ANSVAR INSURANCE COMPANY
Head of insurance operations at Ansvar, Mark Ingram, gives a summary of the company's training initiatives.
Ansvar is a specialist general insurer for the non-profit sector and, as such, training requirements need to make reference to its specific market, while ensuring basic competencies are given due prominence.
Ansvar is now halfway through the training initiative that was developed in association with Searchlight Solutions. It is therefore appropriate to review and assess the programme to find out how things are progressing.
The brief for the programme was extremely broad and involved both technical and “soft” skills – basic principles and some specific product training.
The staff taking part were predominantly those at the “sharp end” of underwriting and claims. Ansvar has found it to be of great advantage to bring colleagues from these two departments together.
Training groups of between six and eight people have proved most successful when there is a mix of technical skills and experience. Because the training approach has not been lecture-based but rather draws on contributions from within the group, it has made the learning process a group experience, rather than just one person attempting to impart knowledge in an isolated fashion away from the real office setting.
Soft skills training
This part of the training programme involves every member of the company. Given that Ansvar is a service business, the majority of staff have, at least, some customer-facing responsibilities.
For Ansvar, customer service is not another phrase for call centre management. It prides itself on offering a uniquely personal service. Therefore the way it manages relationships through its intermediaries are of paramount importance.
Understandably, some staff will approach this kind of training with some wariness.
But for many so far it has proved a very thought-provoking and enjoyable experience.
The use of role-play has tended to break the ice in many instances and helped to create a better sense of team work and an understanding of the main training goals.
The essentials
Many lessons have already been learnt. Most crucially, the training brief needs to be crystal clear. To achieve this, the company needs to clarify precisely its objectives for training; trainers need to be aware of the company strategy and adopt a flexible approach, depending on who is involved and the trainees themselves need an open frame of mind.
ZENITH INSURANCE
Zenith is progressing well with its ongoing training and development programme and is working to achieve Investors in People (IIP) accreditation to ensure all employees have a clear vision of where the company is going in the future and how it is going to get there.
It is hoped this will provide a framework for planning future strategy and action and to assist with improving the effectiveness of further training and development activities.
The IIP philosophy fits well with Zenith's evolving new culture – to strengthen best management, people development and communication practices both within the company and externally. Having previously carried out telephone, customer services and team-working training for staff, the focus then turned to written communication. Letter-writing workshops were carried out for staff, supervisors and managers, to improve the overall standard of letters written.
A programme of internal and external technical training has also continued to equip staff with the knowledge and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice in order to carry out jobs effectively.
As well as practical tutor-led workshops for both soft and technical skills development, it is hoped to also incorporate other traditional modern methods of learning, such as the use of computer-based training package covering a wide range of technical subjects. In addition to providing a comprehensive and flexible means of continuous learning, it would also be a valuable tool for ongoing competency assessment.
As well as enhancing the new culture of continuous development, these initiatives fit particularly well with both the IIP framework and the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC) regulations. As members of the GISC, Zenith Insurance will be well placed to meet the requirements on training and assessment of staff to ensure that competency levels of staff and suitable training procedures are adopted.
GAB ROBINS UK
GAB Robins UK is proceeding with the roll-out of its staff training and development programme for 2001.
At present, 27 out of a total schedule of 34 interpersonal skills courses have been presented by Searchlight Solutions to GAB Robins claims handling staff throughout the UK.
The programme, which focuses on the development of competent communication skills, started April 4 and will be completed by October 2, covering 340 staff.
A personal lines customer service manager and member of GAB Robins' national education committee, Mike Odell, says in order to substantiate such a significant investment in staff training and development, it is essential to ensure measurable benefits to the organisation are recorded.
The national education committee of GAB Robins UK has therefore proposed indicators to capture measurable improvements to the UK-wide operation, as a result of staff training and development. The key areas capable of objective measurement include:
Odell says of particular value are the extensive statistics retained in respect of customer referrals, recorded by the GAB Robins customer service centre.
The customer service centre at GAB Robins UK was established in 1995 and is a separate entity with independent reporting and management lines, dedicated telephone and IT systems and personnel.
Thus, the centre can act impartially in the review and assessment of customer referrals.
It is an intrinsic requirement of GAB Robins UK's operation to ensure the customer is advised of the customer service centre. On receipt of any referrals, the specific nature of the referral is recorded and a planned resolution, including a response time, is agreed with the customer.
The dedicated software enables detailed analysis and profiling, and access to this data has been of considerable benefit to both the design and build of the staff training and development programme and the measurable assessment of the perceived improvements.
