Chapter 4.3
Engaging our Employees and Giving Back to Society
MDA strives to be an active agent of change and progress in the media industry – and it begins from within. To this end, MDA has in place a five-pronged staff engagement strategy covering relationship-building, staff recognition, career development, staff well-being and valuing input from staff.
Corporate Social Responsibility
MDA is also committed to giving back to society through its corporate social responsibility drive. Last year, Care Connexion – MDA’s staff volunteer group – extended its partnership with Lions Befrienders for another year. Under the partnership, MDA befriended a group of 50 elderly living in Telok Blangah Crescent estate and organised monthly home visits to distribute essentials such as food and toiletries.
Care Connexion collaborated with The Play Club, MDA’s recreational group for staff, for the first time in 2015 and brought Lions Befrienders beneficiaries to visit the National Museum for an exhibition on the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Care Connexion also organised other events, including a screening of the MDA-supported film, 7 Letters, and a Chinese New Year luncheon for the beneficiaries. In October 2015, MDA was presented the Friends of Lions Befrienders award by the organisation.
Care Connexion also co-ordinated and collected a total of $6,982 in donation for the Red Cross Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund, MINDS and Bright Vision Hospital.
“Befriending a lonely senior cannot be done overnight. Through the monthly home visits, rations distribution and outings over the past two years, our seniors now recognise the MDA volunteers and look forward to MDA’s visit each month. The impact these friendships bring to our seniors’ psycho-emotional wellbeing is far-reaching and enduring. On behalf of all our seniors, we thank MDA and look forward to your continued support!”
Dr Chey Chor Khoon
Executive Director, Lions Befrienders Service Association (Singapore)
Igniting Curiosity
To ignite staff’s curiosity for knowledge and encourage continuous learning, last year saw the ramping up of the popular One-Learning Hour (OLH) initiative. Led by internal and external speakers, the hour-long sharing sessions covered many topics that piqued staff interest ranging from health talks, innovation workshops, to lessons on note-taking and personal finances.
Work-Life Harmony
During the year in review, MDA staff also benefited from a variety of programmes designed to promote staff bonding and work-life harmony. The Play Club organised 15 activities last year including “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”, Wellness Wednesdays, Ice Cream Day and the annual highlight – MDA’s Dinner and Dance.
Awards for Business Excellence
For demonstrating higher levels of performance in MDA’s Business Excellence journey, MDA received the Singapore Quality Class (SQC) Star recognition for the first time. This is a step up from MDA’s earlier SQC certification. MDA also successfully renewed its Service Class certification, which recognises MDA’s capabilities in service leadership and service agility in enhancing the customer experience.