MARCH 2019
MUTUALLY
INCLUSIVE
Make Excellence a Habit STRONG INTEGRATED FINANCIAL GROUP • MODERN MUTUAL • EMPLOYER OF CHOICE • MODEL CORPORATE CITIZEN
Editors’ Message Team, this issue primarily focuses on excellence. We all aim for it, but it can be hard to achieve. We offer some tips on how you can achieve excellence in the workplace. We also feature photos from our first stop on the VMG-sponsored Dynamic Mental Health Marathon Series, plus the news you may have missed from Group HR. As a special bonus, check out the encouraging words from Patrice White on page 7. Enjoy! If you have any questions or comments, please send us an email at vmcorporateaffairs@myvmgroup. com
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Clover & Dayton 2
CONTENTS 4-5
Four ways to achieve excellence at work
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VM supports mental wellness via school tour
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In case you missed it
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4 WAYS TO ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE AT WORK Always be yourself – be original. And don’t stop there. Ensure you are always thinking of new ways to solve problems. Think outside of the box to discover how you can help your team.
Today’s business world and the workplace can be a rat race for survival amidst the varying contending interests, which often makes it difficult for leadership excellence to flourish. Because of the ever-competitive nature of doing business today, most companies are beginning to realise that to stay on top of their ‘game’ in the industry, they need ‘players’/team members who have what it takes to lead the company to business success. Greater emphasis is now being placed on a workforce built on excellent leadership qualities that guarantees optimum performance and productivity. Here are four ways to achieve excellence at work:
Be original! Always be yourself – be original. And don’t stop there. Ensure you are always thinking of new ways to solve problems. Think outside of the box to discover how you can help your team. Not all your ideas will be appreciated, not all of them would work, but your originality will be welcome by those who look for and appreciate excellence. Be passionate about your idea and
show how it can work to move the company forward. Remember that many business successes of our time and in years past are borne out of original ideas. This is the hallmark of excellence. If you are not passionate about your idea and why you believe it would work, no one may believe in it either.
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Support a struggling colleague
emotional intelligence comes in. Your ability to understand, manage, regulate and adapt to the different contending emotions and orientations, as well as your own emotions, will ensure you relate and connect with team members in the best way possible. This enables genuine cooperation, understanding and commitment to team ethics.
Always be willing to lend a helping hand to an ailing colleague. Remember that it’s all about the collective. Effective team members know this. When a part or fraction of the chain is weak, the entire chain becomes weak. As the saying goes, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Empathise with your struggling colleague. And where you can, support them, ensuring that the work gets done well no matter what. Such altruism will endear you to your colleagues and employers.
Be Results Focused in all your tasks Every effective team member knows that getting results is important. However, they don’t just get the results, they breathe and live results. And they do this with so much pride and enthusiasm it becomes a natural part of their personality. They approach every task with the mindset of achieving something remarkable from it – their eyes always fixed on the ‘ball’. In the end, their energy and positivity filters through to those they lead till excellence is achieved. To become an excellent team member you can’t only think of what works and how to get the needed results. You must always work for a positive outcome.
Be an effective team player Another hallmark of excellence is the ability to work in a team and for the team. Because of the increasing ethnic, social and religious diversity in work teams today, it often proves difficult for team members to readily get along due to individual differences. These differences have a way of spilling into the team dynamics and can easily bring about fractures, factions and frictions. This is where having adequate
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VM Encourages
FINANCIAL WELLNESS
via Dynamic School Tour In keeping with our mission to increase financial inclusion and provide financial education, the Victoria Mutual Group has partnered with Patrice White and her Dynamic Lifestyle wellness brand for the Dynamic Mental Health School Marathon Series. The series aims to change the narrative around mental health issues in this country, with focused attention placed on young people. The series will travel to high schools across the country bringing the message of mental wellness and overall wellbeing to the students.
VM will feature prominently at each location and team members will make presentations to the students on developing positive financial habits and achieving financial wellness. We will also have a booth at each stop in the series where students may access information on financial matters and the VM Foundation scholarship programme. The series officially kicked off on Friday March 22 at St Andrew Technical High School. Here are some highlights:
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!
Dear Valued Team Members,
• Measurements and fittings will commence during the week of March 18, with delivery of uniforms by the end of April 2019.
As we work together to achieve our strategic objectives to become Employer of choice and Modern Mutual, we have had the opportunity to meet and discuss with the newly appointed Uniform Committee, the changes to the uniform for 2019 and 2020. We are thankful to the following Members of the committee for their valued contribution:
• There will be a staggered delivery for the period March to April 2019. For 2020 eligible Team Members will receive the following: • Four (4) sets of uniforms
Titania Meredith Tashieka Taylor Terese Heron-Munoz Lacyan Simms Dyeca Nembhard Venisha Johnson Trudy-Ann S. Dawson Diana Thames Veronica Green Karissa Morgan Stephanie Thompson Tolleto Hunter Sherene Lindsay Sara Farquharson Margaret Landley
• Measurements will commence during the month of June 2019, with a projected delivery date of December 2019. Style options are currently being finalized by the committee and samples will be sent to you on or before March 15, 2019. We look forward to our continued partnership. Should you require additional information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Group Human resources Team. Yours Sincerely,
Laraine Harrison Laraine Harrison
For 2019 we have decided on the following:
Group Chief Human Resources Officer
• Eligible Team Members will receive six (6) branded shirts and four (4) pairs of pants/ skirts.
Group Human Resources | Victoria Mutual Building Society
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GO FOR GROWTH! A message about achieving growth from wellness expert Patrice White: The real challenge of growth comes when you get knocked down. When you feel like you've hit a dead end. When it seems like the world is against you, when things don't completely go your way or when it feels like your whole world is crashing down on you. If we choose to stay down, we choose to give up. Bravery is not found in getting knocked down. Bravery is found in getting back up knowing that you’re going to get knocked down over and over again. Growth is about learning and perseverance. If you are brave enough to stand up against fear, you will then recognise that getting knocked down is all a part of life. Bravery is refusing to stay down. Adapted from an article by Benedict Chidiele first published on LinkedIn
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