Experiences From The Ground: Sharing by a Outreach, Education and Research (OER) Staff

My name is Siyuan and I work as a Outreach Executive (Digital Marketing) in the Outreach, Education and Research (OER) department.

I joined CCS in July 2021 and was initially assigned to the Debt Servicing and Support (DSS) department, where I provided support to clients on our Debt Management Programme, or DMP for short.

I found that my role at CCS became more meaningful after a memorable experience of assisting one of our clients, whom I shall refer to as Client A.

Client A was clearly distressed due to his mounting debts. His wife and two daughters were pressuring him to declare bankruptcy, hoping that his debt problem would not spill over and affect them. However, Client A was adamant about paying back his debts due to his personal value: ‘if you borrow money, you must return it.’ Hence, he fiercely rejected the idea of bankruptcy despite pressure from his loved ones.

This experience left a deep impression on me because it confirmed my conviction that the CCS Debt Management Program offers a manageable debt repayment option for distressed borrowers who are serious about honouring their debt and want to avoid bankruptcy. I admire that Client A had the courage to stay true to his values, even in the face of differing opinions from his closest loved ones.

After a year in DSS, I got transferred to OER, which is my current department.

I feel grateful for the transfer as my current role exposes me to the trends in search engines and social media platforms. For example, one of my current tasks is learning how to design a Link-in-Bio page for Instagram so that users can be easily redirected to the desired URLs. Designing images allows me to put my creativity to use as well. To complete the different assigned tasks, I had to learn programmes such as Streamyard, Meta Business Suite, Canva and Adobe, just to name a few. Although the initial learning curve was rather steep, I am thankful for the exposure.

Work at CCS often takes an emotional toll on staff mental well-being due to a high workload and the need to lend an attentive listening ear to the debt-distressed. When the stress builds up, I like to study some Japanese language just to take my mind off things. As I do not take regular lessons, my study materials mainly consist of Japanese pop songs, fiction books, and variety show. I hope to one day be able to speak Japanese at a native level.

My journey at CCS has been both enriching and transformative. From my initial role in DSS, where I interacted with resilient individuals like Client A, to my current position as a  Outreach Executive using digital marketing channels, the experiences have deepened my understanding of the impact we can have on individuals facing financial set-backs.

Contributed by Hoe Si Yuan, Credit Counselling Singapore. 

Published 5 February 2024