Allianz insures its future is safe
With more than 700 staff, Allianz in Ireland is one of the country’s largest general insurance companies. It has a reputation in the sector as an innovative user of ICT. In recent years, it has also been innovative in its management structure, moving from the traditional hierarchy to a flatter ‘team-based’ organisation.
That was one of the challenges to its HR systems, said Gerry O’Loughlin, project manager and analyst from the IT department. He has been the technical person responsible for the company’s transition to a new HR services platform. “It is a much more dynamic environment where flexibility is key,” he said.
Allianz has two payroll systems because approximately 100 of its staff are based in the North. The general HR side of the administration was formerly served on the IT front by a combination of databases, including the payroll master employee lists, some bespoke spreadsheets and a Microsoft Access database.
Allianz is now in the final stages of a project to roll out a completely integrated 21st century HR system based on applications from Strandum, the Irish software specialist in this area.
“We needed, above all, a single system of record,” said O’Loughlin, “with the ability to easily make what the phone PBX people call ‘adds, moves and changes’. Such a system also needs to be friendly for users who are accustomed to modern desktop applications.”
At the back end, the HR management system has all of the required functionality for best practice HR in a tightly-regulated sector. “That has all been well bedded in since last year and we have moved on to implementing the MyProfile application. This gives every staff member access to their own information, including payslips, online by web browser.
“They can also make requests which are automatically carried into workflow, such as leave and holiday requests. They effectively now have ownership of their own records, updating information such as emergency contact details, for example.”
The other key front-end and self-service application is MyTeam for the line managers, who have clear visibility of all HR matters relevant to their own teams. “This is where the Strandum system is very effective for an organisation like ours,” O’Loughlin said.
“The key concept is that everyone has a role, so the appropriate access permissions and records are all tied to that. It gives each user what is required, and is the basis for managing security and confidentiality in regard to who sees what information.”
The other key attribute is that the new system is very strong in generating automatic workflow in accordance with the Allianz procedures and business rules. “Recruitment and probation, performance reviews, monitoring of our staff competency and continuing professional development according to the IFSRA requirements are all built in.”
A new recruit will automatically have everything ordered in advance from the services and IT departments, for example, from PC and applications to a new e-mail account. “At the other end, someone leaving will trigger the revocation of all permissions, reminders about exit interview, generation of a P45 or move to pension scheme or whatever is needed,’’ O’Loughlin said.
A major bespoke element of the Allianz system is a new HR budgeting and analysis application designed specifically for HR. “It gives us rolling forecasts, very solid variance analysis and the ability to plan for all staff-related costs. We offer our staff a significant amount of flexibility in their working arrangements.
The new system can translate actual working time into the full time equivalent to analyse and forecast costs and requirements. We can dig deeper into costs per employee and, often more significantly, costs per role in a division,” said O’Loughlin.
Behind all of the smart new features is the achievement of a new HR environment, in which routine tasks are automated or based on self service, while the HR team can focus on their key tasks and issues.
