Shaping the future of recruitment: Sun Life ASCP breaks new ground into the virtual world with campus hiring in Metaverse

As an organization that aims to drive digital transformation and technology advancements in the country, Sun Life Asia Service Center Philippines (ASCP) taps into the power of Metaverse for its talent acquisition and recruitment activities as it rolls out its campus hiring among technology university students across the region.

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The campus hiring in Metaverse is in line with the company’s overall recruitment efforts with the goal to equip university students in their career journey right from their graduation, to the internship and formal employment. Furthermore, Sun Life ASCP envisions to achieve a more streamlined and efficient hiring operation, identifying the right talents for each available role, ultimately providing a positive candidate experience throughout the hiring process.

The Metaverse will mirror the actual facilities of the Sun Life ASCP office through 3D technology – allowing candidates to create their own fun avatars and easily roam around, engage and interact with Sun Life ASCP’s HR recruiters and hiring managers – just like how it was in real life. Apart from the launching of Metaverse, Sun Life ASCP will also roll out its very own Sinag Chatbot, which will be the candidate’s companion – guiding them in their queries, concerns, and other application requirements when they engage with it in ASCP’s Facebook page. The utilization of this automated tool will enable faster turn-around time in processing applications while saving resources and expenses for both the candidate and the company.

With the launch of these new digital innovations, Sun Life ASCP is eyeing to target a total of 300 potential candidates – contributing a total of 10-20% of new hires for the company. Through this, it expects to generate a minimum of P100,000 savings per hire.

“Sun Life ASCP has been constantly innovating and leveraging new technologies to enhance its operations, improve customer experiences and overall deliver best-in-class services,” shared Chandan Barve, VP and Chief Administrative Officer, Sun Life ASC. The launch of campus hiring in Metaverse and Sinag Chatbot at ASCP are in line with our digital first approach and will help improve the company’s overall recruitment effort as we establish a more efficient and effective hiring process. As a result, candidates can enjoy a positive and seamless experience all throughout the hiring journey.”

Some of the past innovations implemented by Sun Life ASCP were the gamification of its performance management where it leveraged on game-like elements such as scoring, rewards, and competitions to create a more engaging workplace experience, and hosting of virtual job fairs and webinars for job seekers to easily apply and follow-up their applications in the comforts of their home. Since then, the company has achieved scale, growth, and operational maturity by providing Business Processing, IT, investment research and enterprise infrastructure to Sun Life’s global businesses. Moreover, it continues to enhance its business model by building a digital culture and mindset – all enabled by the latest technologies, data-driven insights, skill sets, talent, and agile and innovative frameworks.

What makes the Metaverse campus hiring a critical digital intervention?

In this age of rapid digitalization, companies are leveraging more on technologies and tools to effectively engage with their audiences. According to Gartner, a leading technology research and consulting firm, digitalization is defined as the use of digital technologies to transform and enhance business models – creating new opportunities for revenue and value creation. By embracing digitalization, companies can stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace.

With over 85 million Filipino internet users in the country, it is no surprise that brands heavily invest on digital tools and platforms to continuously pivot, innovate and overall improve the efficiency of its operations. Based on the Digital Report 2023 by We Are Social and Meltwater, the Philippines is the third country in the world with the most time spent online citing that 74.4% of the population search on how to do things while 66.9% invest their time for education and study-related purposes. When it comes to social media, Filipinos spend an average of 4 hours each day on social media platforms with Gen Zs comprising the most significant demographic. This is attributed to the pandemic when people mostly stayed at home prompting them to go online and rely on digital channels to connect, study, work, and consume content.

Despite its infancy, one of the emerging digital platforms that has been garnering attention is Metaverse – a virtual world where people can build, own, and interact through an immersive and engaging experience utilizing virtual and augmented reality. It allows users to experience both the digital and real-world in the same space which involves a blend of visuals, technology and sound – delivering an extraordinary and engaging online environment. Globally, various companies have already adopted this Web3 technology similar to how they adopted social media – from exchanging goods and services to education and leisure. With its vast opportunity to revolutionize the way businesses operate and engage with stakeholders, the Metaverse presents exciting opportunities to build brand awareness, foster customer loyalty and expand reach – most especially among social-savvy Gen Zs who love to discover new things and immerse in new experiences.