BEAT
JUN2016
CONNECTING OUR PEOPLE ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Restoring the joy How Bupa supports new parents
Now that’s an idea Finding and funding new initiatives
Howzat!
A winning edge for Cricket Australia
happy days
What makes us happier and healthier for working at Bupa?
er i p p a h # Bupa Kempsey has a fantastic team of people. We all enjoy coming to work and making our people happy. Bupa Kempsey | Australia
So good to make a difference at work and in the community. Giving back to the community by donating blood is a great HAPPY feeling. Rehab Hamilton | New Zealand Enjoying a smile each and every day with our huge team and our business friends. Bupa ANZ IS Melbourne | Australia Bupa makes it fun to come to work. Everyone gets involved. Tracey | New Zealand Seeing so many smiling faces each day. Bupa Wodonga | Australia #happier at work… it is being surrounded by colleagues that share your passion and seeing residents smile/laugh. No matter how tough things get, you know that you are always supported by Bupa Care Services. Simple moments we always treasure… All Saints St Kilda Care Home | New Zealand Getting to work with a bunch of awesome project team mates makes me #happier at work. Even when it’s busy and difficult, we can always make time for a laugh. SVP People Team | Australia Being part of a team, that supports each other, and enjoys working together. Makes the day go well, and creates a friendly atmosphere that helps the residents to feel cared for. Koru Dementia Ward Team | New Zealand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this publication may contain images of people who have passed away.
The fact that I have been chosen to be part of not only an awesome company but also being part of an enthusiastic team. Sophie | Australia At Marshall Orthodontics, we love to have fun at work and get down and boogie! Marshall Orthodontics | Australia Working in teams where each member respects the other #happier. NCC Sales & Cover Review Teams | Australia Exercise, friends, chit chat with no barriers – some via FaceTime – across 3 locations in Australia. #happier Brand, Health & Care Marketing | Australia Being able to use my professional skills, learning and growing. Seeing our residents smile. Taking time with each individual. Sharing experiences together. Respecting each other and helping when things get tough. Knowing we are doing our best for the residents under sometimes difficult circumstances… Our residents are healthier because they have a large variety of fresh fruit and vegetables… My team mates in the kitchen. Bupa Ballina | Australia
4 BEAT 6 18
JUN2016
CONNECTING OUR PEOPLE ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Restoring the joy How Bupa supports new parents
Now that’s an idea Finding and funding new initiatives
Howzat!
A winning edge for Cricket Australia
Our cover: For Bupa customer Dawn, recovery from Postnatal Depression has been a long road but the results have been positive. (see page 4)
Restoring the joy
Bupa is helping to deliver a range of support services through the Parent and Baby Wellbeing Program for expectant and new parents who may be feeling overwhelmed or struggling to cope.
Now that’s an idea
The power of many is realised with Bupa’s brightest and best getting together to participate in energetic ‘hackathons’ to uncover and develop innovative ideas across the Bupa business.
Howzat!
Bupa has been able to assist in data analysis compiled by Cricket Australia and offer advice concerning players’ training or match schedules to help avoid the risk of injury.
8 Saving much more than just a million 9 Love what you do 10 Health & Wellbeing 12 Tackling the cause, not the effect 13 Day in the Life 14 Our journey of reconciliation 16 #happier 20 A healthy appetite for advice
contents
21 Everyday Hero 22 Rhythms 24 Bupa Brain Trainer 25 Bupa Doctor 26 A new digital Workplace 28 Bupa Bites 30 A very welcome helping hand 31 Years of Service
You can also read Beat magazine online at bupabeat.com.au
BEAT | 3
Helping joy return to life Helping people lead longer, healthier, happier lives means supporting those creating life from the very start.
4 | BEAT
What do you think?
After suffering Postnatal Depression, Dawn Rieniets is now feeling she is getting her life back and able to enjoy her family again
“Society expects women to have a joyful time after having a baby, but we know that one in ten women have a reasonably moderate, if not severe, depression,” explains Professor Jeannette Milgrom of the Parent Infant Research Institute (PIRI). Since 2007, Bupa has partnered with the PIRI to deliver a range of support services through the Parent and Baby Wellbeing Program for expectant and new parents who may be feeling overwhelmed or struggling to cope. “After giving birth to my daughter I became terrified of driving. I ordered groceries online and barely left the house. I pictured terrible accidents happening to me, my baby, my husband,” explains Bupa Customer, Dawn Rieniets. “There was a running commentary of negativity and judgment playing in my mind. My confidence disappeared. I felt guilt for not enjoying motherhood more.” Dawn was referred to the Bupa Parent and Baby Wellbeing Program by her Maternal Health Nurse, and accessed the one-on-one consultations with a psychologist that were covered by her health insurance policy. “I was desperate to feel better immediately but we started at a manageable pace with simple concepts I could practise every day,” explains Dawn. “My therapist helped me realise that every comment from a well-meaning family member was not a judgment on my parenting. No one was being harder on me than I was on myself.”
Bupa is seeking women’s feedback to help improve mummatters. Go to bupa.com.au/mummatters to download and let us know what you think.
The Parent and Baby Wellbeing Program offers confidential consultations with therapists and psychologists, either over the phone or via email, for Bupa members affected by Perinatal Depression and also provides follow up support, such as group programs and sessions. “Asking for help took me on an unexpected journey. Being open about my experience and hearing from others taught me that we are all very similar in our struggles for perfection in motherhood,” explains Dawn. “I think we need to be kinder to ourselves and know it’s OK to ask for a helping hand from time to time.” One of the challenges in offering support services to new and expectant parents is identifying those who might be feeling overwhelmed. “The Parent and Baby Wellbeing Program is available to all members who need it, but it has relatively low utilisation that we’re actively looking to improve,” explains Rebecca Hall, Bupa Clinical Programs Manager, Customer Experience. Currently, the trigger to offer the Parent and Baby Wellbeing Program is a member adding an infant to their health insurance policy. “We send the new family a letter explaining that it is normal to experience issues in the transition to parenthood and that we have a service available if emotional support is needed,” explains Rebecca. “Now we’re looking at further ways to connect with new parents,
such as the ‘Review My Cover’ initiative, where the retention team phone members who are planning to go into hospital to have a baby and offer them a health call with Bupa Medical Telehealth after the baby is born. The health coach checks in with how the parents are going and screens for Postnatal Depression. If relevant, the health coach will refer members to the Parent Baby Wellbeing Program.” The latest Bupa initiative to also help expectant and new mothers identify their emotional wellness is ‘mummatters’ which launched in late May 2016. “‘mummatters’ is a tool designed to help women better understand their emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and after baby arrives,” explains Ornella Care, Senior Health Solutions Specialist, Bupa Medical Team. “Users complete a series of questions and then create a ‘wellness plan’ that provides steps, actions and resources to support ongoing emotional wellbeing.” For Bupa customer Dawn, recovery from Postnatal Depression has been a long road. “I won’t say that I’m ‘better’ but I feel stronger knowing I have the necessary tools and the support network in place should Postnatal Depression happen to me again,” explains Dawn. “I can now better deal with Postnatal Depression and anxiety. I feel I am getting my life back. Now I am a person my daughter can look up to and that is the greatest gift I can give to my family and to myself.”
BEAT | 5
in which t n e v e n a on ent h ’t m p ’u o k l e c v a e h d hackathoenople are involved in theely on solutions. multiple p collaborate intensiv d Once the realm of computer of ideas an coders and software development companies, ‘hackathons’ are now being used successfully to uncover and develop innovative ideas across the Bupa business in highly energetic group sessions.
“While innovation is at the heart of our journey towards Bupa 2020, it can sometimes be an intangible and abstract concept,” explains John Rizzo, the Head of Strategy for Australia and New Zealand. “So the role of the hackathons is to bring to life the innovation process in a way that is highly accessible and engaging for our people and to back this up by showing that we are very serious about innovation by investing in the winning ideas.” John was inspired to put hackathons on the Bupa agenda when he saw the positive effect the process can have on participants first-hand. “My wife works at an online company and after she was involved in a hackathon, she came home absolutely buzzing and bouncing off the walls with energy having loved the whole process,” he says. “So I was determined for our team members to have similar experiences and, through the drive and determination of Gemma Cosgriff, the first hackathon was created.” Renee Kraus, the Head of Strategy and Propositions in Bupa Aged Care Services Australia, found out about the hackathons through her role as an Innovation Agent for Aged Care. “I love the whole innovation
6 | BEAT
A bonanza of great ideas space and although I’d heard about hackathons being used by other companies, I’d never been involved in one, so I decided to join the second event.” At the start of the hackathon, eleven ideas were pitched to over 50 participants who then chose which idea they’d like to ‘join’ and help develop over the next oneand-a-half days. “I decided to join an idea that was outside of my business unit so I could bring a totally new head space to something I normally wouldn’t be involved with at Bupa,” says Renee. “The whole process leading up to the final two-minute pitch was exciting and exhilarating and it was brilliant to meet new people from the wider Bupa business.” Although Renee’s team didn’t ultimately receive funding for their idea, some of the skills developed during the process will have long-lasting benefits. “Being involved in the hackathon taught me how to communicate and pitch an idea in a very short period of time, with advice and guidance being provided throughout the process to help sharpen that skill,” says Renee. One of the ideas that was ultimately successful in the first hackathon is based on ensuring the application, recruitment
and employment experience for people interested in joining Bupa exceeds the expectations they would have of the brand overall. “We have over five million views of our available positions across Australia each year,” explains Carol Corzo, from Bupa Talent Experience. “A lot of these people will be Bupa customers, or will know someone who is a Bupa customer. So it’s vital their experience meets the expectations that comes from the Bupa cube.” The idea, called ‘Perfect Start, People’, uses technology to create a more personal, segmented and mobile-enabled journey for candidates (internal and external) and is now being further developed through workshops, focus groups and internal trials with a view to an initial roll-out towards the end of this year. Dr Zoe Wainer, the Clinical Operational Lead for Bupa Medical Visa Services, had been mulling over an idea for a while and was encouraged to join the second Bupa hackathon held in March by a team member who had been successful in the first one. Zoe’s idea was to use the waiting time at Bupa Medical Visa Services to inform customers about issues related to health and wellness and the health system overall
For one -and-a-half days, over 50 participants from Bupa got together and gave it their all to help develop some exciting and innovative new ideas
during a time when they can’t use their mobile phones or devices. “Taking my loose idea to the hackathon provided the opportunity for a whole team of different people to work on it and develop the idea further than I could on my own,” says Zoe. “Firstly, we needed a name, and that came out of discussions of how long the waiting time is overall across BMVS: ‘10 million minutes’. Then group members from marketing, internal communications and Health Insurance really helped sharpen the pitch and even mockedup concepts of how it could look.” Zoe’s idea now has funding for customer testing and the research program is currently in development. While it is envisaged that Bupa will hold three to four hackathons each year for now, John Rizzo has grand visions of how hackathons can be ingrained in the business over the longer term. “We’ve been thrilled with the numbers of team members participating in the first two, and the support they’ve received from managers. In the future I can see hackathons taking over whole floors of our buildings and putting our people at the very heart of our innovation processes.”
BEAT | 7
The advice of her mother to take out Bupa Travel Insurance made sure Emily Wornes received the best treatment available after a horror fall in Peru, as well as saving the young traveller over $1m in medical expenses.
The severity of Emily’s back injuries meant she couldn’t sit up in a normal commercial flight
Last December, Emily Wornes was nearing the end of a South American adventure, with her last stop being the surfing town of Huanchaco, in Peru. Staying at a local hostel, Emily was on the rooftop terrace, when she accidently walked across a skylight and fell five stories to the ground floor below. “I remember putting my arms out trying to grab anything around me and then realized everything around me was going down too,” says Emily. “I don’t remember anything after that and I honestly should be dead, it’s crazy.” Emily sustained serious injuries in the fall, shattering her vertebra, pelvis and elbow and breaking her arm, both her ankles and every toe on one foot. “We received initial notification of the accident on December 16, and by that time Bupa had already been in contact with the family to advise of the travel arrangements available through the insurance policy to visit Emily,” explains Claims Team Manager Jarred Anderson. “A Spanish speaking Case Manager then contacted the hospital to receive an update on Emily’s condition and we asked Bupa Global to confirm if the local facilities were sufficient enough to undertake the surgery or whether we could
8 | BEAT
Saving much more than just a million return Emily to Australia.” Because of the serious nature of Emily’s injuries, it was unsafe to move Emily until her spine had been stabilized. “There was a chance if they didn’t operate on me then and there, I might not be able to walk,” says Emily. By the time Emily emerged from surgery, her parents were at her bedside and she was stable enough to be transferred to a hospital in America. “We had three potential options for evacuating Emily, which included an air ambulance direct to Melbourne, but the 30 flight hour flight time made that dangerous, an air ambulance to Santiago, Chile, which would make repatriation back to Australia complicated, or an air ambulance to California,” explains Jarred. The severity of Emily’s back injuries meant she couldn’t sit up in a commercial flight, so Bupa Travel Insurance organised a Lear Jet to fly from Peru to California and Emily was admitted to San Diego’s Sharp Memorial Hospital. “By the time we got to the hospital in the States, there was already a team of seven doctors in white gowns ready to operate immediately, it was incredible,” explains Emily. Emily required several operations on her spine, pelvis, sacrum and limbs and a further two months of treatment and rehabilitation
in San Diego. “After 8 weeks, I still wasn’t able to travel sitting up, I was too fragile,” explains Emily. To help accommodate her needs, Bupa Travel Insurance arranged for Emily and her mother to be flown back to Australia in a commercial aircraft with some seats taken out to accommodate a bed by the window and a curtain for privacy. “We know that health and care doesn’t stop when you leave Australia and that is why we offer Bupa Travel Insurance so that we can provide cover no matter where you are in the world and how far from home you are,” explains David Hirsch, Head of Financial Services, Bupa. “On a personal note it’s the stories and experiences of people like Emily that reinforce why I’m passionate about what we do and the difference we can make in people lives, I am so glad that Emily is on the road to recovery and that we were able to support her on this journey.” Emily is now living in her home town of Albury, New South Wales, but once she’s well enough, plans to return to South America to finish her trip. “I’d travel again after such an accident, with peace of mind thanks to Bupa, knowing that I’d be looked after because of the ‘above and beyond’ efforts of Bupa Travel Insurance,” says Emily.
Love what you do My Career at Bupa
Cassandra with her boys Andrew, Elliott and Zach
Cassandra Goodman The final message Cassandra Goodman wrote in her university graduation yearbook was ‘Do what you love, and love what you do’. Cassandra now lives that personal mantra at Bupa in her new position as the Global Director of People Experience and Engagement. While a degree in Manufacturing Management doesn’t sound like an obvious career path into a ‘people’ focused role, it gave Cassandra Goodman a solid grounding in the most critical skills required for success – empathy and connection. “My first job out of university was as a Production Assistant at a manufacturing company and I had to chair the 8am production meetings,” Cassandra remembers. “You very quickly learn that as a 21-year-old female in a fairly tough, male-dominated industry you have to build a connection with the people undertaking the most physically demanding jobs in the company, but also balance this with a good sprinkle of self-
confidence.” For Cassandra, this would mean donning the steel-capped boots, and walking in the shoes of her colleagues on the factory floor. Building on the influencing skills developed at the start of her career, Cassandra then moved into a series of roles that focused more heavily on process improvement and analytics. This included becoming a Master Black Belt at General Electric in the highly disciplined Lean Six Sigma methodology that aims to compress process cycle times by identifying and stripping out “non-valueadding” activities in a process. But a career-defining moment came when Cassandra found herself in a role where a poor internal culture constrained her from properly supporting her team. “My health started to suffer and I could not see any improvement in the company’s culture, so for the first time in my life I left a job without having anything else lined up.” Drawing inspiration from her graduation leaving note, Cassandra was determined to find an organisation that was aligned with her personal passion for health and wellbeing. A referral from a network connection found Cassandra in Naomi Attwood’s office successfully applying to become the new General Manager of Customer Experience and Service Strategy at Bupa. And in what has become a bit of a trend since, Cassandra’s next role was in a newly
created position in marketing as the Director of Insights, NPS and Customer Experience Design across the A&NZ Market Unit. “I was excited about our Marketing Director, John Moore’s plans around Customer Centricity and innovation as well as the opportunity for personal growth working more broadly across Australia and New Zealand,” she says. In moving from Health Insurance to Marketing to now the People team, the similarity that has struck Cassandra as she has moved to different teams is that no matter what area you work in, Bupa’s purpose of longer, healthier happier lives is front and centre. What excites Cassandra about her current role as the newly created Global Director of People Experience and Engagement is taking what she’s learnt from improving the customer experience and applying that to Bupa’s people experience. “Our global vision is to make Bupa the ‘best place to work on Planet Earth’ and I find that an incredibly motivating objective. As well as becoming a Thought-Leader on the topic of employee engagement and employee experience, I see a big part of my role as discovering all the ‘stars’ within the world of Bupa, and then connecting and crosspollinating to form powerful ‘constellations’ to drive higher levels of employee engagement and wellbeing.”
BEAT | 9
Health & Wellbeing Health & Wellbeing content provided by Bupa’s Health Content Team.
Love your health Leave your chair Did you know long periods of sitting increases your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer? Here are our top 10 tips you can do every day to get you out of your seat and into a healthier you!
Sitting at computer 3.5 hrs
Transport to work 45mins
Breakfast 15mins
Lunch 30mins
TV, reading, gaming 4hrs
Evening meal 30mins
Transport from work 60mins
Exercise 30mins
1 How much sitting are you really doing?
3 Strike back with a snack attack
Become more chair aware by making a note of all the things you do in a day – and how long you spend sitting while doing these activities. Include any time you spend sitting when using a computer/device, commuting, driving, eating, watching TV, and so on. The average Australian sits around 9 hours a day How do you stack up?
Keep your (healthy) snacks in the kitchen or break room instead of within reach at your desk. That way if you find yourself peckish you get a little walking break AND some time to think over if you’re really hungry or if you’re just bored.
2 Variety is the spice of life.
It’s not just for those presenting at the front. Have the courtesy to let people know at the start of a meeting that you’d prefer to stand up from time to time, and that you’ll do it with minimal disruption to the meeting. Be brave – and you might find a few others who’ll gladly follow your example.
If you have a job or an activity that requires you to stand for most of the time, try to make the most of it and move around as much as you can. Remember to have a quick 3-5 minute sitting-break every hour or so though to give your feet a rest.
10 | BEAT
Sitting at computer 3.5 hrs
Sitting time: around 15 hours a day
4 Try standing during long meetings
5 Go one step further – try walking meetings
Walking meetings can be a great way to connect with a small group. Not only does it reduce the time you spend sitting, there may be potential benefits such as improving wellbeing, increasing alertness, and stimulating creativity. So grab your walking shoes, sun protection, some water, and power walk while you power talk!
Don’t let the cold weather interrupt your healthy eating habits. Get on the front foot and try this healthy winter warmer recipe that is sure to satisfy.
winter warmer
6 ‘Run’ errands Get moving on your work breaks and take care of some errands. Thirty minutes is great, but 10 or 15 minutes is still better than nothing. And it’s a chance to get some fresh air too!
7 Burn kilojoules instead of electricity Bypass the lift and use stairs when you can, and if you have to use an escalator don’t just stand there – pick up the pace and walk your way there faster.
8 Be alarmed and alert It’s easy to get absorbed in what you’re doing on the computer or online, and not notice how long you’ve been sitting. Set an alarm or alert on your computer or smartphone to remind you to stand up and move around.
9 Bored in a queue? That’s an opportunity to stretch! Try subtle, simple stretches like shoulder rolls while waiting for the printer, or even as you’re waiting in line for a coffee.
10 Use the Rise & Recharge app The Rise & Recharge app developed by Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute with the support of the Vodafone Foundation can help you spend less time stuck in the saddle and boost your energy. Download the free app from the App Store or Google Play today and for more information visit riserecharge.com
n Tip Dietitia cked full of
pa cipe is r 4) This re erve (fo is 40% s h c a E . is h re T fib ke f fibre. ily inta ~10g o a s d in d a t e d n con e d n m men a recom for wo of the ou f fibre o en. If y I) m D r R ( e RDI fo the fibre h t f o up 33% bump mily want to you or your fa r . u fo o e y k r a int ipe is fo this rec
Creamy spiced pumpkin soup (serves 4-6) Ingredients
Method
1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large brown onion, peeled & chopped 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 leek, finely chopped 4cm piece of ginger, peeled & thinly sliced 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional adjust quantity to taste) 1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled & chopped 400g can chickpeas, rinsed & drained 2 carrots (skin on), coarsely chopped 2 cups salt-reduced chicken stock 1 1/2 cups water Pepper 1 /2 cup low fat natural yoghurt & a dollop to serve Coriander or chives to serve
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook the leek, onion, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add pumpkin, chickpeas, carrots and chilli and stir through. Add stock and water and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Add 1/2 cup yoghurt and blend the pumpkin mixture until smooth (if you prefer a chunky soup you can skip the blending). Serve in a bowl with a dollop of yoghurt and sprinkle with coriander or chives. By Rebecca Hall — Bupa, Accredited Practising Dietitian
BEAT | 11
Team Member Profile Fusi Fetokai has spent more than 42 years as a nurse, with nearly half that time devoted to helping people with mental health issues. Now, as the Unit Coordinator of Parkhaven Hospital’s Garden Wing, a 34-bed psychogeriatric and mental health unit in Manukau, New Zealand, Fusi uses some very special problem-solving abilities to ensure she receives her most treasured reward of all – a smile from a resident.
Tackling the cause, not the effect “I absolutely love my job and couldn’t see myself working anywhere else but here at Bupa,” says Fusi Fetokai, Unit Coordinator at Parkhaven Hospital. Fusi has built an impressive reputation by taking some of the most challenging aged care residents in New Zealand, many of whom were unwelcome at other homes, and making them comfortable and happy at Parkhaven. She has such a high reputation that she has been offered, but always knocked back, a number of positions on local District Health Boards. “The first thing I do is look very closely at the history of the resident and try and understand the behavior that is causing concerns and what might be the underlying issue,” says Fusi. “Then, through our personcentred care, my team and I try and solve the challenges by specifically managing each
12 | BEAT
resident and introducing new behaviours that might help.” One such resident was admitted because his family didn’t know how to manage his compulsive desire for cash. “The resident used to always ask for money and would become quite agitated if he didn’t receive it,” explains Fusi. “So my team purchased a wallet for the resident, we printed out some toy notes and always ensured his wallet was full.” That seemingly simple tactic has had a major impact on the resident who is now happily content at Parkhaven, with a wallet always full of ‘cash’. Another resident came to Parkhaven when his previous facility could not stop his frequent escapes. The resident would smoke every hour, and if for any reason he didn’t get a cigarette, he would become aggressive and attempt to leave the home. “We looked
into the resident’s history and discovered whenever he escaped, he would end up at the local fish and chip shop,” says Fusi. “My team and I thought maybe the underlying problem was that he was hungry.” So ensuring the resident receives food and a drink whenever he shows signs of wanting a cigarette has tackled the underlying issue and made him very happy and relaxed at Parkhaven. Fusi credits her team for the success they have in changing challenging resident behaviours using ‘non-pharmacological’ approaches. “A lot of my team have been here more than 20 years and are very dedicated to the residents. Once we problem-solve together, and agree on a solution, then everyone has to do the same thing and work together to make it successful. And if it’s not, then we all talk again and find another solution.”
DayintheLife Sophie Stephan Optometrist Sophie Stephan from Bupa Optical’s Brisbane CBD store balances a full diary of 30-minute patient consultations with plenty of exercise, riverside walks and socialising with friends, along with a nightly read of a (hopefully) good thriller. 6.00am Sophie’s new health kick means it’s an early morning wake up call to start the day with a workout at home followed by a healthy smoothie for breakfast at 7am, and then it’s time to get ready for work. 7.45am Sophie’s morning bus commute into the city provides a chance to catch up on social media updates from overnight. 8.15am Arriving at the Brisbane Bupa Optical store before opening, Sophie sets up and cleans all her equipment ready for the day. 8.25am All team ‘Snapchat’ meeting each morning to map out the game plan for the day and keep everyone informed of expectations and actions. 8.30am Doors open at the Bupa Optical Store and it’s the first of Sophie’s full diary of 30 minute appointments. First consultation is a routine eye examination for an office worker needing new glasses. This
is the most common eye examination for Sophie in the Brisbane CBD store - people requiring replacement glasses, rather than people who haven’t worn glasses previously. 10.30am Appointments continue for the morning and this time it’s an annual contact lenses consultation with a patient. Similarly to glasses wearers, Sophie sees more ‘repeat’ contact lenses patients during the week rather than first time users. 11.00am Sophie’s diary has one 30 minute appointment in the morning kept free in case of any emergency ‘walk ups’ or to allow time for a catch up if consultations run over, but today it’s a case of being able to go and help the retail team in the store, taking bookings and assisting customers looking at frames. “The team environment is a big benefit for me, as I previously worked as a locum so I now enjoy the regular interaction with my fellow team members,” says Sophie. 12.30pm Maintaining the 30 minute structure to her day, it’s a half hour break for lunch with Sophie using 15 minutes to eat something brought from home in the lunchroom and the other 15 minutes to stretch the legs and get some fresh air outside the store. 1.00pm Consultations continue, with a patient returning for additional testing to screen for glaucoma based on the findings from their initial consultation last week. 3.30pm Sophie has a ‘walk up’ patient suffering from red eyes that she uses the afternoon’s spare appointment to treat.
4.00pm Last appointment of the day, but by no means a rushed one! “I spend the first part of any consultation asking questions and really trying to understand a patient’s general health, reasons for attending an optometrist and also getting to know their lifestyle and how glasses or contact lenses will fit into their needs,” says Sophie. 4.30pm Time to pack everything down and check the appointment schedule for tomorrow. 5.00pm Doors close and tonight the team are undertaking a ‘Customer Focus Session’ (or huddle as they’re sometimes known!) focused on enhancing the ‘3-way handover’ procedure between the optometrist, patient and dispenser. 6.00pm After the bus trip home, it’s back into the runners and fitness gear for a long walk along the Brisbane river to unwind, listen to music and enjoy the beautiful Queensland weather. 7.00pm Dinner with friends at a local café or restaurant. “Living by myself, I love to get out and socialise with my friends on weeknights,” says Sophie. 9.00pm Reading time at home, mostly fiction and ideally a thriller. “I can’t not finish a book once I start, so even if it’s terrible, like the one I’m currently reading, I still have to persevere until the end,” says Sophie. 9.30pm Set the alarm clock for 6am in the morning, lights out and a well-earned rest.
BEAT | 13
It’s been just on 12 months since Bupa launched its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in June 2015. And as National Reconciliation Week was recently celebrated from 27 May to 3 June 2016, Bupa has reflected on the steps taken since the launch which demonstrate the determination for the RAP not to be just words on a page, but an inspiring guide to action.
Our journey of reconciliation
“This journey of reconciliation is absolutely critical for Bupa, not just as a commercial enterprise generally, but as a health and care company specifically,” explains Leigh Sellers, General Manager Queensland and Western Australia, Sales and Growth and a member of the Reconciliation Working Group. “And what we’ve been very proud of since the launch of our RAP last year is the pace we’ve rolled out of some key initiatives.” One major action in the last 12 months has been creating a physical recognition of the Traditional Owners of the land upon which Bupa currently operates through the ‘Acknowledgement to Country’ signage plan rollout. “Across Bupa, we recently celebrated National Reconciliation Week with a range of activities. The ‘Acknowledgement of Country’ signage plan we’re starting to rollout further honors our RAP commitment, and is a clear symbol of our health and care determination to help close the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health outcomes,” explains Leigh. Starting with the corporate office in Melbourne, ‘Acknowledgement to Country’ Traditional Owner signage will be progressively rolled out across all other Bupa premises between now and early 2017.
14 | BEAT
Another important initiative in developing an inclusive and respectful environment at Bupa was the creation of the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Handbook’. This guide helps to build an awareness of our shared history and an appreciation of the diversity of our culture, as well as providing a quick reference guide for appropriate protocols in delivering health and care services. “We appreciate that not every team member at Bupa will have had a direct association with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, so this handbook is a great tool to give everyone a baseline understanding,” explains Leigh. “It’s also a critical part of ensuring we have a supporting and engaged environment when new people join our organisation through the employment initiatives as a result of our RAP”. Such employment initiatives include the School Based Trainee Program that offers work experience style placements for students from Year 10 onwards. This program has grown from two placements in Western Australia, to eight students currently across WA and Queensland, with a projected 20 students to join in 2017. Building on this initiative is the Graduate Internship program delivered in partnership with Career Trackers, which saw two university students participate
over their summer holidays in 2015/16 and is expected to welcome 10 students for 2016/17. “A critical part of these employment initiatives is that Bupa has engaged and collaborated with the Indigenous community in the design, decision making, structure and roll out of the programs,” explains Leigh. A further RAP initiative is to build on the Aboriginal artworks of significance already held in Bupa’s collection (see accompanying story on Lin Onus) and source and commission local artwork for various offices around Australia. Such artwork will include paintings, carvings or handcrafts and would include accompanying information about the artists and their artifact to further build knowledge of, and collaboration with, local Indigenous communities. “While the journey of reconciliation and closing the heath gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will be a long one, we need to continually keep taking important steps, no matter how small, and do them exceptionally well in full collaboration with our local communities,” explains Leigh. To learn more about reconciliation, visit bupa.com.au/reconciliation or Reconciliation on Workplace
Lin Onus In Bupa’s Melbourne office, there are two pieces of artwork by Lin Onus, a renowned Aboriginal artist, entitled Dingo Springs I & II in his Fish & Ripple series, c. 1995. As a young Koori growing up, Lin played a pivotal role in the recognition of Aboriginal art as an expression of a contemporary and dynamic living culture. And prior to his premature death at just 47 years of age, Lin was an important and prominent voice in renegotiating the history of colonial and Aboriginal Australia. These artworks are of significant cultural value and are a leading example of contemporary Aboriginal artwork in Australia, with Lin Onus ranked fifth in the Australian Indigenous Art Market Top 100. So if you’re in Bupa’s 33 Exhibition Street, Melbourne office, head to Level 16 and check out Lin’s artwork and Acknowledgement of Country signage in action!
BEAT | 15
er i p p a #h
ion in meditaattion y a d s r u tful Th ransform Thougthrategy and t s
Fulfilling our purpose of longer, healthier, happier lives starts with our people - our aim is for people to love working at Bupa and be healthier and happier because they work here. From the 16-21 May, Bupa people around the world celebrated exactly that, through our #happier campaign. In A&NZ, each day of the week had a #happier theme, and we were blown away by the creativity and enthusiasm our teams showed in bringing each day to life. From yoga workshops and team walking meetings to kick the week off, to mindfulness colouring, bringing your dog to work and Surprise Saturday shoulder massages for the team at Bupa surprise shoulder massages on Kauri Coast Care Home in NZ. Saturday, our people thought up unique and meaningful ways to make #happier a success for them over the week. This week was just the beginning – we want to help people all year round so during #happier week we launched Smile – our Australian employee wellbeing program (see Bupa Bite on page 29 for more info). See all the #happier activities at happier.bupa.com 16 | BEAT
roses. . nd smell the a p sto ss lne Bupa Wel
e, d Care Hom Bupa WoIodCenin front of theirll V #happier wa
Fri-YAY - its crazy hair day at the Bupa Roseville Care Home in NSW
e The Corporeaatlth team in H lau moment to #h group hug
n ha l -Yoga whe Bupa Opticaya at work #happy d
Time out Tuesday mindfulness colouring in
& Internationtakaling a ce th Insuranan d have a se po , h ug happier
aving a busy yyoga
Bupa Rehabilitation Hamilto on Thoughtful Thursday n, NZ giving blood to those in need!
our ntre finadping ce il ta ier re p h ate Fountain G inner harmony #
Dr Tooth #happier with our healthy lunch
mer Serpviierce in Custoice y a d hap on M Move it wear #healthy ju # ive ct #a Health Insurance Sales teams in Melbourne getting their groove on with Juan. BEAT | 17
Could Bupa expertise contribute to even more success for the Australian cricket team? That seems to be the logical outcome of the new role Bupa’s data analysis is playing in protecting some of the country’s top players against injury.
18 | BEAT
Bupa’s coaching stats put to the test
“ ...as a country, we will gain a competitive advantage for our cricket teams.” Alex Kountouris, CA’s Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager.
David Cross, Health Analytics Manager for Bupa Medical, with the coach of the Australian cricket team, Darren Lehmann Bupa’s partnership with Cricket Australia is a great example of how specific expertise from deep within the business can be picked up, packaged and offered to other organisations where it delivers surprisingly different benefits. “When Bupa first developed its health coaching offering, we needed the ability to analyse massive amounts of claims data to find customers who might have health risks and could benefit from our coaching service,” explains Ros Blakely, the General Manager of Bupa Medical Australia & New Zealand. “Since that time, we’ve become quite expert in the field of ‘big data’ and have the ability to build an algorithm that finds the one or two key points you need to measure to predict a likely health outcome.” Cricket Australia certainly knows a thing or two about collecting massive amounts of data, and was looking at ways to create a strong competitive advantage from all its numbers. “We’ve been collecting very detailed data nationally for more than eight years now, including wellness, fitness, physio and training information that’s compulsory
for our players to enter into an app,” explains Alex Kountouris, Cricket Australia’s Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager. “On top of that, we have more than 20 years’ worth of injury reports and wanted to pull it all together to make greater sense of it.” So Cricket Australia talked with a number of specialist data analytics companies about crunching all the information, as well as seeing if Bupa might be able to help. “We have a great relationship with Bupa, through the ongoing partnership of Cricket Australia and quickly realised they had the specific expertise we needed, so we embarked on this project nearly 18 months ago,” says Alex. What the Bupa team were able to find were the key triggers that identified if a player was at risk of an injury. “We can now use that information to have a conversation with the players and coaches and adjust their training or playing programs accordingly to avoid the risk of an injury. By changing their activities for say a week or two, and then getting them back into action, we can be confident of avoiding injuries that may have previously seen that player out of action for
six weeks or more,” says Alex. David Cross is the Health Analytics Manager for Bupa Medical and found working on the Cricket Australia project highly rewarding. “It can be challenging sometimes to see a link between your work as a data analyst and a tangible outcome, so the whole team were really engaged with the Cricket Australia project, knowing the benefit would be preventing injuries for elite players.” David also found that once a link between the data and injury prevention had been established, the expertise of Bupa was called upon to help change the culture among some of the longer standing coaching staff. “We now get involved in meetings with the Cricket Australia high performance team to help explain the power of this information, which sometimes can be questioned by people who are more traditional in their training techniques and thoughts on recovery.” As Alex explains, it often requires an education process to help people understand the power of the injury prevention information. “It’s critical we make decisions based on evidence, not just on long standing beliefs or opinions,” says Alex. “That’s how, as a country, we will gain a competitive advantage for our cricket teams. In the future, I can see us analysing this data further, to draw a predictive link to not just injury risk, but enhanced performance as well.” Ros Blakely sees many further opportunities for Bupa’s analytical capabilities beyond just the elite cricketing level. “We can look to help smaller sporting clubs at a community level gain access to this vital information to help injury prevention, as well as applying the skill set more broadly to areas such as workplace health and safety.”
BEAT | 19
For two weeks last November, Bupa Dietitians offered free ‘healthy eating’ consultations for customers in two Health Insurance retail stores in Melbourne. The results of this trial showed quite a hunger to learn about better eating habits.
A healthy appetite for advice “The healthy eating consultations are part of a broad approach to make sure we are a true health and care partner for our customers, and we wanted to see if there was an interest in dietary advice from Bupa,” explains Sonia Danielewski, the Health Services Manager, Customer Experience. What the team found was a very healthy appetite for dietary advice indeed, with one store taking only two days to book out its entire week long schedule. “We discovered that diet and nutrition is something our customers are really interested in and thinking about regularly, but they find it difficult to get practical advice on what to do,” says Sonia. Bupa customer Annamarie from Melbourne finds planning meals for her family quite a challenge, with her son having a severe nut allergy and her husband watching his cholesterol. “There’s always room for improvements when it comes to providing for a family and preparing nutritious meals,” says Annamarie. “It’s also important for me to stay healthy to meet the needs of my family. Once you hit forty you start to hear things happening to your peers out of the blue and you become more aware of your health because you want to enjoy life with your kids for as long as possible.” Annamarie says the healthy eating
20 | BEAT
session she attended at her local Bupa store provided her with a lot of new information. She has made some lasting changes, including switching the family from full fat diary products to low fat varieties. “Taste was the number one factor keeping me hooked on full cream milk, but you adjust and now I don’t miss the flavour,” she says. “We’re eating low-fat yoghurts and cheeses and I’m sure it’s making a difference – it all adds up.” For Jenni Edwards, Senior Sales and Service Consultant at Bupa Chadstone, in-store initiatives such as the healthy eating consultations and the associated ‘Food Switch’ stand (pictured right) are intended to show customers there is more to Bupa than just health insurance. “It’s great to have new ideas and new conversation starters to help draw people into the store and make them realise we’re not just a processing facility,” explains Jenni. “For our regular customers it is also important to promote more preventative approaches to their health, and initiatives such as these do just that.” While the pilot program showed a clear interest from Bupa customers in receiving dietary advice, there were also some important learnings for the future. “Because the healthy eating consultations were held in the retail stores, we could only offer them
during opening hours and not in the evenings,” Sonia says. “So we need to make sure this information is easily available and be flexible around our customers’ needs. Currently we’re reviewing the best channels to provide dietary advice and whether face-to-face consultations are the most practical approach.” Whatever the future holds for Bupa’s dietary advice, Annamarie has revised her approach to food for the long term. “I’ve definitely changed some of the unhealthy habits that I wasn’t putting any thought into and I think it will have an impact on my body in the long run,” she says. “I feel better about myself knowing that I have choices and I can make better ones.”
You have to admire a busy medical officer who finds the time and energy to volunteer for the United Nations in her ‘spare time’! For Dr Zoe Wainer, the Clinical Operational Lead of Bupa Medical Visa Services, her extracurricular international involvement reflects a lifelong passion for public health. Dr Zoe Wainer has undertaken multiple volunteering trips in neighbouring developing countries and has just recently returned from East Timor as a consultant to the United Nations, working to assist them to strengthen pain and palliative care in the nation. “My interest in public health was sparked at an early age, growing up with a strong sense of social justice in the family, with both my parents being active health reformers,” explains Zoe. “And the fact that so many health issues in developing countries are preventable has really spurred me on to help during my career.”
Zoe began her career training as a cardiothoracic surgeon. From very early on, she sought out other surgeons who worked in developing countries, first gaining a position as an assistant on a volunteering trip to East Timor in 2007. “From that first visit until 2011, I undertook two further trips to East Timor, three trips to Tonga with bigger teams of up to 40 people helping children with rheumatic heart disease, and one trip to Fiji,” she explains. East Timor has become a focus of Zoe’s efforts because of the strong relationships built up over many years of volunteering and a sense of historical duty. “Coming from Australia, it is especially important to build relationships over time for your efforts to be successful. I also feel we owe a great debt to the people of East Timor in part because of the support Australia received in the Second World War, and this has also driven my passion to help improve their overall public health.” When she accepted a position at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Zoe shifted her attention to proactive prevention and cancer control. Taking that proactivity to a higher level, Zoe emailed former Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, who has many years of experience
supporting the East Timor Government through the Bracks Timor-Leste Governance Project, to seek his guidance regarding contributing to cancer control in that country. Steve Bracks welcomed her direct approach and Zoe subsequently accompanied him on a further visit to East Timor to help build a cancer prevention plan through meetings with the Health Minister and Prime Minister. Zoe’s latest volunteering visit to East Timor in April 2016 was as part of an international team assembled by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Joint Global Program to support and strengthen provision of, and access to, opiates for patients in pain and those requiring palliative care. “While prevention has a profound impact on a country’s overall health, this current visit is seeking to embrace new treatments for patients on palliative care to not only improve their quality of life, but strengthen the whole country’s healthcare system as well.” In addition to assisting Timor by providing strategies and tools regarding pain and palliative care, the teams report will be addressed at a side event at the UN General Assembly Special Session April 19-21, contributing to an ongoing broader global project.
EverydayHero Dr Zoe Wainer
Zoe is highly appreciative of Bupa allowing her to take leave without pay to undertake such important volunteering efforts
BEAT | 21
rhythms
As General Counsel and Company Secretary of Bupa Australia and New Zealand, Emma Zipper holds a deep-seated sense of social justice and inclusion born from an ideological upbringing and early days at boarding school, and loves nothing more than cheering on her beloved Collingwood Football Club or relaxing with family at the beach.
Why Bupa? My family has a long connection with the health sector, with my Grandfather being a doctor, my Dad being a doctor who worked in medical research and my mother a biochemist and dietician who ultimately ended up taking on leadership roles in public health. I have several uncles, great uncles and cousins who are doctors as well, so I guess you can say healthcare is in my blood! I was raised to believe that you should use your talents to make the world a better place. As a purpose driven global organisation, making a difference in the world’s health, I can feel good about what I do and also live my family values through Bupa’s values. Bupa gives me the opportunity to work in a complex regulatory setting where the law and environment is constantly evolving and changing. I love the challenges to my thinking and being part of a business of which I am enormously proud.
I take greatest pride in At home, it is my 2 beautiful and intelligent daughters, Talia (18) and Ilana (12). At work, it is definitely my Bupa team which I have built over the last 12 years. I truly care about each and every one, and take great pride in the culture that we have built together which is a high integrity, high performance, accountable, caring & down to earth culture. We work hard, are humble, take responsibility but have fun doing it.
22 | BEAT
What I learnt at school
How I relax
Current bedtime read
I attended boarding school throughout my high school years. I very quickly learnt how to take personal responsibility as well as the importance of considering your impact on others, actively contributing to the wider community and giving back to those less fortunate than you.
My extended family (including my best friend) has a block of 10 seats at every Collingwood Football Club game and the greatest relaxation of all for me is to catch up with my best friend, brothers, sister, parents and nieces and nephews to cheer on the mighty ‘Pies’ at the MCG!
Morning routine
Signature dish
With two girls aged 12 and 18 to get organized for school and university each day, I find my morning routine is all about them! My commitment is to be there for them every day – whether they want me or not!
My mother was a bit of a gourmet cook who inspired me in the kitchen and the family ‘go to’ dish is Bouef Bourgignon (or as we call it in Australia, Beef Casserole). I also make some pretty good Swedish Meatballs and rice which is a good meal on a cold winter’s evening in Melbourne. I actually prefer to invent dishes.
I normally love reading novels and my favourite authors are Isabel Allende and Jane Austin because I love the written word but with some wit and imaginative story telling with political and social commentary. Currently on my bedside table is ‘Lean In’ by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO at Facebook. I’m a bit of a nightowl, so most nights I’ll be reading myself to sleep. My all time favourite book is ‘The Little Prince’ a philosophical tome by Antoine de SaintExupery that I find beautiful and amazingly quotable!
Secret geek moments I love musicals and a good sing. I go with the girls to almost everything that comes to Melbourne! You would often find me singing in the car on any given day to West Side Story, Wicked, or Grease. At the moment I am loving Matilda, Kinky Boots and the Book of Mormon. I’m also a big Madonna and ABBA fan. Very geeky!
Ideal getaway I love nothing more than getting down to the west coast of Victoria at Barwon Heads with family and having long walks along the beach.
Popular culture I think it’s really important to stay abreast of popular culture so you can communicate with others confidently about the world you’re living in. In particular, I make a point of watching shows or reading books (like the Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Divergent series) that my teenage daughters like and I ask them to teach me about social media and how they use it in their world. They are surprisingly open to teaching me (although there is a bit of eye rolling along the way at my ineptitude with technology).
BEAT | 23
Bupa Brain Trainer #happiness week provided a plethora of fantastic photographs of our people laughing, smiling and enjoying themselves. So we’ve taken one of these moments and continued the fun with a game that’s a real mind bender. There are six differences between the two photos on the right. See how quickly your brain can spot the changes!
Answers: 1. Missing buckle on black bag 2. Sign in back left corner different colour 3. Price change on flower sign 4. Missing pink flower on left hand side 5. White flower on left hand side missing centre eye 6. Missing blue lanyard tag holder
24 | BEAT
BupaDoctor Dr Tim Ross
Cold weather doesn’t have to go hand in hand with illness. We ask Bupa doctor Tim Ross for his take on some simple things you can do to help yourself stay well this winter.
Ask the Doc G ot your own question for Dr Tim? Just email it to askthedoc@bupa.com.au
What are your top picks of things you can do in winter to support your immune system to stave off infection? Like a car, your immune system needs maintenance to operate optimally. If you’re tired, if you drop the ball on healthy eating and physical activity, if you smoke, your immune system may not be in tip-top shape. Yes, winter can be grim. It’s cold and dark when you get up in the morning which, for many people, doesn’t encourage good health practices. But getting adequate sleep, keeping up the fruits and vegetables, and doing exercise will all help to keep you well. Obviously sick people are best avoided, unless you want to chance active immunisation. We professionals maintain the one metre rule – trying to keep at least one metre away from coughs and sneezes. Close quarters such as public transport and meeting rooms are high risk but avoiding those is often easier said than done. Watch out for those ‘huddle’ meetings in cold and flu season! Is it true that simply keeping warm can also help prevent seasonal lurgies like colds and flu? Your body operates within a narrow range of temperature and this sustains your normal metabolic rate. This is what your body is used to operating at so keeping warm best supports your immune system and your bodily functions in general.
But this doesn’t mean you have to go in to hibernation mode in winter like a grizzly bear. As Billy Connolly says, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing, so get yourself a sexy raincoat and live a little.” Keeping warm and staying active are integral to being healthy at this time of year. Many products on store shelves claim on their labels to ‘boost immunity’ – what are your thoughts on this? If you are maintaining your lifestyle as suggested above, supplements will not do anything more for you. Even if you’re a bit run down, it is very unlikely that they do anything other than a placebo effect. Most of these products are about trace metals in your blood – tiny amounts of minerals that help with your health. If you actually measured these in a blood test, it would be highly unusual to find these to be outside normal levels. If you’re generally healthy and well and you eat a balanced diet that includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein (from lean meats, fish or legumes) and dairy products – in most cases, you should be able to get enough of the vitamins and minerals you need from your food. Do talk to your GP though if you have any specific needs to consider e.g. you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy.
BEAT | 25
One Bupa
Workplace is a new collaborative digital platform, helping us be #OneBupa.
A new digital Workplace 5 simple tips to get started on Workplace! Update your profile - be sure to add a photo and fill in as much detail as you want to so people can get to know you. Connect with others - Follow people and communities across the business. Share what’s on your mind - Start sharing your thoughts and ideas. It’s a great way to give real-time updates, when you’re out and about. Get active - Like and comment on other people’s posts, participate in polls, share a selfie and encourage others to do so too! Workplace on the move - Did you know you can access Workplace from your iPhone or iPad? Log in to workplace.bupa.com.au by using your email and normal network password. You can also save it to your bookmarks or home screen for easy access.
26 | BEAT
In a world where people are ‘liking’, ‘facetiming’ and choosing how and when they want to hear about news and connect, Bupa needed to get in on the action, and provide a digital way for people and teams to chat, communicate and collaborate. To make sure that the right tool was created for people, over the last year lots of feedback was received and this helped create the new digital tool for Bupa - Workplace. One of the things people really wanted was access to what’s going on at Bupa in the way they choose, anytime. That is why, Workplace is available not only in our offices, but also in store, practices or through your own personal mobile phone or ipad. It’s where you can discover, learn, stay up to date, connect and collaborate and over time it will replace the existing intranets. So far, over 5,000 people across Bupa Australia and New Zealand have access to Workplace, most recently bringing our Dental Practice Managers and Practice Principals on board. And the intention is to give access to more and more people over the coming year in our homes, practices and people who work remotely… stay tuned! Here are some examples of people and teams across Bupa using Workplace.
Workplace is helping us learn and grow Sales & Growth in Health Insurance has introduced some progressive people development programs such as Gender Agenda and Future Leaders, where Workplace is helping people stay connected between workshops and share information and resources. “Workplace has provided Gender Agenda, our leadership development program for women, a place where current and previous participants can share tips, reflections and career advice more broadly. We have a variety of FAQs, networking events, educational resources, and ultimately a safe place where people across the organisation can develop themselves and others,” says George Megaloconomos, Leadership Capability Lead from Sales and Growth, who manages the Gender Agenda initiative in Australia. “Also participants are coming to Workplace to see what other people think, get their tips and tricks on the program and career advice more broadly” he adds. Brett Barram, the People Capability and Change Lead in Sales & Growth, Health Insurance is responsible for the Future Leaders program and is very happy with the
take-up on Workplace so far. “It was a bit of a slow burn, but now it’s on fire. We have a variety of different people at different stages of their careers coming together to network and share experiences.”
Workplace is helping to connect us like never before Workplace allows people to share news and information across our business and the fact that it’s accessible on your mobile makes it easier to stay connected when you’re on the move. For Sam Nicholson and the team from Bupa Medical Visa Services, Workplace is quickly becoming a key operational tool and a place to go for business news and updates. “I see Workplace becoming the go-to source of information, visited by everyone in the business every day. At BMVS, we’re already some of the highest users and it’s a great tool for us because we’re dispersed geographically with locations in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – but it connects us all in a really tangible way.” Wherever your physical Bupa workplace may be, take the chance to visit the new online Workplace, where we can all share and stay connected.
Workplace gives us a voice online We’re seeing everything from what makes us #happier and healthier at Bupa to common customer queries, even having some fun with ‘face swaps’. It’s great to see people being open and sharing what’s on their mind. Blogs are also on the rise with passionate Bupa people giving advice, updates and information on topics of interest. So, if you haven’t already, jump on and check out Workplace. You can also read a round up of news and information in the weekly Workplace Wrap.
workplace.bupa.com.au
Just a sample of the thousands of communications on Workplace, which is helping everyone come together to ‘discover, learn, stay up to date, connect and collaborate’
BEAT | 27
Bupa has teamed up with Alltrust Insurance, a well-known firm in Mainland China, to launch Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) and Overseas Visitors Cover (OVC) to meet the needs of international students and overseas visitors in China before they travel to Australia. This makes Bupa the only Australian health insurer to license products in China, being fully compliant with China’s rules and regulations. John Huijsen, Director Corporate & International, Tatia Pittham, Head of Offshore & Alliance Partnerships and our newly appointed local representative John Hong, who was previously at our Swanston Street Store in Melbourne, were on the ground in Shanghai to launch the partnership at a special Press Conference on 22 April. “This is the first offshore reinsurance partnership for Bupa Australia. We hope to build on the success of this model in other countries to provide growth for international products,” said John Huijsen. “This couldn’t have happened without a fantastic team effort from right across the business and is a great example of true cross functional collaboration,” said Tatia Pittham. “We’ve also had a lot of assistance from Bupa Global, really showing the One Bupa goal in action.”
Apps
28 | BEAT
Bupa says ‘Nĭ hăo’
Partnerships
Bupabites
Information and insights from the world of Bupa to keep you up to date on Global, Market and Business Unit news.
Making healthier food choices in NZ Bupa’s FoodSwitch app has helped thousands of New Zealanders make healthier food choices, with more than 75,000 people having downloaded the app since 2013. FoodSwitch has now added two new filters – GlutenSwitch and SaltSwitch, which have been tailored to the needs of New Zealand shoppers by the National Institute of Health Innovation (NIHI) in partnership with Bupa and the George Institute. SaltSwitch encourages consumers to choose foods with less salt. GlutenSwitch helps people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance identify gluten-free items, listed by order of healthiness. The app uses a traffic light system (red/ amber/green) to recommend healthy options weighing up total fat, saturated fat, sugars, salt and energy content. All three FoodSwitch apps are NZ specific and allow users to scan the barcode of a product to determine how healthy it is or whether it contains salt or gluten. With the success of FoodSwitch, it became clear that people were looking for some extra help when it came to healthy food choices, says Managing Director, Grainne Moss. “Having something without gluten doesn’t automatically make it healthy and as with processed foods in general, some glutenfree products may be high in sodium or saturated fat.”
Programs
Partnerships
Our new clinical academic partner
Time to Smile!
Bupa has agreed an academic partnership with Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA, to enable the development of clinical skills, capabilities, knowledge and behaviours across our clinical community.
In May, we launched our new global approach to workplace health and wellbeing – Smile – bringing together Bupa’s wellbeing programs all over the world, with the aim of helping our 84,000 team members live longer, healthier, happier lives.
The genesis of this partnership came from conversations held immediately after Bupa acquired what is now Bupa Chile, when the question was asked ‘what difference would it make to the clinicians in Chile being part of a global healthcare organisation?’. From that, further discussions were held with the Medical Directors of all five Market Units and all agreed Bupa needed to support clinicians to deliver brilliant results and extraordinary customer experience. Bupa then embarked on a global search to find the ideal clinical academic partner, which proved to be Dartmouth College. Not only did Dartmouth College have a strong alignment with Bupa’s values, they were the only university named by the US government in 2015 as a National Centre for Excellence in Healthcare and also showed a strong desire to be a true partner. As Bupa’s core academic partner, Dartmouth College will also bring the benefit of their lasting bonds with other global institutions.
In Australia, Smile is available to all people working in Health Insurance, Care Services Australia, Health Services and Functional teams (and in New Zealand, we’ll carry on delivering the incredibly successful B-fit program). We want people to love working at Bupa and the workplace can be an environment where people can enhance their wellbeing by having access to relevant health and wellbeing resources and support. During 2016, Smile will offer individual health services and support options, team activities, leadership training and a suite of wellness discounts across the areas of healthier bodies, healthier places, healthier cultures and healthier minds. As part of our commitment to deliver a best practice program, a key focus this year is to better understand and assess people’s needs and main health and wellbeing concerns - from this, we’ll draw extensive insights to design and deliver an ongoing, effective program into 2017 and beyond. For more information about Bupa’s Smile activities, visit Smile on Workplace
BEAT | 29
Conditions Stroke The ‘enableme’ website, designed as a one stop information resource for people experiencing the effects of a stroke, was launched 12 months ago in June 2015 by the National Stroke Foundation, with funding support from The Bupa Health Foundation.
A very welcome helping hand
As part of his rehabilitation from a stroke, Bill Gasiamis has found yoga to be a wonderful outlet, challenging both mind and body
30 | BEAT
“The enable me website was exactly what we were asking for and it came at the perfect time,” explains Bill Gasiamis, who suffered his first stroke at the age of 37. “It brings together carers and people who have experienced stroke and allows them to all interact in the one place”. Bill’s story, unfortunately, is not that unique, as 30% of Australia’s stroke survivors are of working age. “I never would have expected to have a stroke at 37, but it’s actually more common than we thought, it’s just something that a lot of us aren’t aware of because we think we’re bulletproof,” says Bill. Working a physical job meant Bill was at a healthy weight range, and he was also eating well, but Bill would blow off steam by having a drink and the occasional cigarette. “I thought my health was under control, but now when I look back, I realise I wasn’t looking after myself, I was always doing too much and not taking time out for me,” says Bill. Bill’s first stroke severely affected his memory, and he didn’t know his wife Christine when he awoke in hospital. Before this stroke had been fully diagnosed, Bill suffered a second one. It was during the recovery period from his second stroke that Bill’s memory started
to return, but two years later, Bill suffered a third. “It became apparent that I needed brain surgery in order to survive and although the risks were high, I knew surgery was the only option so I told myself that we would have a positive outcome and no matter what happened, it would be for the best.” Bill spent a month in rehabilitation after surgery, retraining his body to respond to his environment and although he hasn’t been able to return to work, Bill is very focused on his health and wellbeing. “I do light yoga, swimming and cycling because I cannot run. I really think yoga has been great for me, it’s challenging for my mind and body,” says Bill. “People really need to take notice of what their body is telling them. If you do that, then you have half a chance of staying in control of your health.” Annette Schmiede, Executive Leader of The Bupa Health Foundation, grew up similarly thinking stroke was ‘an old persons disease’ after her grandmother died from one at the age of 58. “This view totally changed when I met a number of younger stroke survivors last year at the launch of enableme,” explains Annette. “Research has shown that once people have had a stroke, they tend to leave hospital and rehab feeling a bit of a void as they come to terms with their new life reality. The enableme website is a world first live platform designed to maximise stroke survivors’ journey to recovery.”
Years of Service
All time greats We salute those people who have given us so much!
30YEARS
20YEARS
15YEARS
15YEARS
15YEARS
Vicki Palmer
Michael Douman
Luzelle Herholdt
Chris McCulloch
Wan Chen
Rhonda Crawford
Liz Nielsen
Tekura Faasee
Chris Davison
Nadra Hoddle
Catherine Drury
Sawinder Singh
David Talbot
Tammy Pikari
John Hua
Leanne Oldaker
Belinda Gombos
Sandra Fowler
Claire Tomkins
Ilana Iversen
Barbara Sloan
Raimundo Gomes
Mihi Awhimate
Wendy Jenner
25YEARS
Nea Miimetua
Jon Glynn
Janis McRae
Luseane Kemp
Tracy Bain
Michael Jamieson
Linda Coughlan
Susana Koffie
Sofia Ntafillis
Pamela Bunn
Brett Barram
Raewyn Crook
Inna Peresiper
Glenys Brown
Debra Esther Conley
Ian Wynn
Rosina Halder
Kristen Simpson
Kerry-ann Chamings
Joanne Crawford
Kim Ringdahl
Caroline Doody
Helen Wicks
Christine Korsak
Sheryle Anne Munday
Moira Butterfield
Pepe Amituanai
Maream Youssef
Andrea Toft
Leanne Ward
Lynn Flood
Deborah Bohan
10YEARS
10YEARS
10YEARS
10YEARS
10YEARS
Stephen Tinetti
Marcelle Stanley
Afrul Raza
Jacqueline Kelly
Jane Louise McNab
Ros Catania
Shiela Estanilla
Esther Sage
Petra Coker
Mary Mihalic
Alyce Golby
Emily Lunam
Lavinia Pomale
Joanne McVicar
Wendy Morrow
Angela Pillai
Natalie Crook
Val Clarke
Ana Alofaki
Tania Nihill
Natalie Dubrowin
Clydel Villoso
Temukisa Ah Lam
Olga Braddick
Leslie Parker
Nina Addinsell
Pamela Booth
Allan Lindsay
Sandra Brown
Shirley Radford
Kate Bao
Amanda Phear
Phillip Punton
Jennifer Carroll
Ronald Rutter
Cara Saini
Tammy Brown
Rowena De Malmanche
Monika Chylinski
Melanie Slee
Christine Bennett
Jan Tulloch
Sarjit Koar
Miriam Drzycimski
Canan Tankir
Edna Malin
Amelia Johnson
Maria Soberano
Allyson Fahey
Limasene Luafalealo
Ruth Samuelu
Lani Wickens
Matthew Galvin
Elizabeth Mae Thurston
Marie Everiss
Genevive Alcuizar
Margaret Zoing
Kay Gilbert
Naomi Whitfield
Elizabeth Fearn
Lupe Maka
Epifania Tupuola
Karen Hammond
Marilyn Woodland
BEAT | 31
Speak Up
Make a difference If something at work has made you uncomfortable and is affecting you, a colleague, a customer or supplier, and you can’t talk to your manager, be courageous. Speak up. Use the confidential Speak Up website or 24/7 hotline to tell someone. Your voice matters. Australia
1800 479 241
New Zealand 000-911, at the prompt, dial 855-831-3143
Visit bupa.com/speakup