Gjensidige
Creating a new operating model to deliver innovative customer-centric digital services
Consumers in the insurance space are more empowered than ever, and there is a growing demand for services that are digital and customer-centric. The instant, personalised and seamless experience of ordering a taxi via an app, having groceries delivered direct to door or even booking a holiday has defined a new era of customer experience, impacting all service providers with digital offerings.
And with competition increasing, Gjensidige, Norway’s leading insurance provider – needed to meet this growing demand in an ingenious way. By revamping its entire operating model, Gjensidige aimed to reduce costs and redirect the savings towards investing in customer-centric, innovative solutions. Building on our existing partnership, Gjensidige knew of our team’s capabilities and expertise in sourcing, delivery, cost-optimisation, change management and digital transformation. All would be required to uncover better ways to serve Gjensidige customers.
Together with Gjensidige, we built a new global delivery model on a scale previously unseen in the Nordic insurance space. The annual cost savings enabled by this new model will free up money that will be channelled into innovative new services that are enabled by technology.
By making bold strategic choices now, Gjensidige is ensuring they deliver better customer experiences that will cement its position as Norway’s premier insurance company.
Key successes
- Created a brand-new global delivery model on a scale not previously seen in a Nordic insurance company
- Unlocked annual savings that will be reinvested into customer-centric solutions
- Introduced new standardised ways of working that speed up once manual processes
- Automated and digitised services to help improve customer journeys
Evolving to stay one step ahead
Insurance organisations are leveraging technology and digital solutions to build smarter products and services that are more responsive and tailored to individual customer needs. In some cases, this can mean revamping front-end, customer-facing services. In other instances, business models and structures will need to be fundamentally redesigned to meet the changing needs of customers.
For 200 years, Gjensidige has been putting the health and wealth of its customers at the heart of its mission. But with consumers having more choices than ever, customer satisfaction is a key differentiator and something that Gjensidige is constantly looking to improve.
For Gjensidige, customer satisfaction will only improve when services slot seamlessly into its customers’ digitally-enabled lives and are there when they need them. This means investing in digitalisation and revamping the delivery model to improve operational efficiency. The cost savings made from the increased efficiency could then be invested into innovation that delivered enhanced customer experiences.
The level of investment and improvement in the delivery of insurance services and products meant we had to find a way to stay ahead of the rest. Consumers demand the best and so we had to change our delivery model and leverage technology to meet their expectations or risk losing them.”
A team fit for transformation
With strong industry insights and a reputation for developing new delivery models, Gjensidige were aware of our complementary expertise. Gjensidige was also aware of the need to bring on a technology partner to guide the strategy of its digital transformation. Our vast experience in sourcing vendors was another key consideration in Gjensidige asking us to find the perfect technology partner. Additionally, Gjensidige asked us to assemble a team comprised of experts in programme management, procurement, business process outsourcing (BPO), and strategy.
The perfect partner to propel customer-centric change
With the team in place, the first step was to work closely with Gjensidige to map out the strategic alternatives to the current operating and delivery model.
The first stage was to select a technology partner who could begin to deliver on this new approach. Working closely with Gjensidige, we engaged the global vendor market to find the partner best positioned to realise the changes that would allow them to deliver for its customers. As part of Gjensisidge’s search, they drew on our wealth of experience in designing and arranging commercial terms.
Once agreed upon, Gjensidige could begin to reap the benefits of a technology partner as well as our expertise. Our team helped design a more cost-efficient delivery model and aligned ways of working across countries to enable Gjensidige customers to enjoy quicker and smoother journeys. But where the partner could really add value was in adding customer-centric technology capabilities. With the partner’s lead, Gjensidige was able to identify and pilot initiatives that harnessed AI. These initiatives not only led to greater operational efficiencies but were also put to work in creating new front-end services for customers.
With change management central to the success of the project, Gjensidige and our team had to create a collaborative environment. The approach taken enabled the three companies to work closely on a complex task during a pandemic. The successful partnership and the subsequent results achieved by Gjensidige is a testament to the power of technology and a collaborative mindset.
Working with a trusted partner with a broad set of capabilities like PA, especially during the events of the past couple of years, was critical for us to be able to deliver transformation on a scale we had never seen.”
Collaboration and trust were key components to making this project work. With COVID disrupting the normal rules of business, we had to ensure that Gjensidige’s ambitions for the transformation, to successfully implement a new, global delivery model, were met in a remote working world.”
Timeline of Ingenuity
Pre-2020 (Evaluation)
- Developed a business case and offered expert advice to estimate cost-saving potential
- Evaluated six global technology partners and chose two leading partners to go forward with
- Used our sourcing experience to challenge two partners to secure the best deal for Gjensidige
Q1 – Q2 2020 (Planning and deal signing)
- Offered support in negotiations, evaluating commercial terms, reporting to senior levels, and HR processes
- Adapted the delivery strategy due in response to COVID
Q3 2020 – Q2 2022 (Execution and implementation)
- Pilot projects launched in multiple countries
- Supported reporting of results of pilot projects and lessons learned to senior management
- Supported the designing of a new operating model
A landmark transformation
The result was Gjensidige’s biggest transformation project in 20 years.
Armed with a new streamlined delivery model and technology partner, Gjensidige has achieved a transformation using a BPO that represents an industry first in the Nordics. The large-scale change in core processes could also be considered unique within the regional industry.
But it is in cost-savings, where the most effect has been felt. The new delivery model will enable money that is saved to be funnelled into new customer solutions. Gjensidige has already acquired a roadside assistance company and added a road toll collection firm to its stable. These two new acquisitions will enable Gjensidige to stand out as offering more value to customers who choose its services.
Customers and employees of Gjensidige will also benefit from the improved efficiency that the new delivery model brings. Automation and digitalisation of standard services will lead to quicker and, therefore, better customer experiences. Employees will find that new ways of working will help standardise and speed up once manual processes, thus making more complex changes achievable. For services that remain untouched by automation, outcomes will be more engaging and human for employees and customers alike.
With a new cost-effective, efficient delivery model in place, Gjensidige can pass savings onto its customers, develop new digital services, and maintain its market-leading position.
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