Nine SAFRA staff were conferred honours at the 2018 Excellent Service Award (EXSA) presentation ceremony on 26 Nov 2018 The awards were presented at Star, Gold and Silver award levels. Managed by multiple industry lead bodies, and supported by Enterprise Singapore, the awards promote service excellence and develop good service role models
Nine SAFRA staff, including a lifeguard who helped resuscitate a gentleman who had collapsed, were honoured at the Excellent Service Award (EXSA) ceremony. The presentation for these annual national awards, to highlight exceptional service, promote service excellence and recognise dedicated service role models, was held on 26 Nov. They were conferred at multiple award levels: Star, Gold and Silver. All winners were presented with certificates and Excellent Service Award pins, which they can wear daily to distinguish themselves.
The EXSA seeks to develop good service role models for staff across Singapore to emulate and to aspire to be service champions themselves. The eight SAFRA staff who garnered Star awards were Sri Murni Binte Moonshi Nasiruddin and Cecilia Leong from SAFRA Jurong; G Pieris Somayasodara and Lee Yi Ping from SAFRA Mount Faber; Mathinah Baham D/O Samsudeen from SAFRA Tampines; and Suppiah Banumathi, Hussein Bin Saini and Kevin Lim from SAFRA Yishun. Mark Lim from SAFRA Tampines received the SHA Outstanding Star Award.
Customer Services Officer Suppiah, who has been with SAFRA for 20 years and is now a four-time recipient of the Star Award, says that just being nominated was an honour for her. “I feel appreciated that my boss and SAFRA members nominated me,” said the 66-year-old. “Getting an award is secondary, actually. I love that I am able to build a relationship with members and not just be a service provider.”
Senior Customer Services Officer Sri Murni, who is proud to be a two-time Star award recipient, said that it was important to be calm and listen. “You have to maintain eye contact and show that you are listening to them as it provides assurance. You have to make sure they understand that we are just trying to help,” she said.
“To maintain the positive mindset is easy. I just tell myself each morning that today is a brand new day, smile, and then step out to do my job afresh.”
Senior Lifeguard Mark Lim, 48, has been with SAFRA for 10 years. The former technician considered the award “a show of appreciation and acknowledgement for the effort that I put into my work”. In March, after hearing that a gentleman had collapsed during a badminton match, he rushed over to help resuscitate the victim, who has since recovered from that lifethreatening situation. “He was really grateful and even came over after he had recovered to give me a thank you card. He also sent an email complimenting my efforts.”
Mark’s simple advice to delivering good service: Always remember to smile.
