Santam recognised for service excellence
Short-term insurance giant, Santam has been rated the leading company in its category in the 2008 ‘Orange Index’ Service Excellence survey. The company also achieved 4th position overall in the survey, a significant improvement on its 18th position in the 2007 survey.
The broad-based Orange Index survey is conducted annually by Ask Afrika research company, and is widely regarded as the definitive measure of customer delight. It measures customer satisfaction or dissastisfaction at all touch points, as the ultimate determinant of customer loyalty. With a sample of 17 650 respondents interviewed across 12 different industries, the 2008 survey is the most comprehensive yet conducted.
Margaret Massie (pictured), Executive Head of People and Brand at Santam attributed the company’s success to an embedded culture of service excellence in the organisation and an emphasis on staff training and development.
“Over the 90 years of its history Santam has always attempted to understand and meet the needs of its clients. Over the last few years, we have placed additional emphasis on ensuring that the organisation is fully client-centric, with a committed focus on the part of leadership and staff to distinguishing Santam from its competition in terms of the standard of client service we provide.
“What sets Santam apart is the realisation that we cannot deliver on our external promise if we do not treat our employees in the same way that we expect them to treat our clients. If the internal and external experiences do not correlate the client experience cannot be authentic. In recognition of this important link, we have focused on building both an employer and customer brand of choice, to ensure that we live the promise from the inside out,” says Massie.
The Orange Index survey was conducted amongst Santam policyholders and brokers, who were asked to rate the service they had received across all touchpoints. For policyholders these include Santam’s drive-in centres, its 24-hour telephone helpline (called MultiSOS), website and email address, as well as any direct dealings that they have had with the company, its brokers, assessors and suppliers. The manner in which complaints are addressed and resolved is also rated.
Massie explains that, for Santam, the effective and efficient handling of claims and the resolution of any complaints and queries are regarded as particularly important elements of the service offering.
“As short-term insurance is effectively a promise sold some time into the future, one of the most important aspects of this service occurs only when the client makes a claim. When this happens, we have to ensure that the promise made is fulfilled to the complete satisfaction of the client. Equally, we are committed to a ‘first call resolution’ of any complaint or query, and for this reason staff are appropriately empowered by way of access to information,” she says.
She notes that, as a totally intermediary-driven organisation, relationships with brokers and the service provided by Santam to its brokers is crucial. The recent introduction of Santam’s new ‘broker management model’ was specifically designed to enhance the service offering to brokers by providing them with a central point of contact and seamless transaction capability.
Commenting specifically on the Orange Index results, Massie says that the company takes the measurement of service extremely seriously, and that the consistent improvement in Santam’s rating reflects the company’s ongoing attempts to improve its service offering.
“Measurement is a crucial part of service delivery and at Santam we regularly measure service across all interactions with client and as part of our measure of staff performance. We are delighted with the results of the Orange Index survey as it reflects the commitment of our staff to delivering on the promises made to clients,” she concludes.
