Ace, Dude, Wanda, and Dani are part of a growing gang of chatbots who are fast becoming part of everyday life in the new work world

Words by MARGA CONSTANTINO

The Ayala Group rolled out Workplace from Facebook at just the right time. When the pandemic hit and the ECQ forced employees to stay home, Globe Telecom and Ayala Corporation rolled out a number of work Chatbots to track people’s health, and to help employees feel connected. As employees became more and more used to these virtual friends, Globe and Ayala Corporation also got to know their people better and fostered a more digital-friendly culture.

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ACE is Ayala Corporation’s health tracker. He helps HR assess the risk profile of each Ayala Corporation employee through a simple daily survey, which takes into consideration people’s individual health background and circumstances. He is very thorough with his assessment and considers the people that live with employees who may be carrying the virus, or may contract the virus from the employee. With ACE’s help, HR has been reaching out to individual employees who report having health concerns, and even give them the option to schedule a video consultation with the company’s clinic.

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Globe’s Digital Usher for Disasters and Emergencies (aka DUDE) is more than just a health tracker—he’s basically your very, very concerned friend.

DUDE helps Globe’s HR track their employees’ well-being by monitoring everything from work-from-home needs, to quarantine wellness habits, and even Zoom fatigue. Employees felt the genuine care from their HR team, who made sure to call individuals who reported feeling “unwell”. In fact, people are so comfortable with DUDE that they often confide their mental state to the bot with a disclaimer telling HR they didn’t have to call; they just wanted to tell someone how they felt.

Because of the sudden shift in people’s disposition due to the pandemic, DUDE started sending out wellness content and reminders to do simple stretching exercises and go have lunch. DUDE will soon include Hope Chat, a chat service with a virtual psychologist to help Globe employees seek immediate professional help.

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Globe’s Device Anomaly Investigator (DANI) is everyone’s go-to guy for all things tech. He was patterned after a beloved IT figure in Globe, Mr. Danni Fernandez.

Like his namesake, DANI helps people efficiently solve basic IT issues on their own. Globe employees trust DANI’s capabilities so much that someone once asked about car troubles! DANI has been so effective in teaching employees to become self-reliant in common technical matters, that Globe is developing another bot that will enable them to provide customer service for the people in their personal networks.

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Wanda is the airy that never runs out of nice things to say about you, and she will never fail to make you feel wonderful. She is everyone’s feel-good friend that helps Globe employees post thank you notes that are visible to all. She encourages people to compliment each other on anything—from a job well done, to small acts of friendship.

Employees recently took to Wanda to praise their CEO, Ernest L. Cu, for handling a public interview so well. Wanda was already in the works prior to the pandemic but was launched at just the right time during ECQ. She became a way for Globe’s employees to feel connected and appreciated, even though they were all far apart. #

From interviews with Globe’s Mark Dimaisip, Red Bernaldez, Juuya Reyes, and Mika Ostonal, and Ayala Corporation’s Gavin Barfield

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