A great deal of human resources work was performed at the individual company level in 2011, including the Group’s Vienna headquarters. The following examples have been chosen from the many available to illustrate the HR work performed within the Group last year.
On-board programme for holding company employees
New employees should feel comfortable from the first day on. Orienting oneself in the work environment and getting to know contacts and fellow employees is something that takes place at the start of every new job. In addition, Vienna Insurance Group places particular importance on employees in Group headquarters learning what it means to be an insurance provider. VIG developed a new modular “on-board” programme in 2011 to better address this need. The main elements relevant for each new employee are determined in advance based on experience, industry knowledge and position. These range from participation in a VIG introductory training course on internal job rotation and experience-based learning in distribution, all the way to meetings with top management. The introductory programme also includes a reference handbook. The first on-board programme in this practice-based form starts in the first half of 2012.
Wiener Städtische idea exchange
Wiener Städtische employees gain a great deal of valuable experience each day during their working activities and have very clear ideas on how to improve processes, products, workplace design and many other things. The Idea Exchange set up in the middle of September 2011 allows this wealth of experience to be shared and used by all employees. The ideas range from small ideas providing immediately noticeable improvements in the everyday working environment to suggestions for Group-wide innovations. The suggestions submitted are constantly reviewed and evaluated by a committee formed for this purpose that also includes two members of the Managing Board. Employees have submitted more than 300 ideas since the start of the programme. Some have already received awards and been partially implemented, such as a navigation system for company headquarters, or labelling of vegetarian meals in the company cafeteria.
Women’s job initiative by Donau Versicherung
The position of insurance advisor is a job with a future. This is why Donau Versicherung began its job initiative last year focusing on “women, career and family”. The objective is to inspire and recruit women for the position of “insurance and future provision advisor”. This professional career brings special benefits, such as personal responsibility, flexible working hours and the ability to balance family and career, which make it highly attractive. Distribution provides a particularly good opportunity for individuals returning to work or changing careers to find a position. The job initiative began throughout Austria in the middle of the year. It was accompanied by efforts in the provincial head offices, reports in regional media and distribution of informational flyers. Donau Versicherung will continue this initiative in 2012.
Compensa companies using modern recruiting methods
As is true for practically all relationships in life, first impressions also play an important role in employment relationships. Based on this, the two Polish Compensa companies pushed ahead with efforts to professionalise their recruiting last year. The revised career section of the company website provides a detailed presentation of the companies, the opportunities they offer for existing and prospective employees, and what makes them special as employers. An electronic application system has also been used since the middle of last year. The online recruiting tool simplifies selection and documentation, and speeds up the entire selection process. In addition to providing a good overview of candidate profiles, and the status of job positions and applications, there has also been a considerable improvement in correspondence and the possibilities for evaluation.
PDD introduced at BCR Non-life
In June of last year, BCR Non-life became the first VIG company in Romania to introduce the “PDD” management and development tool, with “Objectives” and “Competences” components, that was developed at the Group level. 305 employees and 55 managers in total enjoyed the benefits of this structured employee performance review. This was preceded by the implementation of detailed technical and organisational preparations and an intensive information and communication campaign.
Annual employee survey by Union Biztosító
Union Biztosító has performed employee satisfaction surveys for seven years with great success. The results provide a current, realistic indication of how employees evaluate management, remuneration, their fellow employees and superiors, processes, their personal work-life balance and other relevant factors. The periodic surveys allow changes in strengths and weaknesses to be followed over time. Union Biztosító can also see the effect that individual measures have on the attractiveness of the company as an employer. The responses show specific areas where communication is needed and help to direct resources and initiatives appropriately. The employee survey has become an important part of the corporate culture and is taken very seriously by management. This is part of the reason for the very high level of employee acceptance.
New employee training at Bulstrad Non-life
Bulstrad Non-life developed a new training project for the development and improvement of core competences for more than 250 employees at all levels, including sales. The training programme includes, for example, seminars related to customer service and improving sales, communications and presentation techniques. All training modules are supplemented by follow-up e-learning courses.
