Meet Lleufer Sinsua and Kathi-Lyn Ong, the dynamic duo of Great Place to Work’s marketing team. He is an avid Crossfit fan while she is Le Cordon-Bleu trained. They tell us what makes them tick and how they channel their creative efforts into Great Place to Work.
Q: Firstly, tell us what are your hobbies and interests outside of work?
Lleufer Sinsua (LS): I have always enjoyed doing sports and learning new things since primary school. I discovered CrossFit in 2012 and fell in love with the sport ever since. I fell in love with the varied programming; it kept me interested and meant I didn’t have to google workouts before going to a gym. Besides staying in shape and getting stronger, I like the feeling of overcoming the challenges it presents as well as the community it creates. CrossFit always gives you a new challenge to work on, for example, I couldn’t even lift myself up on a bar when I joined in 2012 but it makes you work on it and eventually get there. I love the challenge of always having something to work on. If you have mastered it, make it better, faster or increase the quantity.
Kathi-Lyn Ong (KO): I spent 10 months in Le Cordon Bleu London and it was the best time of my life! It was like going back to high school. I did the Grand Diploma course which is 5.5 days a week of learning French cuisine and pastry. My days were packed with tutorials and 3 hour sessions in the kitchen learning new techniques or replicating a dish. The adrenaline rush I got from being in the kitchen was like no other. I loved it. Needless to say, it was the skinniest period of my life! Nights were spent at the school pub with friends and weekends were filled with farmers’ markets. I like to plan interactive dinner parties with family and friends. Parties such as building your own pizza/kebab/ramen/sushi bowl/cocktail nights.
Q: What does a workday for Great Place to Work’s marketing team look like?
LS: I organise day to day Great Place to Work social media postings, ad-hoc campaigns, promote webinars and speaking engagements. This involves curating the best designs for all platforms while building connections and engaging with clients through different virtual and physical activities. The purpose is to showcase and inspire other companies on the importance of having a high-trust workplace culture.
KO: I liaise with speakers and the Great Place to Work Content Team to build an event. I work with vendors to ensure that a Great Place to Work event is well-executed. The heart and spirit behind every event is to be the thought leadership in the global workplace culture space, to recognize Best Workplaces and to make the journey to a high-trust workplace culture accessible to everyone. At Great Place to Work, marketing plays an important role in establishing relationships between our clients and the products and services we offer at Great Place to Work.
KO: The sense of camaraderie when planning an event and the sense of accomplishment and pride that comes after. The most memorable event was the 2019 Singapore Best Workplaces™ at Raffles Hotel with DPM Heng Swee Keat. The microphone was passed to each senior executive from a represented company to give a small thank you speech to their team from their tables. The sense of gratitude that stemmed from a simple thank you was immense.
Q: Complete the sentence: A great workplace for you is …
LS: A great workplace is being open about what we learn and you thrive best when you’re part of a supportive environment that creates room for you to succeed. I fortunately have great mentors and colleagues at Great Place to Work that motivate and encourage me to do better at what I do.
KO: A great workplace is one where you are relaxed in your environment, you love the people you work with and there is freedom of speech, creativity and expression of personal thoughts. There is no biasness or favoritism from management, but rather, they constantly motivate, inspire and engage everyone.
Q: If you were not working at Great Place to Work, what would you be doing instead?
LS: Perhaps a Crossfit Trainer!
KO: A chicken curry, prawn mee or Hokkien mee chef.
Daphne Lee
Daphne believes in building community-relatable content, telling stories through narratives that add value in today’s workplace and in culture-building. Her idea of a great workplace is one that thrives on openness, support and inclusivity while building trust and working towards a common business growth and purpose. A journalist, she spent 15 years writing for trade publications, lifestyle magazines and broadsheet supplements. Daphne was also active in the Parent Support Group of her daughters’ school, chairing the volunteer-run committee for 3 years. A mum of two teenagers and two adopted dogs, she enjoys riding on her trusty bicycle to discover new sights and sounds in Singapore.
