Manulife cuts 700 jobs in push for digital customer service

Company is working to automate client transactions, CEO Michael Doughty says

Manulife Financial Corp. said Thursday it will cut about 700 jobs as it looks to streamline and digitize its customer service operations.

The cuts will largely target customer service positions that are no longer necessary as the company automates customer transactions, said Manulife Canada CEO Michael Doughty.

“Our industry, including us, are still doing too many things the old way: processing paperwork, accepting mail, answering telephone calls on information requests that clients should be able to access on their own.

“This is a pretty bold step in transforming ourselves to become a digital, customer-centric organization,” Doughty said.

The job cuts will come through volun- tary exit programs and natural attrition over the next 18 months, the financial services company said.

Manulife plans to focus personal client services on the 20 per cent of services dealing with major life events such as a death in the family, while automating the 80 per cent of client interactions that cover submitting claims, asking questions and other routine tasks.

The shift is needed as customer expec- tations have changed dramatically in recent years and the financial services industry needs to catch up, Doughty said.

“Client expectations have changed so dramatically, and they no longer compare us to other financial services institutions, they compare us to the best service that they’re getting from the best companies across any industry.”

Manulife said that along with cuts to customer service jobs, the company will look to recruit and train digital talent to adapt to new technologies.

The company is already using artificial intelligence in its life insurance operations to speed up the underwriting process, Doughty said.

Manulife will continue to expand its use of technologies including artificial intelligence across the company, he said.

“This is a pretty bold step … to become a digital, customer-centric organization.” MICHAEL DOUGHTY MANULIFE CANADA CEO

“We are, over time, basically addressing with a lot more urgency the need for us to provide customers with the automated, digital experience that they need.”

Manulife’s digital restructuring follows a trend in the banking industry. The Bank of Montreal, for example, said in 2016 it was cutting about 1,850 staff as customers shift to online banking, while National Bank said in the same year it would cut 600 jobs and hire 500 technologyfocused staff as the industry makes a digital transformation.

Manulife said it will also consolidate its two Kitchener-Waterloo operations into one Canadian division headquarters to cut about 350,000 square feet. The company has major operating locations in Oakville, Halifax, Toronto and Montreal.