We all love a good cuppa’ coffee to boost our spirits in the wee hours of the morning. Caffeinating the community is one of many hobbies of Elis. Having been a barista for 5 years during her schooling years, she developed a passion for specialty coffee making. She loves to humbly serve her beautiful latte art, created with a casual flick of the wrist.

Humility is one of Elis’s distinctive traits - and she developed herself professionally and personally after joining Singtel’s Management Associate Programme (MAP). Learn more about Singtel’s MAP here.

Elis is currently an Analyst in Group Strategy. When she was a fresh graduate, Singtel was amid its digital transformation journey. She decided to join Singtel to evolve with an organisation as such opportunities are hard to come by.

The life of an analyst is hectic, but highly rewarding. Elis is currently supporting a few tracks for the upcoming Singtel Top Management Workshop (TMW) so her day to day work revolves around the projects for TMW. Singtel TMW is an annual workshop where all the top management leaders in Singtel come together to brainstorm innovative solutions for issues facing the organization to move Singtel forward.

On top of TMW preparation, she works on requests from the management and conducts competitors’ analysis to keep her stakeholders updated on news in the market. These requests must be looked into promptly as they inform the management on latest happenings in the market which may potentially impact the company significantly.

Strengthening the Singtel Spirit through diversity

Elis has had previous internship experiences at large international companies; when she came to Singtel, she was awed by the diversity of its workforce. Her daily encounters with colleagues at Comcentre, Singtel’s main office in Singapore, has also shown her the cultural inclusiveness of the workplace.

‘’I get to work with people from different backgrounds with many years of experience in different fields. It is eye-opening given that this is my first full-time job experience!’’

Through working on key projects, including the 5G Business Case, Elis truly felt the benefits of working in a diverse team. She worked with people in Optus, Australia and Trustwave, US and people of different age groups who bring with them and share the knowledge of their prior work experiences.

For the 5G Business case, she had the privilege to be involved in the 5G business case analysis for Group Enterprise use cases. Together with the finance director, they conducted deep-dive analysis of the 5G business case developed by Bain & Company Group to sanitise and challenge the assumptions used in the financial model, leading up to the presentation to MC and board.

‘’5G is something interesting and new. I got the chance to be involved and learn how to analyse an important business case that will help to drive the network development for Singtel and Singapore in the upcoming years. We’re working towards the future here’’.

Alongside projects, Elis found time to come together with her colleagues to put up a performance for the finance team’s dinner and dance experience in Singtel. ‘’It wasn’t perfect given the time constraint, but we have no regrets!’’ she exclaims.

Investing in the Greatest Knowledge of all: Experience

Stakeholder management is a pivotal skill, especially in a large organisation like Singtel. Elis and her team members interact with people every day. Over the course of her work, she has learnt to manage a diverse range of stakeholders and works with them constantly. This has also helped her in her personal life, in building relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds.

She has also learnt to be bolder and more confident and be able to speak confidently in front of people. Coming from a background where she was always taught to stay humble and quiet, one thing that she really struggled with was to make herself heard.

‘’I used to be very afraid to make mistakes or afraid that I might sound stupid. I think this is a challenge many people face today, from students to working adults. We must look past that insecurity.’’

A mentor once told her “If you don’t clarify your doubts because of your fear that it may sound stupid, you will always leave the situation feeling stupid. Nothing has changed.” This is something that Elis looks back upon, whenever she is in doubt.

Analyst by day, explorer by weekend

When time allows in her busy schedule, Elis loves being an explorer. Her ideal day out would be taking a walk or hiking early in the morning to get a whiff of cool air and gaze at the beautiful panoramic landscape from the Henderson Waves at sunrise, followed by a hearty brunch and coffee at a cafe.

She loves exploring new places or just relaxing at a cafe, where she catches up with her reading. In a fast-paced city, while most of us are scurrying from place to place to get things done, Elis balances her lifestyle by unwinding and reflecting through engaging in these activities, letting her mind wander where it will.

Want to know more about working at Singtel? Find out why Singtel is the Employer of Choice* and explore our opportunities here.

*Awarded by HR Fest Awards 2020, which recognises and celebrates outstanding achievements of the region’s top leaders, teams and organisations.