Mutual & Federal praised for service delivery
Mutual & Federal has been ranked higher than other broker based short-term insurance companies in the 2010 Ask Afrika Orange Index. This service excellence benchmark engaged 9 000 customers to evaluate service across close to 100 companies in 17 different industries. It is recognised as an independent reflection of the views of South African consumers on service delivery.
Mutual & Federal was placed second in the short-term industry category which it attributes to a number of recent service excellence initiatives.
“We introduced a number of programmes over the past 12 to 18 months in our ongoing bid to improve operational excellence and position ourselves as a truly customer-centric organisation,” says Sedick Isaacs, executive general manager: Claims, Mutual & Federal. “Our move up the rankings from number four last year, bears testament to the effectiveness of these initiatives, and the extent to which our employees have embraced them.”
The initiatives include the introduction of online services for brokers, becoming signatories to the SAIA Code of Conduct, market research among customers and brokers, and the introduction of multi-purpose vehicle assessment centres. The organisation also focused on staff training, introducing a new recognition and reward system which motivates staff to develop skills. In addition, Mutual & Federal has leveraged from the learnings and best practices of parent company Old Mutual since delisting in February 2010.
“All these initiatives are intended to drive a high performance culture throughout the organisation and we will continue to invest in all aspects of our business, and particularly in our staff,” says Isaacs. He says that Mutual & Federal has really engaged with the SAIA code, not simply paid lip-service to it.
“The code of conduct provides guidelines for fair and honest customer treatment and we are driving a phased education programme throughout the company, supported by internal communications and computer-based learning. On behalf of the executive, I would like to thank every single member of staff for his or her commitment, and continued effort,” he concludes.
Mutual & Federal is a member of the Old Mutual group which has been ranked first in the long-term insurance category of the Ask Afrika Orange Index for the past three years.
