Manulife Financial Corp. said Thursday it will cut about 700 jobs as it becomes the latest financial services company to streamline and digitize 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," said Doughty. The job cuts will come through voluntary 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 expectations 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 analyze millions of data points with algorithms to speed up the underwriting process, Doughty said.

Low birth rates and a potential future shortage of carers could mean elderly people having to rely more on'virtual' care, according to an expert speaking at an event organised by the British Computer Society (BCS). Around 50 forms of help - ranging from motion-activated lights to a fully-fledged robotic companion who could advise, interact and even entertain older people - could be the solution to the care burden predicted in years to come, Dr Kevin Doughty, deputy director of York University's Centre for Usable Home Technology told members of the BCS's specialist Northern health informatics group. By 2025 the ratio of adults of working age to those of retirement age is expected to be just 2.5. Dr Doughty, who ran a residential care home for six years, said: "With falling birth rates and an ageing population, the number of people able to look after the elderly is falling and will continue to fall. By using technology we will not only be able to support the elderly more efficiently, but they will be able to stay in their own homes and maintain a level of independence."