What was the problem you were grappling with?
The non-life insurance industry underwent a host of changes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The sector also witnessed myriad challenges as we tried to cope with the aftermath. One of the prominent survival mechanisms was adopting an accelerated evolution of digital capabilities. But, the challenge was to find leaders who have a digital-first approach and are equally aligned with the organisation’s digital vision, thus capable of implementing such transformation and translating it into organisational growth.
Whom did you approach for advice and why?
Since the problem was transformational, it was difficult to deal with it with experience, but it could be solved by inspiration. We drew inspiration from global parallels and looked at our diverse peer set to understand the right approach to the solution.
What was the advice you received?
The first thing we did was adapt to a digital-first approach. We upskilled our existing workforce through multiple training and development initiatives. Simultaneously, we appointed leaders based on the job description and their digital-first skill sets and approaches that aligned with the evolving roles. Focussing on the job requirements to find the right leader has been the key to our growth and success.
How effective was it in resolving the problem?
We are one of the fastest-growing general insurance companies in the industry, and despite such transformational challenges with people management, we have registered year-on-year growth since Covid19. Our business has grown by nearly 1.3x in the past three financial years. Moreover, during Covid-19, when others were grappling with multiple challenges, we stayed ahead of the curve thanks to our preempted digital transformation and by appointing the right talent for the right role.