Creating a brighter outlook for your workforce amidst COVID-19

 

The pandemic has forced organizations to be flexible and caused HR professionals to rethink their approach in sustaining the workplace amid the crisis. Now, more than ever, the role that HR plays in implementing the transition is crucial. From emphasizing new values in the company culture to leveraging the digital tools at their disposal, there are many ways businesses can emerge stronger from the pandemic. 

This challenge was addressed in a recent webinar entitled “The Bright Outlook: New Ways of Working in the New Normal” hosted by Sun Life Asia Service Centre-Philippines (ASCP), where Sun Life key opinion leaders gathered to discuss the different ways to create a brighter outlook for your workforce amidst COVID-19. 

Innovate for a flexible workplace

Sun Life Canada Vice President for Talent Acquisition and Development Helen Peng shared that in a time of disruption, businesses making proactive decisions in building a flexible workforce will see lasting impact on the success of their brand. 

Enabling and supporting a modern, flexible workforce will mean introducing the right tools for a cutting-edge approach to HR. This is imperative for keeping workers engaged and connected, regardless of where they are. 

For instance, Sun Life Canada proactively built their talent pipeline through a new digital platform called Candidate Relationship Management or CRM, which acts as a database for all talent. By leveraging the platform; they can tag, share, nurture and engage talent very easily.

“Through the CRM tool, we can effectively identify high quality talent and nurture them until they convert into the role we need. Talent segments allow us to proactively source talents based on skills over roles providing deeper poles of talent for our most critical areas that align with our strategic priorities such as digital enterprise and diversity equity and inclusion” according to Peng. 

Ensure digital connectivity

An assortment of remote workers does not necessarily add up to a digital workplace. It’s not about where you work, it’s about how you work. According to Sun Life ASCP Head for HR and Communications May Sunega, the key is empowering employees with resources and data for more effective collaboration in the workplace.

“As we change in this new way of working, we need to have the agility and efficiency of a robot. We need to be present, we need to be there, but our heart should remain the same and that will preserve the humanity of our craft.”

At Sun Life ASCP, the organization created a single source of truth – a central hub called Work Day – where aligned and critical information can be housed. This tool along with Zoom and Workplace, resulted in better collaboration and new ways of communicating and working.

Measuring performance efficiency 

Sun Life Indonesia President Elin Waty shared that assessing and measuring your employees' performance and productivity gives a unique opportunity for employees to understand what is expected of them. 

Waty shared that they measure using the key results that are set on an annual basis and use “grade” for the measurement. This is to ensure a proper alignment of achieving individual goals that are aligned with organization’s goals. She also recommends being cognizant of the personal lives of your employees before establishing what performance would entail for your business today. 

“I remind the managers that they need to be disciplined. They need to remember and know that their staff is actually at home; they have families and they have their own lives.”

Navigating the pandemic has highlighted the importance of creating a workplace which is able to adapt and react immediately to changes in circumstances to meet the evolving needs, desires and safety of employees, while ensuring that business continuity is maintained. 

Through Sun Life ASCP's webinar, HR practitioners were able to learn how to adapt and embrace innovation in the workplace amidst COVID 19. Furthermore, Sun Life ASCP also aimed to help jobseekers in creating a brighter outlook despite uncertainties through an online job fair held together with the webinar where they offered a wide array of opportunities within the organization.

For more information about Sun Life ASCP, visit https://www.sunlife.com/asc/en/.