The purpose of Endsleigh Insurance is to act on behalf of their clients and customers to provide appropriate options for risk management. This can be in the form of financial advice on pensions and investments to quoting for the best price building and contents policy for their property.
The goals of the organisation are to earn profit in the form of brokerage, meet our client customer needs, comply with legal requirements and regulations set by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and meet the obligations of the insurer under the policies we sell.
The main focus of the organisation is the customer. This focus brings with it a high expected level of responsibility. We strive to become the market leader and to possess a reputation of providing a fair and honest service, with high quality products and services to match.
The products and services that we offer are:-
• Motor insurance
• Home buildings and contents insurance
• Landlords insurance
• Gadget insurance
• Travel insurance
• Specialist insurance for graduates and teachers
• Student insurance
• Financial advice for mortgages and lifestyle protection
As detailed above there are a number of different products aimed at different areas of the insurance market. Our student insurance packages provide cover for contents in a shared house or halls of residence. Student can then add niche packages for specified items like musical instruments or high valued computer equipment. These polices are available for the for the period of study and can then be extended to the first year after graduation. This allows us to continue to offer a competitive price and a great service with no interruptions.
Due to the organisation being established by students for students this has been the company’s main focus since 1965. However in the last 20 years the company has expanded to now offer insurance policies for everyone including policies for their house, car, mobile phone and many other areas of the insurance market thus making Endsleigh one of the most competitive and established insurers in the market.
There are a number of external factors which impact on the business activities of the organisation. These include environmental factors, our competitors, regulation and hard and soft markets. To understand this further see below a SWOT analysis of each external factor:
Environmental
Strengths – The Company has adopted a ‘Green’ culture where it is essential to recycle paper, drinking cups, cardboard and any other material which will reduce the organisation’s environmental foot print.
Weakness – The environment itself i.e. the weather, can also impact the business. If there continue to be freak weather events and climate change this could increase the volume of claims. As a result of this more employees are required to service.
Opportunities – Could more policies be sold in the event of continued global warming events? The company could look to capitalize on the previous flooding to offer niche polies for areas which are affected predominantly by flood, higher risk, and higher premium policies.
Threats – If too many claims are made insurers might cease to do business if they become solvent. This could be a factor if larger areas of the country are being affected by flood or storm damaging their properties which wasn’t considered when pricing insurance policies. Loss ratios will be affected and insurers may decide they no longer want to be on the Endsleigh panel.
Competition
Strengths – We are the market leader within the student insurance sector, we offer the most competitive polices direct to the universities and their students. We also provide universities with insurance for their students within their shared accommodation offered within the first year of their studies. We have also now become competition for all other products within the general insurance market.
Weakness – Complacently. Need to ensure we keep up to date with current market trends, know our core market customer.
Opportunities – learn from other insurers. What are they doing differently? Could we adopt any of the policies or procedures they adopt?
Threats – Saturation of the market. With new insurers the market is more competitive which means more niche products are offered to retain people’s custom. This could also mean that we lose customers by other insurers undercutting our costs.
Regulation
Strengths – The main strengths of being a FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) regulated organisation is financial stability, reduction in financial crime, market confidence and most importantly consumer protection.
Weakness – Visits which can put a lot of stress and pressure on employees, preparation for the visits insuring all relevant records are up to date.
Opportunities – Improve company procedures to strengthen our processes as per the FCA standards, adopting their advices.
Threats – Could impose fines if the company isn’t working to their standards.
Hard and Soft Market
Strengths –Broader coverage, higher insurance premiums, less competition.
Weakness –Lower insurance premiums, more stringent underwriting criteria, increased competition, and Economic downturn.
Opportunities- The way we interpret the data has changed as technology has developed, reporting and interpreting reports become part of company strategic planning.
Threats- Unexpected changes like climate change will affect the market, rapid growth.
The structure of our organisation follows a divisional organizational structure, this is where our business functions are separated and managed by a specialist in that field. Organisational structure is important within the company as it creates a hierarchy and levels of authority and control. For your information you will find a copy of a structure chart in the appendix.
The main functions of the organisation are Claims, Underwriting, Customer Services and Learning and Development. These areas of the business all work together to ensure the company is achieving their goals. Each department has different objectives within the company’s objective and it is important that all members of staff are aware of these.
The Claims Department and customer service work with tech ops to ensure the FTE (full-time equivalent) is correct in order to service customers effectively and achieve SLAs (Service level agreements). They also produce customer feedback that we get from surveys which helps us to make changes in how we run things to benefit the customer (as they are at the heart of our organisation). The training teams also fall in to Tech ops remit so they support claims and customer service by providing job specific training.
L&D support all areas of the business by offering generic training to all areas. This training also provides an opportunity for colleagues from different areas of the business to meet and network. They also run induction training where they integrate and support new starters form different business functions along with their supporting managers. This involves all areas of the organisation.
The Claims department and customer service work together to prevent complaints from customers. At claim stage we can find out if there are issues in the way the policy is sold etc. and provide feedback to make changes to improve the customer journey. This also involves the Underwriters as if there is a reoccurring problem with a certain policy or the way it is worded this relationship ensures changes are made.
The underwriters also hold sessions where Claims and Customer Services can talk about policy wordings and on a quarterly basis assess the suitability for Endsleigh’s customers.
One of Endsleigh’s main cultures is Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). This is integrated in to the culture of the organisation and therefore affects every part of the business.
There are six TCF principles in total however only five affect Endsleigh, these five outcomes are:
• We sell products and services which are specifically designed to meet the needs of our designated customers.
• We make it easy for our customers to change a product, submit a claim or make a complaint.
• We deliver products and services which do what we say they will.
• We provide our customers with clear information and keep them properly informed before, during and after they buy.
• We make customers confident that fair treatment is central to our corporate culture and business ethics.
This culture is designed to bond with our employees on an emotional level; our culture inspired the attitudes, abilities and behaviours of our employees. This is essential to deliver a powerful and market-leading sales and claims experience.
TCF is marketed within the company as “what good looks like”, this is a digestible way for TCF to be understood and implemented day to day. Culture effects our operations by improving our processes, personal accountability of our employees and practical problem solving needed to continually be market leaders in the Insurance business. This shows in our continued ability to retain our existing customers, see an increase in sales with new business and a growth in added revenue per user.
• how 3 HR activities support the organisation’s strategy (3.1)
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
When vacancies arise within our organisation it is essential that we attract and recruit the best talent.
HR have an extensive knowledge of our objectives, the role of different departments, our skills base and our culture. We use this information firstly to ascertain whether a vacancy can be filled internally, so reducing expenditure, and secondly to analyse skills and competencies required for the role, and attract capable external applicants.
HR are involved in every step of recruitment incorporating:
* Shortlisting to create a pool of suitable candidates
* Assessments and Comparison (tests, references and interviews)
* Selection and referencing (observing laws of diversity and discrimination)
* Making the appointment, and providing constructive feedback to unsuccessful applicants.
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
The current business environment is constantly changing so it is vital that we train and develop our employees to ensure they have the skills to carry out their job efficiently and effectively to keep ahead of the competition. Development of our staff encourages a positive relationship with the organisation and increases motivation.
Activities include:
* Development of an induction program to welcome new employees and introduce them to our organisation
* Employee evaluations and skills assessments to ensure our staff are producing the maximum output of work to the highest standards
* Facilitation of specific learning events and workshops
* Recommend appropriate options to suit learning needs, taking into account learning styles and methods of delivery available.
* Advise, coach and mentor employees on our development infrastructure and promote the advantages of development plans for all staff
* Keep detailed records of talent data and career plans, support individuals to realize their potential.
* Capture, analyse and evaluate learning events to ensure we are continuously improving the effectiveness of training delivery.
* Work with third party providers to deliver specialist training to agreed standards.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
An effective performance management procedure enables line managers to evaluate and measure individual performance and therefore optimize productivity by aligning their goals with business objectives. Many of the practices that support performance improvement also impact positively on job satisfaction, retention and loyalty of our employees.
HR activities include:
* Setting and communicating clear performance expectations (effective goal setting including timelines)
* Clearly linking performance to compensation
* Evaluating performance, tracking and documenting progress to support the delivery of incentives in a fair and consistent manner
* Recognising and rewarding our top performers.
* Creating performance records for legal purposes to support future decisions and reduce disputes.
• 3 ways HR professionals support line managers and their staff (3.2)
Supporting with conduct and capability procedures – advice and guidance on precedents set, information on how to complete investigatory meetings/issue warnings etc, adiscussions around Absence procedures – long term absence, occupational health. Support on writing Performance improvement plans. Producing help guides for line managers on how to deal with these issues.
Recruiting the right people – setting up assessment centres, reviewing CVs – help with advertising the role – so what is the role context – where does it sit in the broader team – direct reports etc, the descripotion – what is the purpose of the role so key responsibilities and objectives etc, a person description – skills required etc. They do all of this to support the line managers.
Career coaching –
These sessions will provide the opportunity to have an independent discussion with a member of P&D, to talk through what options they might have, given their skills, knowledge and behaviours.
The sessions will be run on a 50/50 basis, with colleagues completing pre-work and being open to discussing their previous career experiences and future options, from reviewing their current role structure through to looking at a career path in a new area.
The sessions will remain confidential to the colleague and the member of P&D involved, unless the colleague wishes it to be otherwise. This will enable the colleague to have candid discussions about their skills, knowledge and behaviours so that we can truly provide the best level of support.
The sessions will be predominantly be based upon the career options available within Endsleigh however we will provide ‘blank canvas’ exercises to enable the individuals to open themselves up to a range of different options.
It is a pragmatic working session where we will support colleagues in their career choices, we won’t be looking to advise or give absolute answers to what career options that they should and shouldn’t be taking.
As part of this process if the colleague shows an interest in other roles across Endsleigh, we will acknowledge this interest and keep them in mind for future opportunities.
Our Promise “To empower all colleagues to take accountability for their careers, enabling Endsleigh to maximise the mobility of talent within our organisation.
2/ Conflict Management
Line managers frequently have to manage disputes at work.
Identifying and addressing underlying tensions before they escalate is key to helping line managers to reduce incidents within their teams.
We do this by providing clear expectations on the behaviours required of all employees and encourage managers to hold monthly appraisals with individuals to evaluate performance and job satisfaction.
HR have improved consultation with managers by holding ‘case conferences’ to discuss grievances and consider the best solution. We act as mediators when conflict develops and can provide counseling for employees.
HR can deliver coaching in conflict management and employment law to equip line managers with the skills and confidence needed to make effective decisions and achieve a positive outcome.
3/ Health and Safety
Our organisation has to comply with health and safety law.
HR have contributed to the creation of our company health and safety policy. Line managers are responsible for reducing the risk of workplace dangers within their departments and guarantee a safe working environment.
HR has supported line managers by providing training on health and safety laws and ensuring all staff are aware of our company policies. We frequently engage with line managers to provide advice on absence management and occupational health. Recently, we have facilitated workshops for all line management on managing stress and this has resulted in a reduction in stress related illnesses across the business.
We have maintained records of accidents in the workplace and ensured that reviews take place promptly following an incident.