DBS Bank is extending coaching to all employees across its network through a new generative AI platform to build a more resilient and future-ready workforce.
Called iCoach, the platform offers employees customised career advice and development support, traditionally reserved for top executives. Built in collaboration with coaching expert Marshall Goldsmith, iCoach is tailored to the bank’s job roles and internal career pathways, offering employees guidance on performance, interpersonal skills, and career progression.
Managers can also use iCoach to support their teams’ development and leadership strategies. All interactions with the platform are confidential, according to DBS.
“We are committed to helping our people thrive by equipping them with future-ready capabilities through our comprehensive Triple E framework – Education, Exposure and Experience. iCoach is a powerful new addition that complements these efforts, leveraging generative AI to offer personalised, on-demand career guidance to help every employee confidently navigate and grow in the future of work,” says DBS’ head of Group Human Resources Lee Yan Hong.
Coaching focuses on achieving specific, short-term goals through structured guidance. Studies from the International Coaching Federation and BetterUp show that coaching can significantly boost workplace performance and communication (70%) as well as self-confidence (80%).
Yet, the high cost of coaching has often limited access to senior executives and high-potential employees. DBS sees generative AI as a way to democratise coaching across its workforce in a scalable and cost-effective manner.
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At the iCoach launch, Senior Minister for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How shares that Singapore’s long-standing success with past technological shifts has been underpinned by continuous investment in human capital.
“Since the days of computerisation, we’ve always invested in the most important resource we have here in Singapore: our people. The new wave of AI is no different. AI is an applied technology, and our workers can only be productive if they use these tools the right way, with the right work processes. That’s why working with companies to embed these tools meaningfully is so important,” he says.
Tan adds that DBS could serve as a “torchbearer” for companies navigating disruption or anxiety around new technologies, pointing to its proactive stance in employee development and digital transformation.
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iCoach is the latest in DBS’s suite of upskilling initiatives, including the DBS Mentoring Programme and Be My Guest Programme, which enables employees to job-shadow.
Moreover, the bank rolled out iGrow in 2022, which is an AI or machine learning-powered platform that offers personalised career advice by matching employees to tailored learning and job opportunities based on their career and training history.
