Well-being and productivity: a right mix of human and digital touch

Laura Marsi, Global Head of HR Strategy & Transformation,, Allianz SE (XETR: ALV)

At Allianz we want to serve our customers with the right mix of human and digital touch. Over the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic this and our working habits have changed forever. While our principle of the right balance between human and digital touch remains valid, both the human and the digital side have developed at an unexpected pace.

This global paradigm shift around work propelled a new journey for organizations with the goal of reshaping individual, collective, and institutional dynamics to ensure business continuity and growth, while enhancing employee experience and well-being. When this transformation started back in 2020, it was difficult to foresee a concrete destination on the map and, although the route is clearer now, there are still big challenges to address. Take for instance both topics of well-being and the question of productivity in organizations.

Well-being has become even more a priority, the importance of caring for mental health has grown exponentially. There is a considerable amount of research done about this topic suggesting a direct link between well-being and performance, showing that companies investing in mental health programs reach a 21% increase in high performers (Change Associates Report, 2022) and that 53% of employees are more likely to prioritize health and well-being over work than before the pandemic (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2022).

All the above has been a vital driver to enhance the human touch in HR products and services at Allianz. We decided to include “Health and Well-being” as one of the five pillars of our global minimum standards of our Allianz hybrid work model that has been implemented in all operational entities across the world. The reason behind this was to strengthen our responsibility and concrete actions that care for the right balance between life and work. Naturally we leveraged our existing products like the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), available 24/7, to provide our employees with free professional mental health support. At this point 95% of the employees have used the service, finding it helpful for dealing with challenging situations around COVID-19 and family matters. The EAP also has an available extension in Germany through an app that enables further assistance for family members and customers.

“The only mantra is continuous transformation and evolution leveraging technology to shape an engaging human centric approach that cares for our people and creates the right environment to best serve our customers”

Our health and well-being products rely heavily on digital tools and platforms, an example of this is our Well Together app, an Allianz original launched in 2021, which encourages employees to participate in healthier activities and challenges through a holistic approach that tracks healthy behaviors, connects positive habits with environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities, and motivates playful team competition around sports, among others. One of the latest widgets also aims to raise awareness about employees’ environmental footprint when working from home.

Besides the products, we also count with several initiatives that focus on the direct relation between health and well-being and productivity. Examples of this are our three work effectiveness golden rules that further support boundary setting needs specifically for optimal productivity and mental health. First, we encourage dedicated focus times ranging from full to half-day meeting-free periods taking place on a quarterly (minimum) basis. Second, we foster the right to disconnect meaning that emails outside of daily core working times are not expected to be answered at the same day or during the weekend. And third, we have an Allianz Meeting Etiquette that supports productive meeting habits. Since some time ago we started a global mindfulness community at Allianz as part of the company’s mindfulness movement that invites employees to explore and exchange on this practice and emotional intelligence to help them improve their focus, build positive habits, and increase resilience to stress. This initiative was widely extended through digital platforms the last two years and now their activities reach hundreds of colleagues every day across several countries and in different languages.

Moreover, since years ago, our Strategic Workforce Planning project has contributed to identify the skills of the future and further learning opportunities for employees via a flexible digital platform which has become a key element for our new Ways of Working. By doing this we can reduce work stress related to the lack of capabilities to fulfill specific tasks. We also have implemented digital tools like Viva Insights, Smart Performance Boards and collaboration tools that support self-organization for individuals and teams to preserve well-being and productivity.

In terms of how we address the digital touch to increase productivity at Allianz, we have a consistent Business Process Management platform to standardize and automate processes, as well as technology that enables sales agents to work remotely and tools that allow us to digitally collect the voice of the customers along moments that matter in their customer journey, from the start of an incident to the claim settlement.

As a large organization, the last two years we have learned that we always must expect the unexpected and never rest, even if we are successful. The only mantra is continuous transformation and evolution leveraging technology to shape an engaging human centric approach that cares for our people and creates the right environment to best serve our customers.

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