When Christian Chao stepped into the CEO role at Care Corner Singapore, he was hyper-aware of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. He had to manage and communicate with a diverse group of stakeholders including board members, employees, managers, and leaders, as well as service users, partners, regulators, and funders.
Chao joined the organisation after spending three years as senior vice president (Strategic HR) at UOB. Previously, he worked in the public sector for 11 years, and has volunteered to assist Care Corner with its change management process since 2017.
“My time in the private sector working in a bank was a rich one,” he shares. “I was exposed to digitalisation, analytics, and complex problem solving, and I became more astute in reading dynamics and navigating complex stakeholder relations.”
Care Corner is a non-profit organisation that provides social and healthcare services to build hope and promote well-being for those in need. It offers 46 service points across Singapore to help children with special needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds, youths at risk, troubled families, vulnerable seniors, and individuals requiring counselling and mental health services.
With their requirements constantly evolving, Chao strongly sees the value of implementing ideas more commonly associated with the private sector, such as his passion for organisation development, which facilitates systemic change in a systematic way.
“Organisation development has shaped the way I think about leadership and the approach to innovation. To me, innovation is not just about having a sound and novel idea. It’s also about how the journey involves people, so co-creation can take place and result in greater shared ownership,” he says.
“This is especially relevant when we’re addressing social issues, which by their very nature are complex and best addressed by involving as many stakeholders as possible.”
Christian Chao decodes his implementation of organisation development
With that in mind, he has partnered with Lien Foundation, a philanthropic organisation that spearheads social change to improve the lives of seniors, children with special needs, and those born into low-income homes.
Together, they have established an Innovation Unit in Care Corner that houses key capabilities such as product management, data and technology, and user experience design—skill sets the organisation didn’t have before.
“This is a good example of taking a leaf out of the private sector playbook and introducing organisational structures, processes, and mindsets that support innovation at Care Corner,” says Chao.
“The needs of our service users and beneficiaries are constantly evolving, and we are mindful that programmes may lose relevance over time. By investing in our internal capabilities, we are better able to respond and adapt our service—and do so with greater impact. We hope to demonstrate what else is possible for SSAs wanting to embrace innovative practices and progressive approaches.”
Chao finds the experience of serving the public rewarding. “My understanding is that the social service sector is growing and we are seeing more people join the industry at a higher rate.”
As an example, Care Corner has grown its staff strength by more than 60 percent in the last six years. “Working in the social sector can be challenging and not for the faint of heart. An individual’s maturity in the form of self-awareness and their ability to read others makes a difference. The other difference is their motivation, what excites and drives them.”
Producer: Adora Wong
Style director: Chia Wei Choong
Videographer: Alicia Chong
Photographer: Mun Kong
Photographer’s assistant: Renjie Teo
Makeup: Keith Bryant Lee using Shiseido
Hair: Aung Apichai
