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Award-winning culture. Top-ranking employee engagement.
We want our employees to feel motivated in their work and connected to their Sun Life experience. When they are, we believe they’ll be more productive and passionate in delivering on our Purpose.
Our approach
We’re committed to creating inclusive, sustainable and empowering workplaces where employees can be themselves and reach their potential. Over the past few years, we’ve invested in Sun Life workspaces that encourage new and diverse ways of working. We recognize there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. Our model of open, bright and agile workspaces at many Sun Life locations, and technology that helps people work virtually reflects this thinking.
With the global pandemic leading to an increase in virtual work, Sun Life has adopted a hybrid working approach and continues to support flexibility and choice for employees. Sun Life invests in hybrid work training, collaboration technologies and flexible learning approaches to support our employees working from any location, including from home.
“The future of hybrid work at Sun Life is about flexibility and choice, empowering people to optimize their work and personal priorities.” – Kevin Strain, President and CEO of Sun Life
Developing our employees is a top priority. We offer in-house and online training and leadership development for all employees and leaders. Our e-learning portal, also accessible by mobile, contains more than 15,000 courses, tools and resources on everything from allyship to Zoom tips and tricks. We also offer job rotation, tuition help and experiential opportunities outside of an employee’s day-to-day role. For example, our gig marketplace gives employees the chance to work with teams across Sun Life on short-term projects, regardless of their location or employee level. This provides them with an opportunity to gain new skills and experience – putting employees in the driver’s seat of their own career.
All employees must complete yearly training on a range of topics. This training is not about ticking a box. It’s focused on developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be risk-ready and help us protect our Clients, our brand, and most importantly – each other. For the most effective learning, employees can create a custom learning path based on their particular needs. Virtual classrooms, simulation/gamification and social learning are among the learning technologies we offer.
The talent landscape is constantly changing. There is a pressing need to find and nurture next-gen employees and leaders. They are the future of our business. They inspire us with fresh ideas to stay relevant and meet Client needs.
We have many programs to help us nurture a strong talent pipeline:
- Practical learning opportunities for people still in school (co-op and work-study arrangements)
- A Rotational Leadership Development Program that lets new grads explore different roles at Sun Life
- An internal online "gig work” marketplace that matches employees with short-term opportunities to build new experiences and develop skills
- An experience leadership program, which fast tracks the development of top-talent directors into more senior roles
- Yearly talent reviews that help us identify and develop future senior leaders across Sun Life
We encourage open, two-way dialogue with our employees and seek their input through various channels. These channels include:
- A 360-degree feedback program
- Performance reviews
- Career planning sessions
- Our social media platforms
- Surveys on specific topics including engagement
2022 highlights
- 89% employee engagement score1, exceeding the global financial services norm2
- $34 million invested in training and development to support employee growth (up 36% from 2021)3
- 20 hours of training per employee on average4
Learn more about our progress and performance in our 2022 Sustainability Report and ESG Performance Tables.
Recognition
More resources
1 68% of employees surveyed participated. Refer to Sustainability Data Scope – Note 2.
2 Based on Willis Towers Watson’s Benchmark of Global Financial Services.
3 2022 figure reflects resumption of some training and development and conferencing activities which were cancelled or delayed due to the pandemic. Refer to Sustainability Data Scope - Note 1.
4 Refer to Sustainability Data Scope – Note 5.
Refer to Sustainability Data Scope.