From ideas to WOWs
Steve Jobs once said, “I want to put a ding in the universe” — essentially to change the status quo and making a mark in people’s lives. It is this urge to make a difference that motivated Jobs from taking an idea to developing one of the most successful technology companies today.
DBS launched the inaugural 1–2-WOW programme to issue a challenge to employees who have brilliant ideas and are motivated to develop them into real solutions that make a positive change to banking. Submissions were collected from employees all over the world, and high potential ‘Ultras’ were identified for greater support in bringing their ideas to life.
Amongst the Ultras are Chan Jian Hao, Palmer Ng and Janel Khoo from the DBS Consumer Banking Group, who stood out for their innovative idea for a Digital Policy Vault solution. We catch up with them to find out what motivated them to join the programme and their experiences so far.
We understand that this is your first time participating in an accelerator programme. What motivated you to participate in the 1–2-WOW challenge?
Palmer: I had the opportunity to be a part of the DBS Startup Xchange team back in 2019, and was involved in co-managing innovation projects between the various business units and startups. Through that experience, I was exposed to many new and fresh ideas around the Future of Banking, but didn’t have any to really call my own. Thus, through 1–2-WOW, I hope to be able to play on the other side of the fence and bring our team’s unique idea to life.
Jian Hao: Similarly, I wanted a different perspective than the one I was used to from my day-to-day work. I wanted to be able to pitch an idea outside of my existing job scope while picking up some new skills along the way, and the 1–2-WOW programme seemed like a great opportunity to do so!
Janel: For me, I believe that no idea is too small; this really motivated me to give the 1–2-WOW programme a shot to try and turn my ideas into reality. I’m very thankful to be in an organisation with such strong support and focus in encouraging employees to be innovative and daring enough to try new things.
What were your expectations going into the 1–2-WOW programme, and how has your experience been like so far?
Jian Hao: I think the 1–2-WOW programme has been a great experience so far! We’ve truly been granted access to a wealth of resources and workshops. It’s really been an invaluable learning experience.
Palmer: Yes, it really has! In addition to that, I think the programme has also given me the opportunity to have a change of pace from my usual daily work tasks. It’s always a refreshing experience whenever the team gets together to brainstorm on new solutions and how best to improve on our prototype.
Janel: I agree, it’s definitely been a wonderful experience. The immense support from our Singapore CEO Tse Koon and the Innovation team — from a wealth of resources to mentorship and masterclass opportunities — has never once made me feel like I’m alone in this experimentation journey. With this support network, my focus and drive to take ownership of change is going strong!
What are some challenges you’ve face in the process, especially when working together remotely? How do you overcome these challenges?
Janel: I felt that the lack of a physical space to brainstorm and bounce ideas off one another effectively was a challenge, especially at the start of our innovation journey when we were creating our very first prototype. Thankfully, we have access to many collaborative digital tools which made it possible to hold remote meetings seamlessly. The availability of digital canvasses also made it so much more effective to bring all our ideas together.
Jian Hao: Yes, it’s definitely been a challenge to collaborate and ideate remotely, and I agree that it’s much easier to be physically present in front of a whiteboard for brainstorming sessions. But the whole team has been very committed to the project, and we’ve been working together really well and constantly sharing ideas across our digital platforms and tools.
Palmer: For me, one of the biggest challenges in remote working is that you tend to lose the human-touch and spontaneity that is sometimes required for innovation projects. Fortunately, I’ve found that one way to get around that is to have in place certain mantras to encourage team members to share their ideas freely, and to prompt and remind each other to have an equal share of voice during the whole collaboration process.
Can you tell us more about the Digital Policy Vault solution that you’re working on? What inspired this idea?
Palmer: Our solution is centred around addressing our customers’ end-to-end insurance needs — from the storage of policies and understanding their coverage, to the purchase of new policies and the guided claims processes. Personally, I was inspired to bring this solution to life as, from my short stint as an insurance agent prior to joining DBS, I noticed that there has been a shift in consumer trends. More consumers are opting to self-serve for their insurance needs.
Janel: Being a customer myself, I do agree that there has been a shift, and I’m also aware of the pain points in managing my insurance policies. We often have too many hardcopy forms and records, all of which come in different formats depending on the insurer they are from. This makes it really challenging for all of us to understand the various policy documents and keep track of them effectively.
Jian Hao: I too have multiple policies, and have found it difficult to keep track of total coverage and premiums paid. Not to mention, it’s definitely worse when you have multiple products from a variety of different insurers. There are many fragmented solutions out there, but none which comprehensively caters to all customer pain points. So we thought to ourselves — why not try building one? Essentially, we want to establish a one-stop-shop for customers to upload, manage and purchase policies, that will also be able to provide them with a comprehensive view of their policy holdings.
Palmer: We believe that a digital platform can bring greater convenience to customers (digital never sleeps!). If coupled with a WOW user experience, it could potentially change the paradigm of how customers address their insurance needs going forward.
Janel: Yes, and on top of that, it would be awesome if we could have an AI recommender available to prompt customers on their coverage gaps or over-insured areas, as well as educate them on what types of policies they should consider based on their current life stage, needs and persona. This would definitely allow for hyper-personalisation!
How did you feel when your project got selected as an “Ultra”?
Jian Hao: I’m really grateful to have access to great mentors and a true treasure trove of resources. I’m also really excited that we’re one step closer to potentially bringing this idea to life!
Janel: I’m really humbled, but also very excited! I hope that our ideas will not only bring about a more joyful customer experience in policy management, but also create positive impacts for the bank as a whole.
Palmer: I was absolutely blown away! I’m glad that the evaluators see the potential in our ideas as much as we do ourselves. That being said, we’re not resting on our laurels and will work towards the next stage of pitching.
What are you hoping to eventually get out of this 1–2-WOW experience?
Palmer: As they say , the only bad idea is the idea we’ve never tried! Regardless of the outcome from the programme, I believe that the team will have a better understanding of how to build and design solutions from scratch. This is an invaluable skill that will serve us well beyond our time in the 1–2-WOW programme.
Jian Hao: I agree, and I definitely hope to apply everything I’ve learnt from this programme to my current role. I also hope to be able to eventually spearhead the deployment of the Digital Policy Vault with the team.
Janel: I was definitely excited to get some first-hand experience in innovating, and it’s definitely been a very hands-on process so far. I think the 1–2-WOW programme will give me a good understanding of the end-to-end cycle of creating a prototype, testing it, and pitching it. It has also been a great opportunity to find out more about the different tools and resources available to support our innovation projects, and to get a chance to try them all out — who knows what may come in handy next time!
Launched in 2020, 1–2-WOW is an open challenge to all DBS staff around the world to experiment, innovate and WOW. Innovators are empowered with dedicated tools, budget and support from the DBS innovation team to take their ideas to the next level, turning them from mere concept into reality.
