Building the five pillars of transformation
Transformation has been an area of the industry that some say needs serious attention. But with the lack of skills in the market and the number of young people not wanting to pursue a career in insurance, this task becomes difficult.
Be that as it may, it is still not a challenge that can be ignored. Specific focus needs to be given to the issue of transformation and it may take the efforts of a specific company in the industry to take the giant leap of faith to possibly show the way forward in addressing this issue.
Five year plan
A lot of this planning will involve a SWOT analysis to see exactly where the company stands, and which resources can be focused on this area. However, there is a danger of analysis paralysis as companies also need to focus on other challenges which may be more pressing.
Focussing significant resources on transformation, Sasria has developed a five year plan which it hopes will increase the industry’s appetite in this area.
Sasria Chairperson, Adam Samie, points out in the company’s 2015 annual report that the implementation of this plan is already under way and will hopefully gain momentum throughout the year.
“Our strategic focus for this five year period centres mainly on the consolidation of Sasria’s current leadership position, on intensifying our efforts to ensure the company’s sustainable performance and on accelerating our business transformation journey to remain relevant in the South African market,” says Samie.
Performance areas
According to Samie, this five year plan depends on a good performance in eight key areas:
- Sustainable revenue growth;
- Effective capital management;
- Innovation in products and services;
- Infrastructure and cost management;
- Development of people, capacity and capability;
- Compliance with the regulatory environment;
- A renewed focus on customer-centricity. And;
- The development of a trusted and visible brand.
This forms a good base to work off. And while Sasria has a comprehensive vision on how it will fulfil each of these objectives, it is worthwhile to focus on selected areas.
Sustainable revenue growth is a focus area for any company, but may be hard to come by in a unpredictable economic climate. Samie points out that Sasria hopes to achieve this by consistently outperforming the industry average in terms of premium growth and to improve the company’s strategic partnerships as well as establishing new ones.
This can only be achieved by having the right skills in the right places and cultivating an environment of excellence. In terms of its fifth objective, Sasria hopes to attract, retain and develop skills that support the company’s growth aspirations.
Support the NDP
The National Development Plan is an ambitious and crucial document that outlines government’s vision for the growth of the country over the next ten years. While we have largely fallen short of realising this vision, there have been calls from government for companies to align their activities to support this programme.
“Sasria has a dual mandate. We have a legislative mandate which is to provide guaranteed insurance for special risks at a reasonable cost irrespective of the political risk in South Africa, and a broader strategic mandate to make a positive contribution to transformation in our industry and our country,” says Samie.
Devising a strategy and controls
As with any company, the process into devising this five year plan has been long and has involved a lot of long-term strategic planning. Samie points out that it has also included the involvement of a number of key stakeholders who need to be on board to support the company’s vision.
Samie says that this is central to achieving the company’s five year plan. “The five year plan was devised and decided upon at board level. Our board includes a non-executive director from National Treasury as well as non-executive directors from the various private sector insurance companies as well as directors,” says Samie.
He adds that management teams review the strategic plan and use the outputs of the Exco’s strategy session as input for their operational planning. “The management review and planning process has historically been integrated into the Exco strategy development process, but these elements have now been separated into their strategic and operational components to enhance focus,” says Samie.
Editor’s Thoughts:
Companies in the industry are well aware that transformation in the industry needs to take place. But this goes beyond the conventional thinking of transformation. Every person in South Africa needs to work towards transforming the South African economy towards a healthy state. What role can the insurance industry play ion this? Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts jonathan@fanews.co.za.
