Allianz Partners implements new Human Resources practices

Today’s global organisations are facing numerous human capital challenges at rapid rates. As transformation in society, culture and technology impact heavily the workplace, a strong company culture is becoming increasingly vital for organisational success.

Supporting its continuous transformation and growth, Allianz Partners, a truly global company operating in 76 markets with strong expertise across automotive, health, travel insurance and assistance, has rolled out a series of human resources initiatives to create an innovative and unified ‘one company culture’.

Breaking down boundaries across lines of business, regions and languages

According to HR professionals, senior executives can play a key role as culture carriers. A 2019 survey shows that clarity of company strategy and leadership development are top areas for improvement required by large organisations1. To transform differences into opportunities and to align all executives around a shared understanding of the company strategy, Allianz Partners has created a first-of-its kind Executive Excellence program. This one-week in-person program has welcomed more than 460 top executives since 2018.

Each session, comprised of around 30 participants from around the world, is sponsored by a board member who presents the company strategy, vision and ambitions. Engaging sessions follow, where participants share their respective industry and market knowledge, identify best ways to tackle market challenges and realize opportunities together.

They are also invited to participate in several team building activities including a 2-hour Digital Escape Game, to reinforce their company knowledge and digital skills.

Swapping and shadowing the big picture

The Executive Excellence program also allows participants to spend time working in another function and location alongside a colleague from their session, with whom they agree to job swap/shadow. For one week, the participants can experience his/her counterpart’s responsibilities, get to know other functions, boost creativity and gain a fuller perspective of the company.

More than 300 Executives have shadowed or swapped alongside their colleagues from another area since the beginning of the program.

For Alesha Keeler, Chief Financial Officer, Allianz Partners New Zealand, “The job swapping is a truly unique experience which allows us to put into practice the common understanding we shared during our EEP session. It gives a sense of continuity to the effort of building better collaboration across functions and regions. We get a better perspective of how each person and function contributes to our business, and how we can better support each other and not just see each role and team as a silo.”

“As the leader in a highly competitive market, we must improve our organizational processes constantly and promote a common culture if we want to be an agile, innovative and effective partner for our customers. The Executive Excellence program not only enables participants to build their knowledge of the company, industry, and markets, it also empowers them to become better, more collaborative and inspired leaders, an essential part of building a One Company Culture” says Claudia Reichmuth, Director of Human Resources and Change Management, Allianz Partners Group.

After the success of the first wave, the Executive Excellence program has also been cascaded further into the organisation and has been redesigned for employees from sales, underwriting, marketing and operations functions, so as to improve effectiveness through smoother collaboration between these functions, and to optimize customer experience of all four lines of business. Nine sessions have taken place in 2019.

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