Volume 7
OCTOBER 2018
MUTUALLY
INCLUSIVE VMTS TAKES MEADOWBROOK
GROUP ICT LENDS A HELPING HAND
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
STRONG INTEGRATED FINANCIAL GROUP • MODERN MUTUAL • EMPLOYER OF CHOICE • MODEL CORPORATE CITIZEN
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS A
s we were putting together this edition of Mutually Inclusive, we couldn’t help but reflect on the year so far. VM ushered in 2018 with our inspirational Team Member Business Conference – and what a R.A.C.E it’s been to date! There have been lots of wins – some planned, others we could not have projected. The PSOJ/JaCSA Awards event saw us winning a whopping seven awards, including the biggest one of them all - The Service Excellence Award. Our Digital Transformation Strategy has received approval and will truly propel us into the future as a Modern Mutual. We are also delighted that an increasing number of our Team Members have received mortgages, en route to securing your Financial Independence. Team, we have achieved exceptional results so far this year. This shows that we can make a final, successful surge towards our targets because we are #ResultsFocused and we know that #TogetherWiAWinna!
4 Hold the Phone! Using smart phones smartly while at the office
As we look towards the end of the year, let’s do so with hope, determination and enthusiasm, fueled by all our wins. Please continue to share your feedback and suggestions with us via email at
6
VMCorporateAffairs@myvmgroup.com.
– Clover & Dayton
8
VMTS takes Meadowbrook
Wealth Talks: Innovation was a hit!
7 Group ICT lends a helping hand
9 LEADERSHIP TIPS
10
HREI Wave 3 2018
CONTENTS
F
or 140 years the purpose of Victoria Mutual has been to uplift Jamaicans by helping them acquire their own homes and build their financial independence. That’s something we should be proud of and it’s what should continue to drive us to work hard for our Members in the years to come. November will be exciting as we celebrate Members’ Month and our Anniversary. Here are some of the events that will mark the month.
05-30 N O V E M B E R
16 N O V E M B E R
11 N O V E M B E R
18 N O V E M B E R
Team Member Facts and Trivia to include 10 Days of Swag.
140th Anniversary Church Service. This will be held at the Boulevard Baptist Church, 2 Washington Boulevard, Kingston 20. Service begins at 9 a.m. There will also be a 140th Anniversary service in Mandeville, at the Mandeville New Testament Church of God, 18 Knowles Road. Service starts at 10:30 am.
14 N O V E M B E R
There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the newly renovated Half-Way Tree Branch. State Minister for Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams will be guest at the event and will deliver remarks. There will also be lunch hour concerts across the Branch network, cake-cutting for Team Members, and lots of surprises.
VM Chill Spot 140 Lyme. Chill with your colleagues and cheers to a bright future.
President’s Cocktail and Cultural Concert. This will be held at the Courtleigh Auditorium and will feature the University Singers and other performers showcasing the journey of Jamaica and Victoria Mutual over the years.
27 N O V E M B E R
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen and Lady Allen will be visiting Victoria Mutual’s Corporate Office. Their Excellencies will tour the Branch and stop by different departments.
DETAILS OF ALL THESE ACTIVITIES AND OTHERS WILL BE SHARED IN THE COMING DAYS.
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
3
HOLD THE PHONE! USING SMART PHONES SMARTLY WHILE AT THE OFFICE
S
o, you’re in a meeting and you’re really trying to pay attention. You’ve even stopped doodling for once. This time, it’s proper note taking. Then, that familiar light starts blinking on your smart phone. You try to ignore it but there it is, just blinking at you – summoning you; calling you to its tempting lair. You think to yourself, my supervisor is saying something that might be important. But the notification could be important, too. Hmmm. You decide to take a quick peek. You can always read the message and listen at the same time, can’t you? Not so fast. Decades ago, research determined that although we believe we can do two things at once, we really can’t. Even that tiny blinking light on a cell phone interrupts our ability to connect and impairs our cognitive capacity. It’s something we have all experienced – our friends, family members and coworkers stop paying attention to us in favour of something happening on their digital devices. This has led to serious rifts in these relationships. Meetings appear to be the breeding ground for smart phone usage these days, with presenters often receiving only partial attention from those in attendance. So, how do we change this behaviour here at VM?
4
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
1. TALK UP MORE! Share with your team how the cell phone interruptions affect you and them. Research conducted by Harvard Business Review has found that merely having your cell phone on your desk affects your cognitive abilities! That’s right. Having the phone in sight, even if it’s turned off, affects your ability to learn, reason and develop creative ideas. Who would’ve thought! To minimise this happening, suggest ground rules such as ‘being totally present’ or ‘keep the phones in the bag’ to make meetings more efficient. Remember to choose your words and your timing carefully, so nobody feels attacked or offended, and your concern is well-received.
2. SHARE THE DATA According to fortune.com, employees spend just under five hours per week goofing off on phones, with most of that wasted time spent checking personal email and social
media. That’s five hours of lost productivity, which we definitely cannot afford! Let the rest of the team know how much time they could potentially lose, and how this affects productivity and targets in a real way. Checking phones during breaks is a more efficient alternative.
3. MAKE IT PERSONAL Are you trying to make the change with a single individual, such as your Team Leader or Project Sponsor? Skip the data and get personal. Timing is important – don’t go off on the person while they’re devouring their phone. Instead, wait for the right time – maybe when you’re not feeling annoyed and they won’t feel ashamed. Then, say something like, “I’ve noticed that I feel very different about my conversations with people when either of us is semi-distracted by technology. I’d like to both make a commitment to you and ask for a commitment from you. When I’m talking with you, I want to give you my full attention. And I’d like to ask for the same. And if it’s not a good time for you to focus completely, I’ll wait until it works for you to do that. Would that work for you?” The other party shouldn’t find it too challenging to honour your request.
4. STICK TO THE RULE So, you’ve established cell phone etiquette. Now comes the hard part – adhering. You must hold others and yourself accountable to the new norm. Did you sneak a peek at your phone although you agreed not to? Then own up to it. When others do the same, be prepared to acknowledge the violation and to remind the person about the agreement. It will take some time to change a group norm, but it gets a bit easier if each member of the group owns the change. There might be a few ruffled feathers and annoyed looks the first few times violations are addressed, but hang in there, manners will soon align with the new norm. For some, smart phones are the best things since sliced bread. It’s true – smart phones provide great value, whether it is to help us get in touch with someone we’re trying to meet, or when we use them to search for information to help with our decision-making. However, we shouldn’t allow them to take over our lives, reduce our productivity and impair our cognitive abilities. Let’s take back the reins: when our smartphones aren’t directly necessary, and when it’s important to be fully present, let’s put them away for a bit, maybe in another room, so we can extract real value and efficiency from our meetings.
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
5
VMTS TAKES MEADOWBROOK O
n Friday, October 19, VMBS Money Transfer Services staged a big celebration and promotion event to mark the opening of its second Money Express location, this one at 2 – 4 Chancery Street, Kingston – the area widely known as PriceRite. The location was officially declared open earlier in the month and has already proved a hit among customers. On October 19, there was a live outside broadcast on RJR 94FM as well as a stage show featuring the likes of dancehall artiste Laa Lee. Here are some highlights:
6
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Did you hear? The Michael Howard-led VMBS Money Transfer Services Team, who have been having a stellar year, smashing targets all over the place has taken Together ‘Wi A Winna’ to a whole new level by volunteering to foot the bill for this year’s Christmas party. Said Michael Howard:
VMTS thought it prudent to step in and take on the sponsorship of the party. We believe that the entire VM Group worked hard for 2018 and should be rewarded with a fun-filled party because #Together ‘Wi a Winna’! CAN WE GET THREE CHEERS FOR THE VMTS TEAM?
GROUP ICT LENDS A HELPING HAND Group ICT, via the VM Foundation, recently made a donation of IT equipment to the UTech School of Computing and Information Technology. The handover was made at our Half-Way Tree Corporate Office. Let’s congratulate the awesome Group ICT Team for initiating this donation and living the VM Group purpose. Good job, Team!
CULTURE REFRESHER TAKES PLACE NOVEMBER 2 On March 6 and 7, 2018, a cross section of Victoria Mutual Group Team Members attended a two-day Culture Workshop at the Medallion Hall Hotel. At this session, we realigned our culture programme and came up with seven (7) new Cultural Beliefs designed to move help us achieve our 2020 Key Results. The two facilitators, Tracy Skousen and Jennifer Goddeau will be returning on Friday, November 2, 2018 for a Culture Integration Workshop. This workshop will focus on the following: »»
Reinforce the use of the Culture Programme tools around the Cultural Beliefs to execute/influence strategy
»»
Cross-functional feedback sessions:
»»
Come up with ‘Solve it’ solutions to achieve the results that we are not now achieving.
The session will be held at the Medallion Hall Hotel and will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m.
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
7
WEALTH TALKS: INNOVATION WAS A HIT! O
n Monday, October 29, the VM Wealth Team hosted Wealth Talks: Innovation, an investor update event, at the Terra Nova All-suite Hotel in St Andrew. The event also saw the official launch of two new Unit Trust products - VM Wealth International Equity Fund and the VM Wealth Money Market Fund. There were many highlights, including the way in which MC for the event, Sharon Sterling infused the organisation’s Cultural Beliefs into the feedback session as well as the vote of thanks. See pictorial highlights below:
8
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
LEADERSHIP TIPS IMPROVE OUR TEAM MEMBERS’ ENGAGEMENT. GET TO KNOW WHAT YOUR TEAM MEMBERS ARE THINKING.
BE THE CHIEF BROOMER »» Remove the clutter from your Team »» Ensure that efficient and effective tools and resources are in place. »» Escalate to relevant Leaders for assistance in developing solutions and/or workarounds
BE THE CHIEF MEANING OFFICER »» Explain what is in it for your Team »» Encourage Team Members to share ideas on Productivity Improvements »» Have weekly Team Meetings, One-on-One Meetings & Huddles
BE THE CHIEF CHANGE OFFICER »» Demonstrate the Desired Behaviours aligned with our Core Values »» Model the Culture of Accountability Programme »» Coach & Mentor with Emotional Intelligence »» Senior Leader Visibility »» Be KIND
BE THE CHIEF FUN OFFICER »» Make work FUN »» Be Flexible with a Purpose. Conduct ongoing capacity planning reviews and develop action plans. »» Dare to be DIFFERENT. Find every way TO WIN VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE
9
HREI WAVE 3 2018 On Thursday, November 1, 2018, the final HREI (Wave 3) survey for 2018 will be distributed. The survey will close Thursday, November 22, 2018. The overall 2018 engagement score will be an average of all three survey waves conducted during the year. The survey continues to be undertaken by the independent survey company, Marketing Strategy Limited, which is a full-service market research company, with extensive experience in survey research design and methodologies. Marketing Strategy Limited will host the survey online. All responses will remain strictly anonymous, and cannot be traced back to the respondent. The VM Group will receive combined data for all respondents which will be communicated in the usual report format to guide action planning to improve Team Member engagement. It has been our experience that some Team Members receive a message “this page can’t be displayed” after clicking on the survey link from Marketing Strategy Ltd using the Internet Explorer browser. We are encouraging you to use the Google Chrome browser (Please copy the link (Ctrl+C) and then paste it (Ctrl+V) in the Google Chrome browser). WHO WILL DO THE SURVEY?
*
The survey will be administered to Team Members with a minimum of six (6) months service
*
Contractors employed specifically to Projects, Heart Trainees and Third Party Contractors will not be eligible to do the survey.
*
Permanent employees assigned to Projects will be reported under Projects for the purposes of the survey and not for the Department to which they belong. All requests for participation will come from the following address: <research@msljamaica.com>.
Teams should already be working on their action plans. Remember, this is a Team effort! Thank you for your continued support and commitment as we work together to achieve our HREI key result. For additional information, please contact Dayton Robinson at extension 5150, Theodore Williams at extension 5168 or any other member of the Human Resources Team.
TIME FOR ACTION Detailed reports from the recent Group Internal Customer Satisfaction Survey are now being circulated. They include commendations for Team Members as well as opportunities for addressing pain points. Teams should now be developing action plans to improve internal customer satisfaction. Team, LET’S GET TO IT!
10
VM MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE