How You Learn More About The Public Service
Winning entry
We clock so much face-time with screens at work that I try to balance it with reading physical materials. Besides reading and sharing on Workplace and following the Public Service’s social media accounts, I frequently read (and collect) physical copies of Challenge magazine. Newspapers, e.g., The Straits Times, are insightful as they supplement information with the public’s perspective. Print and paper provide a sense of comfort, and familiarity with a physical copy allows users to know where crucial information is located. While digital news provides quick, first-hand appetizers of information for me, physical news serves as the delicious main course. Exhibitions and campaigns are the tasty desserts that complete my meal of information, providing excellent visuals of the things public officers do. I enjoy attending the ExCEL Convention and participating in the Public Service Week Festival to try out the prototypes, network with fellow public officers and experience learning journeys.
Edwin Zhang, MOE
Congratulations, Edwin, and thanks for the support! You win a voucher worth $100 to dine at Open Farm Community, where meals use locally farmed ingredients. Enjoy!
I’m relatively new to the LTA. My answer is very simple: make friends. The LTA is massive, with 6,000+ people, and only one branch of the Public Service. With friends in other government departments, in time you will gain a better understanding of what they do by meeting them and finding out generally what they work on. Workplace by Facebook is a great place to start – I follow back everyone who follows me or likes something I post. My wall is now far more interesting. And every time I go to a meeting with other public agencies, I exchange my business cards with the other officers. Then I drop them a personal note by email to say thanks for meeting up and hope to see them again. And I mean it. Do I have a lot of friends? Not yet, but I’m working on it. That’s my favourite way to learn about the Public Service!
Kenneth McGuire, LTA
I take the initiative to attend dialogues, forums and events even if it is on weekends or weekday evenings. Being physically and mentally present at those sessions allows me to ask questions directly when I have doubts. However, that may not always be possible. So I use avenues like FB Live, public agencies’ Facebook pages and public service apps (OneService, myENV, myTransport, Police@SG, SGSecure, etc.). A combination of physical and digital approaches is required as they complement each other. One provides the human touch and personal response while the other is quick and provides real-time updates. Both are important for a more informed Singapore with respect to the Public Service.
Suhaimi Bin Zainal Shah, MOE
In addition to meetings, phone calls and emails, I stay connected with my colleagues and counterparts from other government agencies through LinkedIn. That is where I keep myself updated on agencies’ key initiatives and project developments. The new Workplace by Facebook is another platform where I find updated news of the key developments in the Public Service.
Loh Sin Yee, MSF
My office looks forward to receiving our copy of Challenge magazine as it is our source of information on the good work of our fellow public officers. Reading about their obstacles at work and problem-solving skills is extremely inspiring for a young officer like me. I’ll read deeper into the topic by accessing the links provided. With the Workplace by Facebook platform, I can now chat with officers from other agencies to find out more about what they do. I usually spend my morning commute catching up on the Workplace newsfeed and discussions within my groups. Challenge magazine and Workplace have given me a more holistic view of the Public Service, and I am eager to see more inter-agency sharing on these platforms.
Chay Yu Wei, NEA
Challenge is going digital first from November 2017.
Look out for the next question for Your Say on Challenge Online at psd.gov.sg/challenge and in your email inboxes.
Aug 2, 2017