Sun Life pilots��‘internal gigs’ to upskill employees

Post-pandemic, companies will have to define the nature of work, who to hire as workers, and how to nurture their growth, according to panelists at����organized by Sun Life Asia Service Centre, a business processing provider for insurance company Sun Life.����

“How do we leverage other types of talent? Other than full-time workers, are we open to gig workers, outsourced workers, retirees?” said Helen Peng, vice president for talent acquisition and development of Sun Life Canada.������

“Today, we have a concept of a job with set tasks,” Ms. Peng continued. “In the future… some parts of the job can be done by AI [artificial intelligence], some by humans, and some incorporated into other workstreams.”����

Although Sun Life uses bots, they aren’t meant to replace humans, said May��Sunega, head of human resources (HR) and communications at Sun Life Asia Service Centre – Philippines.��

“The intent is to carve out more time for humans in the organization, to allow them more time to connect with each other and do meaningful work,” Ms.��Sunega��said.����

Employees who engage with chatbots, for example, will still be attended to by flesh-and-blood HR personnel down the line.����

“The fear of��bots replacing humans��is unfounded,” she said.

Be that as it may, both employees and job seekers need to��proactively upskill and reskill. “Skill is the currency of the talent marketplace,” Ms. Peng said. “It will get you far if you build versatility and experience.”������

Ms. Peng advised trying gig work: “You might find huge potential there. It’s like going to the gym and finding muscles you never thought you had.”����

Sun Life is piloting a program that allows “internal gigs” for its company employees,��helping them��develop diverse skills and exposing them to different domains within the organization.����

FASTER FEEDBACK����

For Sun Life Indonesia president Elin��Waty, the pandemic created a faster feedback mechanism. Gone are the days where performance evaluations were conducted once every six months.����

The way forward is to focus on key results, which are incremental indicators on whether an objective is on its way to being achieved.����

For example, increasing sales by 50% over a quarter can be broken down into three key results: launching two new products; ensuring at least 10% of sales come from upselling; and hiring 100 new advisors.����

“It’s like baking a cake,” Ms.��Waty��told the webinar audience. “In the past, the manager only sees the cake when it’s ready. Nowadays, he and you will have a sit-down more often… [so you can say] I need this much flour.”����

Correction and appreciation come faster as well. “Communication becomes more open, and the conversation becomes more meaningful,” said Ms.��Waty. —��Patricia B. Mirasol