Perspectives2008

Canadian

Integrating SkillSoft Resources intoSun Life Financial’s Learning Program

Maryann Baird, Director, Employee DevelopmentJanet Holmes, Senior Consultant, Talent Development

Leadership & Talent Development

November 6, 2008

International financial services leader

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers.

Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol SLF.

Canada

Toronto

United States

Bermuda

Mexico City

Sao Paulo

Buenos Aires

IrelandUnited Kingdom

BerlinRotterdamLondon

Madrid

Milan

Bahrain

India

SingaporeIndonesia

Philippines

China

Hong Kong Taipei

Tokyo

Sydney

Sun Life Financial around the world

MFS headquartered in the U.S.

MFS investment and marketing / service offices

Munich

The world of Sun Life FinancialThe Sun Life Financial group of companies, including MFS Investment Management, has operations in 22 countries worldwide.

External Talent Development Trends

1. Demographic shifts; need to attract, develop and retain next generation (Y and millennials)

2. Skills shortage in key professional streams

3. Employment markets changing in all geographies; varies by region

4. Increasing requirement for more sophisticated global leaders

Key SLF Business Challenges

• Defined investment dollars available to meet diverse development needs; usually it’s never as much as we hope for!

• Competing for senior leaders’ attention; there are always a number of business priorities on their plate

• Have an evolving competency model; different stage of implementation across the globe

• Have technology/firewall restrictions; although mitigates exposure to outside risks, it also means it limits our access to some application functionality

• There are a limited choice of vendors to partner with who have a global mandate

• Have an evolving HR structure; changes to the scope of learning governance and responsibility across the organization

Leadership & Talent DevelopmentCentre of Expertise

Build the capability (depth) and capacity (breadth) of the SLF

workforce

• Ready and able pool of talent to achieve current and future business goals

• Enabled employees who actively manage their development and careers

• Ready and able pool of talent to achieve current and future business goals

• Enabled employees who actively manage their development and careers

Talent Development

Team(8)

Talent Performance and Review

Team(2)

Talent Planning and Measurement

Team(3)

Our Mission

Our Mission Our Team

Our Partnership with SkillSoft?

For 10+ years we’ve chosen to partner with SkillSoft;• Early focus – broad range of on-line courses for Canada

• Current focus – tighter alignment with competencies in Canada

• Future focus – expand to global audience and align with worldwide competencies (leadership & core)

Over the years SkillSoft has offered;• A quality, comprehensive library of on-line learning resources - courses &

books

• On-line learning solutions in multiple languages – English, French, & others

• Access to quality people with experience and consultative expertise

• Access to new ideas through a network of ‘global’ clients

• Experience in dealing with technical issues on a global platform

PEOPLE , PRODUCT , PERFORMANCE

Integration Points

• No explicit communications & marketing plan deployed to promote SkillSoft resources instead our strategy is to tightly align the on-line content with key HR & business practices

• SkillSoft on-line courses support:

– Performance management – individual’s development planning for current role competencies

– Career management – individual’s development planning for future career opportunities

– Just-in-time access to development information & resources

– Integration into defined curriculum within business areas

SLF Competency Model

Competency = Blend of skills, knowledge and behaviours necessary for effective job performance. Used for selection and development purposes.

Delivers Business Results• Thinks and Acts Strategically *• Generates Innovative Solutions• Drives for Action *Engages People• Attracts, Develops and Retains Talent *• Leads Change * • Embraces DifferencesAchieves Leadership Excellence• Manages Complexity *• Builds and Applies Self-insight

Delivers Business Results• Thinks and Acts Strategically *• Generates Innovative Solutions• Drives for Action *Engages People• Attracts, Develops and Retains Talent *• Leads Change * • Embraces DifferencesAchieves Leadership Excellence• Manages Complexity *• Builds and Applies Self-insight

* Priority leader competencies for development

Leadership Competencies

Core Competencies

Role-Specific Competencies

• Understands the Business• Takes Accountability• Focuses on the Customer• Collaborates Effectively• Communicates Confidently

• Understands the Business• Takes Accountability• Focuses on the Customer• Collaborates Effectively• Communicates Confidently

Examples of how SkillSoft is integrated…

• Leadership development portfolio

• Development Curriculum for Training Professionals

• Call Centre operations

Our Annual Review Process

Define Size of Library & Licenses

Define Size of Library & Licenses

Assess future competency needs based

on business input

Assess future competency needs based

on business input

Define BudgetDefine Budget

Assess recent usage & User experience

Assess recent usage & User experience

Assess new SkillSoft offerings against

competency model

Assess new SkillSoft offerings against

competency model

Prioritize topics & development requirementsPrioritize topics & development requirements

• interview business Learning Practitioners across the organization

• review SkillSoft reports• conduct Zoomerang

surveys to gather feedback from users

Make choices & build library based on gaps and opportunities

Make choices & build library based on gaps and opportunities

• conduct preliminary review of course content

Our Successes & Learnings

Key Successes• Increasing use of SkillSoft courses

• Quickly consolidate the input data from various sources in order to prioritize course selection

• Early utilization of SkillSoft expertise and advice

• Leveraging technology for surveying users

Key Learnings• Make assessment process as simple as possible for our Learning

Partners across the organization

• Co-ordinate new course offering roll-out to avoid collisions with internal technology upgrades

Future Challenges

• Worldwide users …

– Multiple languages

– Multiple time zones

• Technical system performance

• Budget & license utilization

• Impact measurement