual ‘Shall We Dance’ themed event that brings residents and team members together in the one location for one almighty party. Previous themes have included ‘Last Night of the Proms’, which saw residents bobbing up and down to many English favourites, but for 2017, it was USA all the way with a ‘4th of July Party’. “What was really special about our ‘4th of July Party’ was that all the residents got to dress up in red, white and blue, or wear American hats and we themed up the room beautifully to make it a truly enjoyable evening,” says Debbie Bryant, Village Manager at Cedar Manor.
Michelle Harrison Dance Instructor
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One secret to a successful event, according to Debbie, is to ensure team members set the tone and get actively involved themselves. “Some of the residents can be a touch shy and reserved, and may not instantly jump up
and participate,” says Debbie. “But when they see the team members dancing and enjoying themselves, it’s so infectious, and then everyone seems to lose their inhibitions and they get up and start having such fun. One resident said to me it was the first time she’d danced in 29 years, and that she didn’t think she could do it, but she ended up having a brilliant time.” Similarly at Bupa Clayton, the team gets actively involved during the Chair-Dancing classes. “It’s so uplifting for the team to see the smiles on the residents’ faces and a great way to start the day,” says Annette. “Once our team members hear the music, they come far and wide from across the home to be a part of it.” beat | 5
Growth, partnerships and support Bupa has long been a quiet supporter of Australia’s Universities and Medical Research Institutes, with more than half of the Bupa Foundation’s $30m+ in contributions, over its 12 year history, being invested in this sector. Now, as Bupa continues to grow its commercial partnerships with Universities, it can point to the Bupa Foundation as an example of its broader support for higher education in Australia.
Kim Turudia (left) from Deakin University helps international students realise their full potential by encouraging a holistic view towards health and wellbeing
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customer story
“ Our relationship with Deakin is now not just about health and wellbeing, but also employment outcomes...”
Deakin University
At a deeper level, both Bupa and Australia’s universities share a philosophical alignment to improve the health of all. “Our brand purpose of longer, healthier, happier lives, as well as our commitment to funding research through the Bupa Foundation, shows The University of Melbourne to universities that we share similar goals,” says Sarah. “So There are more than half a million when they’re looking for industry international students currently partnerships that deliver more than studying in Australia and every one just a financial service, that’s when of them is required to take out we come into our own.” Overseas Student Health Cover as For Deakin University, Bupa is part of their Visa requirements, so not only the preferred provider of that’s a lot potential customers for Overseas Student Health Cover, Bupa to service! but has actively played a key role in “Australia has 39 universities and supporting the health of international since we introduced our Overseas students through a full-time Bupa Student Health Cover offering in Nurse on campus, who delivers free 2012, we’ve gone from two clients, Student Health Reviews. “About to now having partnerships with two years ago, we identified a need 10 universities servicing more than for international students to have 70,000 international students,” says a touch point around health and Sarah Thorne, National Manager wellbeing that wasn’t a university Educational Partnerships, Corporate supplied health professional,” and International. “And while some explains Kim Turudia, Medical people may think insurance is Services Practice Manager, Deakin just insurance, we aim to bring a University. “There can be concerns holistic approach to the health and around confidentiality and privacy wellbeing of international students for international students and many when we partner with our university have concerns that the information clients.” will be shared with the university,
which deters them from accessing our own health services. But with the Bupa Nurse, they can access free support on general health issues, as well as mental and sexual health education, totally confidentially.” According to Kim, nearly seven out of ten students who access the health reviews are subsequently referred on to the University’s health professionals and other support services. “Without the Bupa Nurse, these students may never have sought a check up in the first place,” says Kim. In tendering to deliver Overseas Student Health Cover for further university partnerships, Bupa now brings the full weight of its ‘One Bupa’ approach to the pitch process, which has made it the fastest growing provider of this cover in Australia. Recently, Bupa was successful in becoming The University of Melbourne’s exclusive provider of health insurance products across both Overseas Student Health Cover and staff policies. Bupa’s commitment to the health of international students is also evident from the research the Bupa Foundation is funding through The University of Melbourne. The project will look at indicators for academic achievement and mental health and highlight areas needing intervention, to better understand the additional set of challenges faced by this group. “Mental health is a big issue for international students,” says Annette Schmiede, Executive Leader, Bupa Foundation. “The outcomes of this research, will not only help Universities better understand how to support this group, but will also help Bupa tailor products and services to their specific needs.”
Bupa Health Foundation Investment to date
$30.27m
Universities & Research Institutes
$17.54m
Deakin University is similarly strengthening its collaboration with Bupa around mental and sexual health issues for international students. “Sometimes international students are so busy studying that they don’t consider a holistic approach to their life, including their diet, health, fitness and relationships, which means they may not be realising their full potential,” says Kim Turudia from Deakin. “We want to turn the conversation around so that students focus on prevention and early help seeking, which is what the student health reviews achieve, and we’ve got lots of new ideas for 2018 that we’re looking forward to working with Bupa to help implement. These include areas such as student resilience and counseling as well as mental health, healthy eating and exercise to enable a sense of wellness throughout their student journey.” But it’s not just on campus where Bupa can help international students. “Employability of graduates is key to the success of a university,” says Sarah from Bupa. “Our relationship with Deakin is now not just about health and wellbeing, but also employment outcomes, with support for on campus panel discussions for graduates, health ambassador programs and work placements for students.” beat | 7
health & wellbeing
Dr Tim Ross is our resident Bupa Beat doctor. He works for Bupa Aged Care as Director of Medical Services, and continues to moonlight as a practising GP. Each Beat edition, Dr Tim answers questions about looking after yourself and others. Email Dr Tim with your own question at askthedoc@bupa.com.au
Home remedies: life-savers or recipes for disaster? Ah, home remedies. I get asked about these surprisingly often. Anything from putting a steak on your face for a black-eye or butter on your burns, people want to know if these urban myths and folk tales really work. It’s understandable that you might want to try and find a simple, cheap and easy solution to some of life’s little mishaps. And some of them are ok. Others, not so much. So, I thought I’d take some time to explore some of these with you and help sort the fact from the fiction.
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Put butter on a burn We’ve probably all heard of this one. Butter is a natural emollient (moisturiser), so some people can mistake the moisturising effect as healing the burn. But in fact, you’re just adding unsterile, saturated fat to the burn, and your cat or dog is more likely to give it a good lick. Serious burns, where the skin is blistering or white and without feeling, need to be treated by a doctor. First-degree burns, where the skin is red but feeling is still normal, can be treated at home, but not with butter! Best to stick with running cold water over the burn for about 10 minutes and regularly apply a good nofragrance moisturiser: look for ‘aqueous creams’. A cold steak can bring down a black eye If you get a tennis ball to the eye at a BBQ, slapping a cold steak on the bruise might seem pretty convenient. But it’s not the most hygienic or pleasant smelling option. The reason people feel a steak helps is because it’s cold. So, anything cold will do. A bag of frozen vegetables is probably a better option, or you might have a spare cold pack in the esky.
Tilt your head back to stop a nosebleed It’s often quite dramatic when you see it in the movies, but throwing your head back or putting your head between your knees to stop a nosebleed is not a good idea. Tipping your head back is the worst, as blood is an irritant and will make you feel sick, or even vomit. There is also a risk of breathing it in making you cough and splutter, not easy with a nose bleed. The best thing to do is lean forward and press together the fleshy sides of your nose with a tissue under your thumb and index finger for at least 10 minutes. If your nose is still bleeding after that, or if it’s due to a serious injury, you should visit your doctor or the emergency room. Pineapple will cure your hay fever This is one of the most interesting ones I’ve heard recently. It’s tempting to think that adding something simple and tasty to your diet, like pineapple, will help curb those frustrating hay fever symptoms. There are a lot of natural remedies out there, and they can sometimes help with minor symptoms. But the only ways that have been proven to treat significant hay fever symptoms are antihistamines and/or corticosteroid nasal sprays.
“ Reaching for a home remedy can be a tempting option. Sometimes, they can help with minor ailments, and often they are pretty harmless. But with any health concerns, it’s always best to check with your doctor first. If nothing else, we can have a good chuckle about your creative home remedies together!” If you get a bee sting, squeeze out the stinger Nope and nope! Aside from being tricky and painful, squeezing the stinger actually pushes any remaining venom into your body. Some suggest using a credit card or acrylic nails to scrape it out, but make sure they are clean. At the least, scrape it off by running your nail along your skin underneath the sting. The faster it is off, the less venom goes in. And if the person starts looking like they are going into anaphylactic shock - getting faint, swollen, or having trouble breathing - call triple zero (000) straight away.
When we ring in the holiday season, some of us may fall into a familiar festive trap. We may eat our own bodyweight in food at Christmas dinner. We forgo our exercise routine in favour of sleep ins and long lunches. And we may hit the champagne a bit too hard at that New Years’ Eve party. But that’s okay, we tell ourselves, because we’re going to get back on track by committing to a New Year’s Resolution!
Make your New Year’s resolution stick In March 2017, over 70 Bupa people undertook behavioural science training. The good news is that behavioural science research has uncovered strategies to help us stick to a New Year’s Resolution. That could be helpful because, despite our best intentions, the majority of us fail to stick to our resolutions. One study showed that most people succeed in maintaining their resolve for the first week, however over the long term, 81% will give up. So, is it our laziness, or is there a scientific basis for why our resolutions so often fail? Ultimately, the New Year’s Resolution is an attempt at behaviour change. We identify a behaviour that we want to overhaul, and we make that our goal. But the truth is, we’re creatures of habit. To change our behaviour, we need to break away from a comfy and familiar routine, and replace it with something totally new. One of the main reasons that our resolutions fail is
that we set unrealistic expectations and underestimate just how much it takes to change our behaviour long-term. Let’s take an example of a popular New Year’s resolution exercise - and see how behavioural science could help. To have the best chance of success, it’s crucial to start off with small and achievable goals – otherwise you’re setting yourself up to get disappointed and give up. If you’re not currently capable of running long distances, don’t expect to run a marathon in a week. Make the first goal easy and relatively painless – start with a short walk on your lunch break and gradually build from that. By breaking up one big goal into smaller goals, you will not only ease yourself into a long-term change, you’ll have little wins to celebrate straight away to keep you motivated. Another behavioural science principle is loss aversion. People
would rather avoid a loss than gain something new. So, when January rolls around, try making a resolution contract with yourself. There are smartphone apps around that can help, like stickK. When you sign up to stickK, you can bet on yourself – and if you don’t keep your goal, your money gets donated to charity. The value of behavioural science isn’t just limited to New Year’s Resolutions. It can be applied across many aspects of our personal and professional lives. Recognising this, we are helping our people upskill in behavioural science. The Health Content Solutions team is excited to announce that the Bupa ANZ Behavioural Science Centre for Excellence is now live. It’s the one-stop-shop for all things behavioural science, including helpful resources, and case studies. Want to learn more? Check out our behavioural science e-learning module on Grow.
To have the best chance of success, it’s crucial to start off with small and achievable goals – otherwise you’re setting yourself up to get disappointed and give up.
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Learning to bounce back During November and December, Hugh van Cuylenburg of The Resilience Project, has been sharing his strategies with Bupa people and their loved ones for building resilience. Resilience gives you the ability to bounce back from life’s challenges. Hugh says to think of mental health as a spectrum — minus 5 is chronic depression, 0 is neutral and 5 is flourishing. CHRONIC DEPRESSION
NEUTRAL
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FLOURISHING
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Life events, like the breakdown of a relationship, losing a job or a loved one, will cause us to drop down the scale. But if you are resilient, you won’t drop as far down and you will bounce back faster. Hugh outlined three key ways we can build resilience: 1 Gratitude 2 Empathy 3 Mindfulness
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1 Gratitude Hugh defines gratitude as the ability to pay attention to what you have, not what you don’t have. He says many people live by the “if … then….” model of happiness – “If I get that promotion / new car / new house, then I’ll be happy”. The problem is, once these things are attained, we quickly shift focus to the next thing. Hugh reminded us that while it’s ok to strive for these things, don’t pin your happiness to them. Hugh also says people tend to have a negativity bias – we are seven times more likely to see the negative in a situation. Practising gratitude encourages the brain to look for the positives. After 21 days of this practice, Hugh says you become three times
more likely to notice the positives. And after 42 days, he says there will be many benefits, including higher energy levels and feeling happy. You can practice gratitude by tuning into the little positive moments each day, and reflecting on these questions: • What are three things that went well for me today? • What was the best thing that happened to me today? • Who am I most grateful for today and why? • What am I most looking forward to tomorrow?
2 Empathy When Hugh talks about empathy, he means kindness. Doing something kind for others makes you feel good, and Hugh suggests it may help in the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps to lift your mood and may help you feel increased energy, happiness and positivity. Hugh encourages people to look for opportunities to be kind each day, “Watch what happens to your own mental health when you start doing things for others!”
health & wellbeing
Health & Wellbeing content provided by Bupa’s Health Content Team
Summer is the prime-time for parties. The weather is fab, and more than ever, people are in the mood to have fun. But lots of parties can also means lots of bad food choices and more alcohol than usual. Thankfully, there are lots of ways to enjoy the party season without having to overindulge and fall into a food coma.
A healthy party season 3 Mindfulness
Buddha’s Delight
Mindfulness helps us to stay in the moment, not race ahead and worry. Practising meditation can be one way to start a mindfulness practice and help to calm the mind. Hugh believes overuse of our mobile devices also robs us of the opportunity to be in the moment. He offered two simple tips to reduce our dependence on them:
An easy way to do something good for yourself is to incorporate more veggies into your meals. So, why not try having a few meat-free days during the week? ‘Buddha’s Delight’, a vegetarian dish commonly served on the first day of Chinese New Year is packed full of flavour and the goodness of vegetables – even the meat lovers can’t say no to it!
1 Turn off all notifications - remove the temptation to check! 2 Rearrange your home screen - only include the apps that will support you. On his home screen, Hugh has music (to lift his mood), meditation apps and educational podcasts. Then he has a sub folder called ‘Regret’, with links to the ‘time waster’ apps and websites! (For more on this, he recommended Episode 71 of Sam Harris’ podcast ‘Waking Up’ – ‘What is technology doing to us?’) Hugh suggested a few apps to help kick start a meditation practice, such as Buddhify, Headspace or the new Resilience Project app (and he does see the irony of recommending an app!).
By using these three key ways to build resilience, Hugh believes we all have the ability to make a significant, positive impact on our mental health.”
Ingredients • 1 medium Chinese cabbage (wombok), thinly sliced • 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced • 2 handfuls snow peas, stringed and cut in half • 1 packet firm tofu, cubed • ½ knuckle ginger, thinly sliced • 25g glass noodles (cellophane noodles), soaked in water until soft and drained • 12 large dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes or until soft. Squeeze out excess liquid, but reserve soaking liquid. Trim off the stems and slice thinly • 2 handfuls of dried black fungus (wood ear or cloud ear mushrooms), soaked in water for 20-30 minutes or until soft. Drain, trim off the hard portion on the centre, and slice thinly • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Sauce • 2 tablespoons red fermented bean curd (nam yu) • 1 tablespoon vegetarian oysterflavoured sauce • 2 teaspoons sugar
Method 1 Heat oil in a wok over mediumhigh heat. 2 When the oil is hot, add ginger and cook until fragrant. 3 Add ½ cup of reserved mushroom-soaking liquid, and bring to boil. 4 Add carrot and cook for 2 minutes. 5 Stir in sauce ingredients and simmer for 1 minute. 6 Add cabbage and cook until soft. 7 Add snow peas and cook for 1 minute. 8 Stir in tofu, mushroom, and fungus. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, covered. 9 Gently stir in noodles and simmer for 5 minutes, covered. 10 Taste and add more sauce ingredients if desired. Serve hot with rice. Serves 4
Note: The original recipe includes unusual ingredients found in Asian groceries, such as ginko nuts, lotus seeds, dried lily buds, and dried fat choy. These ingredients can be added for a sumptuous plate, or omit as necessary if difficult to find. Cooking tip Cut all the ingredients to similar size to ensure that they cook at a similar rate. Glass noodles, dried shitake mushroom, and dried black fungus can be soaked in separate bowls one day ahead. Dietitian tip Feel free to experiment with this dish using different vegetables e.g. bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, and lotus root. Go for a colourful plate of veggies to ensure that you get a full range of phytochemicals, naturally occurring in plants. Recipe provided by Rebecca Hall, Bupa Accredited Practising Dietitian
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customer story
While residents of Bupa Woodville were a bit sad to leave their old home, they very much appreciated being involved in planning the move to the new home.
The new Bupa Woodville is 2km down the road from the old home
Photo courtesy of Swift Signs, NZ
A happy, harmonious and full home In relocating 82 residents from the old Bupa Woodville in Adelaide to their new home just down the road, General Manager Febin John appreciated it wasn’t simply a 2km drive they were undertaking, but a significant emotional journey for everyone involved.
“While our new Bupa Woodville is a beautiful building, we knew that it was going to take a lot of hard work and energy to turn it into a true home for our residents,” explains Febin John, General Manager Bupa Woodville. “So the whole process of moving was extremely well planned, right from the very beginning when Bupa bought the land for the new site.” Firstly, Febin and his team took the residents to view the new location itself, and then when construction 1
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General Manager Febin John welcomes residents arriving at the new Bupa Woodville
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The Federal Member for Port Adelaide, Mark Butler helped open Bupa Woodville on the 31 August 2017, and is joined by the team proudly wearing their ‘Happy, Harmonious, Full Home’ t-shirts
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The spacious gardens allow for a practice putt or two
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started in early 2016, it was another visit with the first sod being turned by a resident. “We felt it was very important to keep everyone in the loop regarding the building process and let them know how it was going and when they could expect to move in,” explains Febin.
“ I am enjoying every moment here and our new home is a beautiful nest with a lot of love and care given to the residents by a group of passionate staff.” For resident Helen Reese, being actively involved in planning the relocation helped to keep her focused on the positives of the situation. “While it was a bit sad leaving the old home, it was great to be part of the moving process and be able to see the layout of the new home and have the opportunity to choose our new rooms,” says Helen. The Bupa Woodville team were determined to embrace the positive
memories from the old home, with many keepsakes such as an old roster, residents’ list and a set of keys now on display at the new Woodville, and many other items were also chosen by the residents and placed in a time capsule that was buried at the new site on opening day. But a new home can also mean a fresh start, and General Manager Febin was keen to instil a sense of opportunity amongst the team created by the expanded facilities. “We developed a local vision around building a ‘Happy, Harmonious, Full Home’, and every meeting we refer back to that vision to see how we’re tracking. We’ve even had it printed on t-shirts as a constant reminder of our goals,” explains Febin. “One month on from the move, we managed to fill the additional 26 beds to create a full home, so now we’re continually striving to make sure it’s happy and harmonious.” So the team at Bupa Woodville has ensured plenty of action and activities since the move in July, from the very first lunch for all in the new building, to a pyjama party to
customer story
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Bupa Woodville wins Better Practice Award... two years running! To top off a positive 2017, Bupa Woodville, received a Better Practice Award from the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency for the second year in a row for their ‘Healthy Hearts in Aged Care’ program.
make everyone feel at home, sports days and the Grand Opening itself in August, attended by the Federal Minister for Port Adelaide, their Woodville Councillor and local AFL football legend Kane Cornes. “The pyjama party was such great fun, and it was lovely that the footballer came to visit us on opening day,” explains resident Jillian McGuirk. “It really feels like home now, with my beautiful bedroom and I love the freedom of being able to walk around the lovely gardens.”
On Opening Day, resident Helen Reese, who was born in the street next to the new home, and attended the nearby local school, was given the honour of cutting the ribbon to officially declare Bupa Woodville open to the community. “The home is already filled with lots of love, laughter and fun,” Helen said during her opening speech. “I am enjoying every moment here and our new home is a beautiful nest with a lot of love and care given to the residents by a group of passionate staff.”
But for Febin, the desire to maintain a ‘Happy, Harmonious and Full Home’ at Bupa Woodville continues, and one of his proudest achievements is that all of his 120 team members are now ‘Person First’ trained. “This training really is the key to our success,” explains Febin. “But we also need to look after each other, so we’ve introduced dancing and yoga classes for the team to make sure everyone at Bupa Woodville is feeling happy and harmonious.”
Working in collaboration with the Heart Foundation and the Findon Community Centre, Bupa Woodville is the first residential aged care home to have successfully completed the Healthy Hearts program. Febin John, General Manager, Bupa Woodville explains, “It’s a great feeling to win the Better Practice Award backto-back and it gives us confidence that we are delivering the Bupa Promise to our residents.”
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Rhythms Emily Amos, who joined Bupa in August 2017 as the new Managing Director of Health Services for Australia and New Zealand, loves a run in the park with her dog, a leisurely Sunday lunch or a scorching session of Bikram Yoga when she can find the time. But during the working week, Emily loves bringing great ideas to life – especially ideas which make life for customers simple, easy and fulfilling.
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rhythms
“ I’m a big believer in making the entire customer experience as simple and easy as possible...”
Emily Amos What attracted you to Bupa? I’m really passionate about people and the whole customer experience side of business. After more than a decade working in food and beverage retailing for the Woolworths Group, I was really keen to bring this passion to life in a new industry. I’ve always been interested in health, which has such high levels of customer interactions, at what can be very important times in people’s lives. I can’t start the morning without Definitely a long black coffee that helps me hit the ground running. Then it’s time to get my three children, Charlie, Harriet and Fred, ready for school. While they’re all fairly self-sufficient packing their bags and getting lunches ready, I still love to cook up some eggs for a tasty preschool breakfast. Keeping fit and healthy I’ve always been an avid runner, and still have a secret desire to run half marathons, but more recently I’ve been really enjoying Bikram Yoga, which my husband Richard recommended I try. Finding time to fit yoga or running into my schedule can be a bit of a challenge, but I try to do one or the other at least once a week.
Ideal weekend activity I have quite a large extended family and we love nothing more than having friends and family over for a long and relaxing Sunday lunch. My husband is an avid cook, so he will be in charge of the menu, which could be anything from 24-hour slow cooked beef, to his current favourite, seafood and salad. And having just completed some renovations to our house in Sydney, it’s now ideal for entertaining. What I learnt at university I’ve done quite a bit of study and what I’ve really taken from my university experiences is a general curiosity about the world, with the ability to ask the right questions. Also, it helped me become much more disciplined and focused with my time to ensure specific tasks are completed when you have allocated the time to do them. Finger on the pulse I listen to podcasts every day during my commute to and from Bupa on the bus, and my current favourites are ‘This American Life’, a weekly public radio show and author Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Revisionist History’.
Being brutally simple I’m a big believer in making the entire customer experience as simple and easy as possible and going back to first principles by asking ‘what does the customer actually want out of this interaction?’. Far too often in business we have a tendency to make simple transactions very complicated, and we should always keep in mind the role our organisation plays in the life of our customer.
What I’m looking forward to at Bupa I love taking new ideas and bringing them to life and I’m really looking forward to doing this in a new industry with a fresh perspective. My natural leadership style is to be very open and collaborative, putting trust in my team, and this feels very aligned with Bupa’s ‘peoplefocused’ culture. On the bedside table I love to read fiction as a way to relax before bedtime, or if I’m travelling on a plane, and current novel on the bedside table is Anne Patchett’s ‘Commonwealth’.
Secret skill I like to think I can dance but my family doesn’t agree with me. I did dance for more than 15 years, competing in eisteddfods across a range of disciplines such as tap, ballet and jazz. But when I try and give my children some dance tips, there are rolled eyes all around! beat | 15
ever yday heroes | corporate responsibility & sustainability
People often give up their time to volunteer for deeply personal reasons, but many feel the benefits of their sacrifices. Two of our team members share their personal stories of volunteering and the many benefits that it brings, to both others and themselves.
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Richard de Haast One night a month, Richard de Haast, Regional General Manager, NSW/ACT sleeps fully clothed with his shoes on, in a small volunteer’s room in a homeless shelter. He never quite knows what’s in store for his night ahead. “You don’t get the chance to turn off emotionally when you’re helping at the shelter,” says Richard of his volunteering night at Teresa House in Sydney’s Redfern. “It’s always a late night, as often people who stay simply want to talk with someone who’ll listen and it’s not unusual for people to be banging on the door early in the morning, and sometimes not in the best state, so that’s why you need to be ready to go no matter what.” 16 | beat
Richard is originally from what was then Rhodesia in Southern Africa, where his father ran the only multiracial hotel in a country that was in the middle of a war based around race. “I had a very strong social justicebased upbringing, and at one stage even studied to become a priest,” explains Richard. “I now feel that my family and I are incredibly lucky to be living in Australia so I express my gratitude through volunteering work, because I have both the capacity and skills to give back to others.” Teresa House relies totally on volunteers to provide free, emergency overnight shelter to members of the community who are considered ‘at risk’, in particular, mentally ill and addicted women, men, couples and transgender people. Richard heard through his local church that Teresa House might have to close on Thursdays due to a lack of volunteers, and that’s when he and his fellow parishioners jumped into action.
“I feel that my family and I are incredibly lucky to be living in Australia so I express my gratitude through volunteering work, because I have both the capacity and skills to give back to others.”
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“We put up our hands, and formed rosters to make sure Teresa House could stay open. The first shift opens the doors at 6pm and then serves dinner from 6.30pm,” explains Richard. “Then it’s our turn as the night shift to arrive around 8.15pm when we’re given a heads up on the residents for the night and any potential issues. There is never a night where you don’t have to deal with something very unusual, from a pounding on the door at 3am by someone wanting to be let in, to a business plan presentation from a young woman on parole who was determined to turn her life around.” While Richard leaves Teresa House
on a Friday morning totally exhausted, the feeling of satisfaction that he’s been able to give shelter and security to 12 people, who may otherwise have been at risk sleeping on the streets, is also highly invigorating. “I get enormous personal pleasure from helping our overnight residents and being able to listen to them and provide a sympathetic
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Richard de Haast volunteers one night a month at a homeless shelter and leaves the next day physically exhausted, but emotionally uplifted
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Teresa House in Redfern, Sydney, provides free, emergency shelter to members of the community who are ‘at risk’ and is totally run by volunteers
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Morgan Sandeman found an ideal volunteering position by searching online
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Morgan Sandeman was keen to share her passion as a Health Coach/ Dietitian through volunteering
ear. Knowing it’s because of our group of volunteers that these people can have good food, a warm bed and then breakfast before heading off into a new and hopefully better day, is hugely rewarding.” Richard also feels that his volunteering work contributes to his own professional development at Bupa. “Being able to successfully navigate the often tricky personal situations I encounter at Teresa House hopefully adds depth and texture to my leadership style at Bupa and enables me to bring a different perspective to conversations around gratitude,” says Richard. “At the end of the day, my volunteering work at the shelter is all about engaging and building rapport with people to help deal with any problems that might arise. And this skill is directly transferable to people engagement at Bupa, albeit dealing with slightly different stakeholders and situations,” laughs Richard.
“ We ask the participants what their goals are and they can be anything from walking a kilometre to the shop to get the paper, to putting their pants on in the morning without having to sit down,”
Morgan Sandeman Bupa Health Coach, Morgan Sandeman decided it was time to use her skills to help others after seeing her grandparents struggle with everyday tasks. “I was really keen to do something in the area of community health, and thought it would be great to help senior people with preventative activities so they wouldn’t get to the stage of struggling with daily activities like my grandparents,” explains Morgan. Not one to sit around and wait for an opportunity to present itself, Morgan jumped on SEEK Volunteer to find a suitable role. “I now volunteer one day a week in a strength and balance class for seniors at the Central Bayside Community Health Service,” explains Morgan.
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“It’s a 13 week program and my role is to help set up the room and greet participants when they arrive and provide assistance during the class. Having volunteers like me to assist in the program then enables the Physiotherapist to provide individual support, one on one with each client, to progress them safely and effectively through their exercise program.” With a background as a dietitian, Morgan has been in her current role as a Bupa Health Coach/Dietitian for a little over 12 months. “I was really keen to share the passion I have, on top of my day job, to help others and use my skills to really make an impact. I’m also a big believer in using exercise as prevention, so the strength and balance program was a perfect fit for my interests.” Morgan also feels that through volunteering, she is putting herself directly in the shoes of her TeleHealth customers, and seeing life from their perspective. “We ask the participants what their goals are at the start the program, and they can be anything from walking a kilometre to the shop to get the morning paper, to putting their pants on in the morning
without having to sit down,” explains Morgan. “Being able to help them achieve such goals is hugely satisfying and one of the participants recently thanked me for taking the time to really listen to her and giving her all my attention, which she said was rare when dealing with health care professionals.”
“ I was really keen to share the passion I have, on top of my day job, to help others and use my skills to really make an impact.” Morgan’s volunteering with senior people has now motivated her to study for a Certificate IV in Fitness specialising in exercise for Older Adults. “I was very keen to see if I’d really enjoy working with older people, and my volunteer role has really helped confirm that I love doing that,” says Morgan. “Being able to see the progress our participants make each week, and how they continually build up their confidence, is just wonderful.” beat | 17
The ultimate Aussie experience Studying in Australia can be a dream for many international students, with great universities to choose from, as well as being able to enjoy our beautiful outdoor lifestyle. But Bupa is working closely with the University of Wollongong to ensure this dream doesn’t turn into a nightmare if international students get out of their depth enjoying the best of our bays, beaches and rivers.
Sydney’s Palm Beach is the setting of the fictional ‘Summer Bay’ in the TV series ‘Home and Away’, which entices many international visitors to enjoy our beautiful surf beaches.
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While local students might take the ‘sun, sand and surf lifestyle’ of Australia in their stride, for many international students, the beach can be a foreign environment and unfortunately this has resulted in a number of student drownings in recent times. For the University of Wollongong, located close to the beautiful southern beaches of NSW, it was time to take action. In collaboration with Bupa, the University of Wollongong created a program in 2017 to ensure students are equipped and set up for success while living in the coastal city, not
only from an injury prevention and safety perspective, but also to ensure students have the best possible experience while living there. Bupa provided and funded swimming programs (pictured above), facilitated educational sessions on surf beach awareness, sun safety workshops, skin checks, supported Dragon Boat racing, and held Healthy Relationships and Healthy Habits seminars. For many international students, this was the first time they had learned to swim in their lives. “Our international students want to swim at local beaches and they want to know how to enjoy it safely,” University of Wollongong Student Life Programs Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Eloise Saddi, said of a recent program run on ‘rip’ safety. This multi-layered approach to Aussie summer & surf safety has made the University of Wollongong a stand-out in terms of providing education, awareness and experiential opportunities to help prevent the serious issue of international student drownings, and allowing students to really enjoy their time studying in Australia, being more confident around water. Well done to everyone involved in helping bring this program to life and in helping our international students live longer, healthier, happier lives.
Leadership programs with a purpose Traditionally, leadership programs have been all about developing the individual, so they can manage and inspire others. But as you’ll see on the following pages, Bupa’s leadership programs are designed to not only have a personal benefit, but also give back to others in a variety of different ways.
The Leading @ Bupa program is held annually in countries where Bupa operates, and for the 2017 cohort, this meant a week in Santiago, Chile.
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7am in the shanties of Santiago’s southern suburbs is the perhaps the last place you’d expect to find 15 of Bupa’s future global leaders. But that’s exactly where Dieter Lehmann, Director, Corporate Affairs, Bupa A&NZ and his global colleagues were in early September 2017, fact finding to gain a better feel for the public health system in Chile, as part of the Leading @ Bupa program. “What we witnessed was quite staggering,” explains Dieter. “The health clinics we visited were overcrowded, and people can queue and wait for hours to simply get a ticket that would guarantee them an appointment, maybe not even on that day, but some time in the future. They might be elderly or a child and experiencing acute pain but there’s no triage. It’s literally a case of first in line, first served.” Every year, about 30 of Bupa’s leaders from around the globe embark on an intensive professional development course, Leading @ Bupa that is not only designed to stretch the participants well out of their comfort zone, but to also help solve public health challenges in developing markets. “The program runs in countries where Bupa operates and the 30 attendees are split into two groups of 15,” explains Dieter. “Each group then works on a separate 20 | beat
health and care challenge and I was fortunate enough to be made the leader of one of those groups.”
“ It was very challenging to see some of the conditions people were living in, but you realise you can’t just walk away and want to help in any way you can.” The challenge for Dieter’s group was to help a small health business, run by a husband and wife team, that partnered with local authorities to make the process of booking health appointments more efficient and hopefully eradicate any queueing in future. “About 85% of people in Chile rely on the public health system, with only 15% having private health insurance,” explains Dieter. “Hora Salud the company we were helping, was established five years ago, after the founders experienced the inefficiencies of the health system first hand when a family member became critically ill. Since that time, they’ve sold their house to fund the business and haven’t drawn a wage in five years.” With only one client, it was the role of the 15 Bupa leaders to create
a road map for the future and get Hora Salud on the path to growth and profitability. “Our first three days were spent out in the field, from sunrise to sunset, gaining a clear understanding of the problems to be solved,” explains Dieter. “It was very challenging to see some of the conditions people were living in, but you realise you can’t just walk away and want to help in any way you can.” Then it was time to start building solutions to help Hora Salud to be able to help many more people. “First step was to understand the combined skill set of the group, and then we broke down the solutions into six clearly defined areas for us to work on,” explains Dieter. With financial security an imperative for success, one of the team members built a complete business model in just 90 minutes, identifying how many clients, customers and service offerings were required to be viable. Further solutions then included creating a new business pitch process, identifying the best options for running a call centre and advising on possible approaches for government relations. 3
On presentation day itself, the Bupa team set up six different ‘stations’ in the room, each presenting their recommendations in a short, sharp approach to the husband and wife team as they circulated through the sessions. “At the end of the presentations, our clients were so overwhelmed that they broke down in tears of joy,” explains Dieter. “The husband explained that we were the first consultants who actually understood what they were trying to do, and rather than telling them why they might fail, we actually offered practical solutions to help.” 2
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leadership programs with a purpose
Closer to home, Bupa’s Gender Agenda Program entered its third year in 2017 with a refreshed format.
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85% of people in Chile rely on the public health system, and people can queue for hours to get a ticket that guarantees an appointment some time in the future
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The shanties of southern Santiago, Chile, are perhaps the last place you’d expect to find 15 of Bupa’s leaders
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Presenting to the Hora Salud clients, the Bupa leaders were told they were the first consultants that actually understood what the founders were trying to achieve
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The Gender Agenda team of 2017, with Alex Brassert pictured bottom left
“When the Gender Agenda program started, it was designed to help women move into senior leadership positions, and it was one of the first programs to have such a gender specific objective,” explains Stephanie Carman, Head of Change and Capability, Customer Growth. “The conversation around gender inclusiveness has moved on significantly since 2015, so we felt the program needed refreshing and updating.” One of the changes was to create a new group project, with participants splitting into two groups and developing an idea to help improve the lives of female colleagues or customers. “We wanted to ensure that Gender Agenda delivered on our purpose, and the project work not only helps do that, but also builds on other aspects of the program in an experiential way to help participants come up with ideas and sell them to the business in real life.” Gender Agenda was the first personal development course Alex Brassert, Health Systems Policy and Development Manager, had undertaken since joining Bupa in 2013. Alex was attracted to the program because its individual components developed skills she thought would be valuable in her position. “I was looking to help build on areas such communication style and skills, as well as the ability to positively influence others.” For the project work, Alex and her team created an initiative called ‘Healthy @ Every Age’ that is designed to engage and empower women with the information and tools they
require to take a proactive approach to their health so they can have that conversation with their healthcare professional on what check-ups are important at different life stages. “The intent of the project work is great,” says Alex. “Creating something meaningful for others is how Bupa thinks and it’s good that Gender Agenda delivers on this.” After being successful as the winning team, Alex’s main objective now is to try and keep the momentum alive on the project and ultimately bring it to life. “A risk is our project might be another great idea that doesn’t get funded or executed. But my team and I are still continuing to push ahead with Healthy @ Every Age because we think it has such great potential.”
“ Creating something meaningful for others is how Bupa thinks and it’s good that Gender Agenda delivers on this.” Stephanie Carman is delighted with how the new Gender Agenda has been received. “I’m really proud to work for an organisation that has such a program, and by refreshing and updating it, I now think we’ve created a unique leadership program that not only generates ideas to help others, but also really pushes participants to grow and develop in ways beyond their expectations.” In reflecting on the Gender Agenda program, Alex realised it was a significant personal journey she’d been on. “I loved Gender Agenda,” says Alex. “I started the course with naïve enthusiasm about the opportunity to learn about leadership not realising it would lead to a deep self-exploration into my own values, attitudes and beliefs. The lessons I have learned have had a deep and meaningful impact on me.” beat | 21
performance
A winning formula from the west By working together as a team, embracing recommended customer-servicing techniques and having a passion for referrals, the Bupa Optical store in Perth has come up with a winning formula for success.
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performance It’s not often you hear a Bupa State Manager say they get ‘goose bumps’ talking about team development in a retail store. But that is exactly the effect Bupa Optical Perth has on Sharon O’Rourke! “The Perth team has an amazing ability to understand each person’s particular strengths and then use that for what I call a fabulous cross pollination of skills,” explains Sharon O’Rourke, State Manger, Qld, NT & WA for Bupa Optical & Hearing. “And the beautiful part of it is that all the team members are open to the process and want to learn from it.” It was when Elise August first arrived as the Perth Store Manager two years ago, that she decided not to walk in all ‘gung ho’ and revolutionise the place, but instead, got to know her new team, with their different experiences and backgrounds. “We worked on identifying the different strengths of the team, and then made people responsible for bringing their capabilities to life in store, and if successful, everyone else would then be trained up on those skills,” explains Elise. One example is team member, Gemma, who is a star at recommending ‘add on’ features for glasses, such as blue light lenses, and is one of the strongest sales performers in WA. “Before opening one morning, we all sat down and asked Gemma to run through her sales style and specific techniques,” says Elise. “We then used Gemma’s examples to create sales approaches and even scripts so that the rest of the team could gain the knowledge required to try it out in store.”
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But it’s not just creating their own processes that has enabled the team to continually exceed targets, it’s also their ability to embrace Bupa-wide approaches that has contributed to their success.
“ The Perth team instantly understood the value for the customer and has done an amazing job of bringing it to life in store, and the results speak for themselves.” “In 2015, Bupa Optical started to develop a new approach to servicing that is really linked to a customer’s journey in store,” explains Sharon O’Rourke. “We created what we call a ‘three way’ approach which involves the customer, the optometrist and the dispenser working together at each step of the process in store, so everyone is fully aware of the customer’s needs. The Perth team instantly understood the value for the customer and has done an amazing job of bringing this approach to life in store, and the results
speak for themselves.” These results include hitting a net promoter score of 85% in July 2017, holding the highest conversion rate of appointments to sales of all Optical stores and consistently hitting, and exceeding, sales targets. “We have huddles every two weeks to discuss issues and keep everyone focused. I think it’s important not to tell your team what to do, but to give them guidance and answer any questions they might have,” explains Elise of her leadership style. “Then, your team can feel comfortable to work through any issues themselves, in their own style.” Finally, not just content to have the runs on the board for their own sales targets, Bupa Optical Perth is the highest referring Optical store for Health Insurance leads in Australia. “We’re co-located with the health insurance team in the same store in Perth and we’re all colleagues,” says Elise. “So we sit out the back and have lunch with them everyday and of course we want them to succeed and hit their targets, and vice versa. But also, customers really appreciate
being informed about their cover, especially if they’re paying for things unnecessarily, so really, everyone wins from the whole referral process.” 1
Elise August (2nd from right) and her team enjoying the spoils of being a top referring Bupa Optical store
2 Elise August, from Bupa Optical
Perth (left) and State Manager Sharon O’Rourke (right)
Cross referral tips To further build on the shared knowledge principle, Elise and her team developed a one-page document on referral tips, on Sharon’s request, that is now being distributed to the other 37 Optical Stores. “The Perth team really are the champions of cross referrals, and we want to make sure every other store can learn and gain inspiration from their techniques, to give everyone the best chance for success,” says Sharon.
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day in the life
Day in the life Marie Ng As the former founder of many internet startups, Bupa’s Head of Digital Incubation, Marie Ng, is now excited about the role technology can play in dramatically improving the health and care sector. Having learnt to move quickly in the startup scene, Marie brings energy and pace to her working day at Bupa, and likes to mix things up when it comes to the many interactions with team members.
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7.00am Alarm goes off and the very first thing Marie does is drink a glass of water and then it’s straight into ten minutes of meditation. “I use the ‘headspace’ app every morning for a session of guided meditation,” explains Marie. 7.15am Refreshed and revived, time for Marie to walk her French Bulldog, Homer (left). “Everyone asks me if he’s named after the Greek poet or the cartoon character,” says Marie. “Truth is, it’s neither, but his name is a great talking point,” laughs Marie. 8.00am Jumping on her bike for the 20min ride into town from Abbostford, Marie listens to one of her favourite podcasts, Daily Tech News Show (DTNS), while at the same time staying fit and clearing her mind for the day ahead.
9.00am To kick start the morning, the Incubation Team has a daily standup 15 minute meeting as a quick way to check in with each other, keep motivated and see if anyone needs help with their projects. 9.30am First of many meetings and collaborations for the day, and this morning it’s with Bupa Optical to review the new chatbot that the Innovation Team has helped develop for customers to book appointments online. “We have lots of catch ups with our colleagues on using new channels such as chatbots to make
sure customers are using it as intended, and if not, we can quickly brainstorm ideas for improvement.” 10.00am Part of Marie’s responsibilities includes Team Development, which involves ‘onboarding’ new recruits as well as coaching and mentoring existing team members. Today, Marie has a walking meeting with a new recruit to check on how she’s going. “If it’s a nice day, I love to get some fresh air and have a ‘walk and talk’ meeting if possible. I’m a big believer in changing up the environment and taking people to different locations to encourage new ways to problem solve.”
day in the life
“ A lot of what we do in the Incubation Team is discussion based, so I love having coffee or lunch meetings with colleagues to make the most of a more relaxed environment.”
11.00am Back at the desk and it’s time to review some user testing results that have come through on a new virtual reality idea Marie’s been working on with Health Services. “With our projects, we like to do low fidelity prototyping to see how it will work in practice, then get feedback from users straight away so we can work out how, and if, they will use it and adapt accordingly.” 12.30pm Although food is not a massive part of Marie’s life, she does appreciate the role it plays in stimulating conversation. “A lot of what we do in the Incubation Team is discussion based, such as rapid brainstorming, so I love having coffee or lunch meetings with colleagues to make the most of a more relaxed environment.” 1.30pm Offsite team meeting at the WeWork co-working space on Bourke Street in the CBD, meeting with a company that Marie knows of through her
connections in that community. “Technology is evolving so quickly that we don’t always have the answers internally, so we look to get help and advice from startups, who are typically ahead of the curve, and then we can up-skill our own team for the future,” says Marie. 4.00pm Back at Bupa, and back into Team Development mode, with Marie meeting with a new starter to give them an introduction to the Digital Team. “Our leaders still meet with every new starter one-on-one to make them feel welcome and help set expectations.”
5.00pm Quick check in with some members of the Marketing team on the Bupa Therapy website development to see how it’s progressing. “I’m a big believer in making sure projects keep moving as quickly as possible, so by having regular update meetings, we can identify any roadblocks, see who we might need to ask for some help, and then push on.”
7.00pm Marie still has many friends and is very connected to the startup scene, so tonight it’s a off to a ‘Demo Day/ Pitch Night’ event and then a social dinner.
5.45pm Marie works through the last of any emails and messages and checks the diary for the day ahead, so she’s fully prepared to hit the ground running in the morning. 6.00pm Each day, Marie likes to have a clear mental and physical break from work before starting her personal time, and that means a bike ride home and then another walk for Homer!
10.00pm Time to relax by watching ‘Game of Thrones’, followed by a listen to the ‘Nerdist’ podcast hosted by Chris Hardwick. 11.30pm As a bit of a self confessed night owl, Marie starts thinking about bedtime around 11.30pm, ready for another big day of collaboration, consultation and creativity ahead! beat | 25
With an eclectic, but highly complementary set of skills, Bupa Care Services Southern Operations Manager, Jan Summerell (left), brings empathy and enthusiasm to her role supporting Retirement Village Managers in New Zealand.
A wonderful career full of senior moments
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my career at bupa
Part time Duty Leader and Part time Activities Co–ordinator, Ashgrove House
Interim Manager, Ashgrove House
2000 1999 Part time Activities Co-ordinator, Ashgrove House
From her days running a small general store and lotto outlet in Nelson on New Zealand’s South Island, Jan Summerell has always loved helping senior people. “Being opposite the old port, we always had lots of lovely older customers come into the shop and it was from those days that I really knew I wanted to keep working with the elderly,” says Jan. “So when I moved from Nelson to Christchurch in the late 90s, I combined my passion for senior people with my former training as a nurse and applied for a part time role as an Activities Coordinator at Ashgrove House, the care home on the Cashmere View site.” And so started Jan’s 18+ years to date with Bupa that has seen her move from a part time role in the Care Home, to Village Manager, and now being responsible for overseeing the operations of Bupa’s 14 Retirement Villages in the Southern Region of New Zealand. “I absolutely love my current job and it really is an extraordinary role, being able to support the Village Management teams as well as having close contact with many of the residents,” says Jan. “And if one of the Village Managers is on leave, I often step in to cover, which is a great way to remain in touch with current challenges our Village Managers face on a day-by-day basis..” Jan’s journey from Activities Coordinator to Operations Manager started a year after she joined Bupa.
Southern Operations Manager, Bupa Care Services, New Zealand
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2001 Quality Improvement Co-ordinator, Ashgrove House
“In 2000, I took on an additional part time role as a Duty Leader at Ashgrove House,” says Jan. “Then, because the home was having some issues around quality assurance accreditation, I was asked to step into a new role as the Quality Improvement Coordinator.” Getting to know the key processes expected of a high quality workplace proved invaluable for Jan when in 2007, the Manager of the Care Home left and she became the Interim Manager. Around this time the village and care home businesses were separated and a new role was created to manage the Retirement Village and Jan was successful in applying for that position. “I loved being the Village Manager and dealing with the very diverse range of people who live in our villages,” explains Jan. “As Manager, you have to be a bit of a self starter, be agile in your thinking, very well organised and be able to confidently tackle a wide range of tasks. But just as importantly, because living in a Retirement Village is all about independence, you need to know when to ‘back off’ and let the residents enjoy life, while at the same time having the intuition to know if they might need support.” For seven years, Jan managed the Cashmere View Retirement Village (above right), and during that time the number of villages in New Zealand continued to grow. So in 2014, a new role was created for a second Operations Manager in New Zealand, and having achieved as much as Jan
2007 Village Manager, Cashmere View Retirement Village
thought she could in her role, she ‘threw her hat into the ring’ for the position. “I felt you can’t die wondering and without any great expectations of being successful decided to apply for the role”.”
“ It’s so important to be enthusiastic and energetic in whatever you do and just embrace your role at Bupa because it’s such a great place to work.” Now, as Operations Manager for the Southern Region of New Zealand based at Bupa Parkstone in Christchurch, Jan’s role is very diverse, from mentoring and support, to jumping in as required as an interim manager. “It’s important that the Village
Managers know there is a support network behind them, as to be honest, they can be quite isolated as often they are the sole team member in the village. There is a big emphasis put on building strong relationships with the adjoining care home as the support and collaboration between the Care Home Manager and Village Manager is vital to the ongoing success of the site.” explains Jan. “So we are constantly looking at how we can share ideas around the group while also holding more structured Quality Improvement sessions to ensure everyone is up to date on required skills. And of course I get plenty of contact with the residents in my travels, even being lucky enough to attend their Christmas Parties, which I absolutely love.” Jan’s advice for anyone looking to get ahead at Bupa is to always be prepared to step up and help out when needed, no matter what the situation. “It’s so important to be enthusiastic and energetic in whatever you do and just embrace your role at Bupa because it’s such a great place to work, with an awesome set of values,” says Jan. “I feel very fortunate to have been presented with new opportunities at Bupa. I’m so grateful for the faith and belief that has been shown in me which has allowed me to be where I am today.” beat | 27
BupaBites Information and insights from the world of Bupa to keep you up to date on Global, Market and Business Unit news.
New Bupa A&NZ Chairman appointed The Honourable Nicola Roxon has been appointed as Chairman of Bupa Australia & New Zealand from 6 March 2018, on the recommendation of the Bupa Board. Nicola brings a wealth of public and commercial experience to this position. Among her current roles, Nicola is a Non-Executive Director of Bupa Australia and New Zealand, the Bupa Health Foundation and listed entities Dexus and Lifestyle Communities. Nicola is also Chair of the Cancer Council Australia. A well-respected former politician, Nicola was a member of the Australian Parliament for 15 years (1998-2013). She served as Australia’s Health Minister for four years from 2007 and oversaw major reforms to Australia’s public hospital, primary care and preventative health systems. In 2011 Nicola became Australia’s first female Attorney-General. She has received national and international awards in recognition of her public health work, particularly in tobacco control. Under her leadership, Australia successfully introduced a world first - plain packaging of tobacco with large, graphic health warnings. Nicola will assume the role of Chairman from John Conde AO who will step down after a decade in the position. John has steered the business magnificently over that time, overseeing its growth from a private health insurer into a major health and care company with more than six million customers.
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Bupa Therapy Now Open Bupa Therapy opened in November 2017 and is located in West Melbourne, Victoria, Delivering physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy to people over 18 years-of-age in a co-ordinated manner, Bupa Therapy is one of the few facilities in Australia to offer this integrated approach all under one roof. The centre has a dedicated welcome area, treatment rooms and a gymnasium for individual and group therapy. It also caters for carers and other family members, with lounges, wifi, internet terminals, refreshment areas and desk space. “We have spent 20 months listening to people living with disability and their families, carers, and clinicians about what they need. They told us they want care to be more convenient, all under the one roof where possible, and fully coordinated to make life easier,” says Angela Aldous, Bupa Therapy Operations Manager. The centre will not be limited just to Bupa customers or NDIS participants. It will be focused on delivering Bupa’s purpose of helping people to live longer, healthier and happier lives to those who arguably need it most.
Helping to balance work with caring for a family member One in eight employees in New Zealand are caring for someone outside of work. The difficulty and stress of juggling care and work responsibilities leaves many people feeling that they have no choice but to leave or change jobs. The CareWise program, launching nationwide in 2018 by Carers New Zealand, will recognise organisations that take significant steps and demonstrate commitment to supporting employees with caring responsibilities, and Bupa will be the first organisation to receive Carers New Zealand CareWise accreditation. “Bupa has demonstrated their strategic commitment to creating an inclusive work environment. There appears to be no hesitation from employees interviewed with regards to sharing their personal caring requirements with their managers and having the confidence to request a flexible work arrangement if and when required,” says Founder and Chief Executive of Carers NZ, Laurie Hilsgen. Bupa NZ’s outgoing People Director Julia Wiegandt-Goude says Bupa’s focus is on providing support and flexibility wherever possible for employees. “We’ve worked with Carers NZ for a long time and were delighted to be invited to be the pilot organisation for the CareWise accreditation” she says.
Be antibiotic aware – do you really need those antibiotics?
Supporting positive mental health in our workplaces With our recent focus on mental health, Bupa has opened up the conversation to support positive behaviours in our workplaces with The Healthier Minds Session Menus, which are available throughout the year. The sessions have been well received and cover a range of topics such as ‘Healthy conversations at work’, ‘Striking the balance’ and ‘From surviving to thriving’. Please contact the Smile Australia team to arrange a mental health expert to speak at a team meeting or gathering. There’s brilliant information on Performance Energy, Mental Health First Aid, Suicide Awareness Training, Resilience and Healthier Minds Apps. Don’t forget the support available to you both in and outside of Bupa. To find out more, please see the Mental Health and Wellbeing page on Workplace. If you don’t have access then please contact your manager, SmileProgram@bupa.com.au or contact a Smile Representative or Champion in your state or territory.
The Global Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Network sees antimicrobial resistance as one of the biggest health threats mankind faces today, and one that we must tackle together. In simple terms, antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change to protect themselves from an antibiotic. This can make bacterial infections much harder, if not impossible to treat. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics is increasing the problem of antibiotic resistance. As part of the CMO network, Bupa has signed a pledge to take active steps to help stop antibiotic resistance. One key part of this pledge is to educate people on this topic. During November for Antibiotic Awareness week, the Clinical Governance team actively sought to spread the message. From Intranet and Workplace articles to visiting some of our homes, sharing how each of us can play a role against antibiotic resistance. Through simple tasks such as washing your hands with soap and water, you can make a difference. But importantly, always follow your health care professional’s advice when using antibiotics and don’t share or reuse antibiotics. See your local intranet or Workplace for more information.
100,000 reasons to cross refer The One Bupa cross-referral program has had a huge 2017, recently reaching 100,000 referrals for the year alone, 24,000 unique customers referred to Health Services, and over $2.2 million in Health Insurance revenue. The program focuses on promoting proactive cross-referrals between all Bupa businesses, with customerfacing people using a simple webbased tool to refer customers. Now in its second year, the program includes Health Insurance, Dental, Optical & Hearing, Aged Care and Telehealth – with Travel, Home Car & Pet and the Bupa Therapy team joining most recently. By cross-referring customers, the program drives growth across Bupa and makes customers more likely to stay with us as their relationship deepens. Data shows that customers who have had a referral have lower discontinuance rates, meaning they are more likely to stay with Bupa. Their NPS scores for some interactions are also 5-10 points higher. But it’s much more than a tool – the program has been helping different teams from all parts of Bupa connect with each other. “One Bupa to me means a sense of community and belonging,” said Greg Hari Sheth, Store Leader at Northland Health Insurance. “We have a lot of interaction with all the Bupa businesses in the area.”
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years of ser vice
10YEARS
10YEARS
10YEARS
10YEARS
15YEARS
Kalpana Adhikari Gnawali
Ambili George
Donna McKinnon
Corinne Siniska
Kerri Gilchrist
Jenna Armstrong
Joy Ann George
Maxwell McPeake
Jennifer Skelly
Liz Givon
Suzanne Beaston
Brianna Grace
Pauline Mellor
Samuel Sneddon
Anita Golding
Marlene Bierton
Joanne Grant
Adele Milecki
Jessica Stansbury
Fiona Gosling
Iona Black
Seb Grey
Regina Moses
Yvonne Tilley
Gina Heriot
Emilly Bourgeois
Gail Haig
Narasimharao Nanduri
Maree Todd
Edna Higgins
David Bravo
Joyce Hall
Kate Newbold
Anna Townsend
Marta Indjic
Alice Carr
Anthony Hannan
Micheal Njoku
Minnie Tse
Pauline McCallum
Mel Cassar
Debbie Haywood
Grace Ogwaro
Belinda Van Der Westhuizen
Dale McGirr
Leeanne Clemens
Nicola Henkes
Marcos Orence
Shyamli Veeran
Tracy McManus
Rowena Cole
Jo Anne Herbert
Jenna Osland
Vinaina Viran
Jo Mills
Catherine Collins
Teena Hilton
Aldrin Paelma
Diana Wardini
Pauline Nilsson
Marilyn Ann Colyer
Natalie Ireland
Priya Palkar
Rachel Waru
Song Chou Conn
Joceph Jacinto
Warwick Palmer
Robyn Officer
Simone Connors
Nicola Jacobs
Agustini Pane
Debra Webb
Susan O’Malley
Gordon Crooks
Sarah Jeffery
Tulashi Paudel Regmi
Jadarna Weeks
Elizabeth Osbourne
Susan Croxford
Arulanandam Jenson
Chris Pavey
Andrea Winterburn
Melanie Pavlidis
Susan Curwood
Jennifer Johnston
Shanika Perera
Jutharat Yamgosum
Kylie Phan
Christine Czech
Elizabeth Joseph
Sheemal Prasad
Polina Youssef
Usha Rajan
Mabel Dalmeida
Adrian Keenan
Haylee Quinn
Elizabeth Dawson
Carolyn Koenig
Rudra Rajan
Hardip Dhillon
Pushpa Kumar
Asha Rani
15YEARS
Allison Schwarz Beverley Seddon
Marilou Alinas-Towe
Phillip Smith
Jane Ashby
Barbara Snedden
Adrian Bent
Sheryl Somerville
Kathy Dickson
Yesh Kumar
Elaine Reilly
Robin Dillon
Ruby Labalan
Julius Reyes
Thayahari Dineshkumar
Vijay Latchmi
Tonya Rohloff
Jude Biason
Sathialuxmy Srikantha Janina Stansson
Deborah Dolan
Tina Leaver
Merlina Rollins
Raeleen Blackler
Kylie Doney
Jordan Lewerissa
Marisol Ruga
Violeta Borbe
Tracey Straub Averill Styles
Tiffanie Doolan
Sam Liao
Erika Sareczky
Deborah Anne Britton
Sarah Edwards
Amanda Lines
Rita Scott
Paul Christidis
Tina Sweetman Barbara Trousselot
Caroline Eldon
Natalie Mace
Jessica Seaman
Barbara Cohn
Tamaitia Fepuleai
Chrisanthi Manamperi
Sarah September
Brett Comer
Nicola Turner
Tacita Fincham-Stephen
Selina Martens
Renee Sewell
Steve Curley
Helen Whitsed
Wuyah Fofanah
Christina Materna
Renita Sharma
Kalisi Fononga
Pamela Wright
Fiona Foley
Cameron McCallum
Michelle Shaw
John Foster
Kathleen Zaldivia
Vicki Garniss
Jennifer McCurdy
Nicky Simpson
Christine Gannon
Rebecca Zammit
30 | beat
years of ser vice
20YEARS
33YEARS
Debi Angove
Rosanna Lucariello
Linda Dixon Jeanette Hedley
34YEARS
Vaea Herbert
Margaret Carroll
Susan Jennings
Pauline Connors
Margaret Newell
Anne Marie Kargas
Samsun Nisha Cheryl Spooner
35YEARS
Amy Tedge
Warren Macleman
Esther Tuaine Kerry Vorbach
36YEARS
Simon Webster
Margaret Dimos
25YEARS
Tony Harkness
James Durkin
37YEARS
Pola Bouzoudis
Karin Froehlingsdorf
30YEARS
39YEARS
Susan Clark
Graeme Morton
Lorna Morrison
40YEARS
Norma Tejero
Jo Avenell
31YEARS
41YEARS
Trish Ioane
Barbara Dixon
32YEARS
47YEARS
Beryl Gorman
Marianne Butler
Jeni Keogh
We celebrate those who have made Bupa a huge part of their lives and hope the relationship continues for many years to come.
Sandy Victor
Linda Lott
Christina Hare
Looking back. Looking forward.
Jackie Pande
51YEARS
Hansa Raniga
Gordon Barrett
Sally Ristevski Maureen Rothe
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Need some support? Bupa offers a coaching and support service to help you navigate life’s challenges, such as: • challenges at work • family or relationship issues • health and wellbeing • grief • financial stress. This support is completely confidential and provided by our external partners and their qualified practitioners. And it’s free for Bupa employees and their immediate family members. Help is only a phone call away.
Australia Call Assist on 1300 574 167
New Zealand NZ Dental Corp Call Assist on 0800 360 364 NZ Care Services Call EAP Services on 0800 327 669