To bolster engagement amid the pandemic, multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) pioneer SYKES Philippines has transformed the planned activities of its employees’ interest clubs into virtual events.

“At SYKES, we encourage a healthy work-life balance by heavily investing in the training, development, and overall success and engagement of our workforce and providing them avenues to pursue their passions with fellow SYKESers. We are especially keen on continuing our employee engagement programs now that we are in quarantine, considering how the current situation is significantly affecting our employees’ everyday lives. It’s a little more challenging with our work-from-home arrangements, but we believe that anything is possible if we set our mind to it,” said Lia Lynn Marcos, Human Resources, Senior Director, APAC of SYKES in a press statement.

SYKES community

The company has always encouraged employees to invest in personal development. It promotes this through interest clubs created within the SYKES community, as a means to engage employees in non-work-related activities and hobbies.

SYKES currently has a total of 20 interest clubs under its SYKES Choices (for SYKES Manila) and SYKES Involve (for SYKES Cebu) employee engagement programs.

The clubs are managed by members, who hold several activities open for all SYKESers wherein they can showcase their talents and develop skills while having fun. The programs cover a wide range of interest clubs, including ones for physical outdoor activities, the arts, special interests, environmental consciousness, and even emergency response.

Socializing while social distancing

To continue activities even while social distancing during the pandemic, the clubs were encouraged to come up with team engagement projects that can be done virtually. SYKESers were quick to shift some of their plans to online platforms where they host activities such as live quizzes, online contests, tutorials, and e-games.

For instance, SYKES Manila’s Powergamers Club and SYKES Cebu’s E-games Club recently concluded their joint project SYKES Mobile Legends Tournament 2020. The two-day, single-elimination tournament invited 40 teams consisting of five members each to compete to be the best Mobile Legends team across SYKES Philippines.

In the end, Team SYKES Manila bagged the prize. The activity not only increased employee engagement among SYKESers during quarantine, but also challenged their competitiveness, sportsmanship, and sense of fun.

“A lot of people who joined the tournament shared their experience and asked if there would be more events in the coming months. Most of them are just happy to know that they can display their prowess in gaming along with other players. Our club is currently working on which event to host next as we try to organize such activities to boost collaboration among employees in the time of the pandemic,” said Christ Orosco, Powergamers Club’s representative and a SYKES Global Support professional.

Training ground

SYKES Cebu’s Volleyball Club, on the other hand, continues to promote their love for the sport by sharing content relevant to the times, like a video of routines that viewers can practice on their own at home to improve their game.

Meanwhile, its Pioneers Basketball Team also shifted its activities online. It held a live quiz where basketball enthusiasts were able to showcase their knowledge of the sport, including its history and latest trends, where the winner was able to grab a cash prize.

Apart from being an avenue to pursue hobbies and reach out to colleagues and communities, the clubs also serve as a training ground should the employees wish to engage in inter-BPO leagues, tournaments, and other competitions. This comes with the assurance that SYKES will provide all the necessary assistance, including funding, promotion, use of company equipment, and provision of other subsidies.

“It’s important for us that our employees remain engaged and in great physical and mental health because that translates to better productivity at work as well. We hope that continued membership in these clubs will help them cope with the challenges brought by the current pandemic and that they get to inspire others to do the same,” Marcos said.

SYKES is determined to maintain employee engagement in this difficult time to encourage work-life balance, while also empowering communities through its various corporate social responsibility activities. Never failing to show appreciation to its employees, the BPO leader recently held its annual mid-year celebration through SYKES Salute: Tribute to SYKES Heroes and BPO Frontliners, an online concert dedicated to the hardworking SYKESers.