Sun Life Asia Service Centres named among Top 15 GBS Employers

Sun Life Asia Service Centres (ASCs) have been recognized among the top 15 Global Business Service (GBS) employers by the global research firm Everest Group.

The findings draw on research conducted to analyze the employer brand perception of over 200 leading GBS organizations across India, Poland, and the Philippines on account of multiple dimensions – overall satisfaction, compensation and benefits, work environment, career opportunities, and diversity and inclusion. The Sun Life Asia Service Centers (India and the Philippines) have received exceptional scores across all these vectors, with the Philippines scoring the 6th position and India at the 11th position.

The rankings were determined based on ratings and feedback from popular public sites that are critical sources for candidates conducting employer research – Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, and the Everest Group.

Sharing his thoughts about the announcement, Tarun Sareen, Managing Director, Sun Life Asia Service Centers, said, “It is truly an honour to be named among the top GBS employers in the Philippines and in India. It resonates with our purpose and our culture that place clients and people at the heart of everything we do. We are deeply focused on our purpose of helping our clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Sun Life is committed to developing a vibrant, inclusive, and empowering workplace, where everyone feels valued, belonging and inspired to do their best to deliver on our purpose. We value our culture of care, openness to listening, curiosity, a commitment to learning all the time and innovation to deliver outcomes for our clients, employees, partners and for doing our best for our communities and environment. We are proud of what we have achieved together and will continue to advance forward on our journey, nurturing a purpose-led and values-driven workplace.”

Further adding, Rajeev Bhardwaj, Chief Human Resource Officer, Sun Life Asia Service Centres, said, “We were recently named as a Top 100 Great Place to Work, and now we stand among the top 15 GBS Employers across India and the Philippines. I believe these accolades reiterate the strength of our unique HR practices, focus on DEI, strong avenues for learning and development, and deep employee engagement. What sets us apart is our passion for our people and our commitment to create a culture where they drive bolder outcomes, have greater client impact, and succeed.”

Sun Life ASCs are three-time recipients of the LOMA Excellence in Education Award, which recognizes companies doing an outstanding job of talent development through LOMA’s professional designation programs. The organization is also Great Place to Work certified for two years in a row, starting 2020.

The study also assessed the best-in-class initiatives undertaken by GBS organizations to differentiate themselves in talent markets. Sun Life recently launched Sunnovation; a signature innovation, ideation, and signature Continuous Improvement Kaizen platform that enables employees to submit their ideas on a single portal, where they drive the idea completion process with support from the process leaders and a sign-off process in place. The company also launched the Brighter Way Management System (BWMS), another initiative where employees collaborate to churn out tremendous results that impact the business and workplace immensely. BWMS enables employees to gain proficiency in the day-to-day processes. In addition, Sun Life ASCP recently launched its #BalikASCPHOme program to help enable a hybrid operating model that will give employees the benefits of work flexibility through work from home while still giving them the opportunities to interact with their team in the office.

Recognizing the importance of measuring employee sentiment at workplaces, SunLife ASCI also introduced its flagship Employee Engagement & Sentiment Analysis initiative – the Applause R&R platform. With the help of Applause R & R platform, SunLife recognizes behaviours, actions, and outcomes that demonstrate Client Impact, Owner’s Mindset, and Performance Excellence in real time. The program helped in building a culture of recognition along with measuring important intangibles such as employee morale.

When it comes to career development, Sun Life ASCI provides robust training modules such as Agile, Digital Enterprise, and DevOps courses, with over 80% of employees completing courses. The company is also innovating in the delivery of mentorship through digital channels with its Speed Mentorship Program, online sessions that provide an avenue for leaders to inspire, motivate, educate, share best practices, and promote engagement among team members.

Sun Life ASCI is also fully committed to providing opportunities for all through its Diversity, Equality, and Innovation (DE&I) programs, with a particular focus on building robust pipelines and an inclusive environment for women, persons with disabilities, millennials, and other uniquely situated groups of employees.

Among its milestone DE&I activities for 2022 is the creation of a SunStree Women Employee Network, a platform to create a strong network for SunLife ASCI women employees to enable them to develop and maximize their potential. SunStree’s objectives are focused on identifying and addressing workplace challenges faced by women employees. It also focuses on providing developmental opportunities to women employees and helps create an open and interactive learning space, focusing on the health and well-being of women employees.

For women leaders, Sun Life also introduced programs that cater to first-time leaders and women leaders. STRIDE is an FLM Development Program; L.E.A.P and Sunrise are specially designed for women leaders. Skill-based training workshops on themes like the Art of storytelling, presentation skills, effective managerial communication skills, a theatre-based workshop on leadership presence,” etc. help strengthen leadership capabilities across the board. In Philippines Sun Life has launched #theITWoman campaign, which aims to empower women in tech by highlighting their stories and, collaborating with institutions for coaching and mentorship.

Driving its Digital Transformation journey forward, Sun Life ASCI is leveraging emerging technologies such as Robotics, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), block chain, augmented reality to enhance the HR Function and provide a great employee experience.

Conversational AI-chatbots like Amber and Nina, deployed by HR at Sun Life ASCI are working successfully to keep employees connected, especially in light of remote and hybrid situations. Sun Life also deployed collaboration tools such as virtual rooms, Zoom meetings; booking bots, and instant messaging to make work seamless and efficient. The organization also adopted an agile methodology using digital technologies for process improvements—artificial intelligence, data science, chatbots, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA).