DBS Bank: Transforming EX TOGETHER

Summary

DBS Bank's employee experience strategy during the pandemic centred on keeping a geographically dispersed workforce connected without losing the empathy of in-person leadership. The Singapore-headquartered bank's TOGETHER movement, a comprehensive wellbeing initiative, is built around three propositions: helping employees adapt to new ways of working, rebuilding social connection in a virtual office, and extending mutual care through community and mental-health support.

DBS also pairs empathetic leadership with digital tools, most visibly through an anonymous intranet channel that lets employees put questions and suggestions directly to senior leadership. The initiative illustrates a broader principle in the bank's culture: that visible, responsive listening from the top motivates employees to keep contributing ideas rather than disengaging.

These initiatives sit within DBS's wider employee engagement programme, offering takeaways for HR leaders looking to replicate the bank's approach to remote-era wellbeing and leadership communication. The bank also extended its community outreach through employee volunteering during the pandemic, framing corporate social responsibility as an extension of internal culture rather than a separate initiative.

• DBS Bank's financial profile and workforce scale as of 2020
• Additional employee engagement programmes beyond the TOGETHER movement

What does it take to keep a workforce connected and cared for when face-to-face culture disappears overnight?