How to transform the employee experience into well-being and development

Julia: Hello and welcome everyone to this new episode of Coffee Break! Where today we have a very special guest who is going to be talking to us about how we went from that salary to experience, such as those benefits that build loyalty in organizations. Accompany us around here Liz Barrero, who is now the Compensation and Benefits Manager at the company Allianz, and with whom we are going to be talking a little more about this. Liz, welcome! How are you?

Liz: Hello Juli! Thank you very much first for the invitation, very happy to be with you, really grateful for the space and so we started.

Allianz context

Julia: We are also happy because in these spaces we love having leaders like you who give different visions of how these companies are focusing on the areas of human talent, and increasingly turning this area into a strategic area that joins leadership conversations in the organization. So, to give you a little bit of context, Liz, an expert in compensation and benefits, has more than 10 years of experience in different organizations. He currently serves as Compensation and Benefits Manager at Allianz and has key initiatives that promote the competitiveness and well-being of his employees in the organization. In other companies you've been to, there's a little bit of Direct TV, Pernod Ricard, Central Cervecera, Jecolza and many more, so we love that vision because you've even gone through different sectors in that process. And today you also want to tell us a little bit about how you give that value to talent, so let's say that the issue of compensation speaks a lot about that value, but how you also understand the organization and the structure, generating super innovative compensation and salary issues. And well, in an Allianz context that we always love to have, Allianz is a company that we clearly all know, but we would like that vision of yours from inside Allianz, beyond that insurance company, who are you and how are you structured?

Liz: Well, then I'll tell you a little bit, Allianz is a German multinational company that has been here in Colombia for 150 years for different acquisitions of insurance companies that they have had in Colombia. It's a company, I tell you, it's 100% human heat. I think I am in the area where I have identified myself for, as you said, more than 10 years. It's a company that thinks about people, people are really the initial thing, the people are the last thing. So Allianz really is my second home for me. It's a multinational insurance company, I don't think I said it, so a multinational insurance company where we basically focus on car insurance, life insurance, health insurance, which in fact is one of the benefits that we have as Aliancers. But above all, Allianz is that company where anyone would like to work.

Julia: Yes, I love what you say and there you also talk a little bit about that term that you give it as in your employer brand, which is Aliancers, and I know that for Aliancers there's a very important issue and it's like that compensation package, okay? Because let's not just talk about salary issues, but that compensation package that is very innovative. So, what are those fundamental pillars that you today in the organization take into account, measure and help you to build that compensation scheme?

Liz: Well, then from compensation and from the role that I lead at Allianz, one is important to us, people, closeness with people, knowing at what point in life they are for us to be able to focus and start looking at what benefits we have. What's more, we currently have a very attractive benefits package: we have life insurance, we have health, we also have hybrid work issues. 99% of people and our employees or our Aliancers Do they have hybrid work. In terms of compensation, as you say, we this year, and I give you here a launch that we did last year, but already last year, we launched our Total Compensation Letter. Because not only is the salary what you receive month by month on the payroll, salaries are also those benefits, they are all that health package, work-life balance, emotional that we have. So when we actually put it on a sheet, show it to our Aliancers, telling them “This is your total compensation package”, is where it helps us so that each of us also really knows how much we are earning and what are the real benefits we have in the company.

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Compensation and benefits

Julia: Spectacular! Because sometimes, as we say, it becomes landscape, okay? And those benefits become a landscape for us and we don't take them into account. Hey, I don't know if you can also tell us a little bit about the sector, because clearly in insurance issues there is significant competitiveness and more so in these schemes or in commercial teams, okay? So, from there, how are you doing in front of the market? Because I know that today you are a reference in the face of that.

Liz: Yes, We are a reference and not only for issues of compensation at the wage level because we have several incentives for our salespeople. But in addition for me the topic of Work-life balance is a focus that truly differentiates with other insurers. And why? Because as I said, we work hybrid, we are one of the few companies in this country that are still working hybrid. In addition, the topic of flexible work, we have flexible hours, people can organize their time. We have mothers who are heads of families, 36.6% of our women at Allianz are heads of families, then they can organize their, they can organize their time as well to dedicate to their children. But I don't think only on a competitive level because, as I've always said, silver isn't everything. The subject of Family Friday, on Fridays we go out at 2 in the afternoon, we have a schedule from 7 to 2 in the afternoon where after 2 o'clock we can dedicate that time for our family, for ours, if we have any sports, to be able to play sports. So, I think that is an additional plus that Allianz is still giving and we will keep it over the years because if we are going to characterize ourselves it is an issue of work-life balance for our employees.

Julia: Well, right now you told me a little bit about that characterization of who is within the organization, and I think that's a fundamental issue for designing an important benefits and compensation scheme. So, I would like to understand a little bit if we went back in time to when they made the structure of these compensation issues, how did they know their target audience? Understanding today the diversity in which it is no longer just the traditional family, there are already married people without children, single people with pets, let's say an important diversity in the family, and from there you thought of offering compensations that are not variable in terms of a variable scheme, but as if they are adjusted to the needs of each of the people.

Liz: Of course Juli, according to what you ask me, then we have also thought about, as you say, about that sector and that population of Aliancers that we have, and also based on themes of Diversity and Inclusion. I'm going to get involved a little bit there and stop at that point that's so important now. From the committee, we have a diversity and inclusion committee, quite a few ideas come out, in fact our Sponsors are our CEO and our Vice President of Culture and Employee Experience. Spectacular! There, what we have done is to generate initiatives and programs, for example: extended paternity leave for parents, it's not 15 days as it is by law but it's 30 days. For women too, for us mommies, since I am a mom, mother of two beautiful children, we not only have the law, in addition after that maternity leave is over, they can work for a virtual month and during the time they are breastfeeding, they can also be alternating virtual with face-to-face. Thinking about those parents, thinking about those moms, thinking about that population that often needs us and that we know are stages of life where they require practically 100% care for our babies. These are also some of the initiatives that we have seen that are required at Allianz to be differentiated and that undoubtedly being in those moments of truth leaves that little Allianz seed planted in the heart and generates a theme of loyalty.

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Human Talent as a strategic area

Julia: Now, as I told you at the beginning, I always like to see how human talent teams are strategic allies and are part of that strategy table in organizations. And often what happens is that these benefits sound delicious, very good, who as an employee of any organization would like to refuse this? But how do you manage to have or be bought into this idea from management, from the management of the company? Understanding that often this reduced working day, these additional wage schemes, these extended maternity and paternity leave can mean costs for the organization.

Liz: As we have been saying, for us the main thing at Allianz is people, people. So, someone once said to me: “If the person who works with you, if your team is happy, the results are going to be wonderful.” And I think that's the result at Allianz, people work happily. In fact, we are among the 10 best companies to work for in Colombia. Allianz is in fact the only one. Thank you very much, very proud. And the Third best company for women to work for. And here an important fact is that the 63% of our population are women at Allianz, and of that leadership population that we have, managers, directors, vice-presidents, also the 49% are women. So, that's also where I tell you is how do we sell that, which is the question you asked me? To the I don't know, executive committee, they're very people-oriented. That is why, within our committees, always our Sponsors are our CEO, Miguel Córdoba, and our Vice President of Culture and Employee Experience, Santiago Sania. They are always there behind us supporting us to carry out these initiatives so that we can truly impact the vast majority of people we have at Allianz.

Julia: Yes, Liz, and if we talk about indicators on a one-off basis, have you seen that the changes or when they implement these policies in terms of compensation have had an impact on turnover, on greater I don't know, performance in terms of profile development and that people seek to stay within the organization assuming new roles? What impact, in numbers, have they achieved?

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Relevant Indicators

Liz: Yes, our Turnover is actually very low in percentage terms, it is approximately 5.6%. Yes, it is a low turnover compared to other companies. The subject of, as I said, the Total Compensation Letter helped a lot to enable people to value those benefits that often, as you say, remain as if you forget, they are landscapes. It helped to remember them and for people to value and it helped us a lot with the topic of rotation.

Liz: The new benefits that we have also implemented: we have the, we as employees we can work from abroad for up to 90 days, we can either be working remotely from any city or from any country. This also gives us the possibility that we can train either an English course or a diploma course. So, the benefit of also being able to know that you are training but your company is also supporting you to be somewhere else is what makes our turnover very low as well.

Liz: Spectacular! Hey, what other indicator do I want to tell you? And already focusing also on issues of Diversity and Inclusion, within our population the 2.5% of our employees define themselves and participate in the LGBTIQ+ community. That's why we have our diversity and inclusion committee, that's why we make proposals and that's why we also have different networks: we have the network of parents with children with disabilities, it's a network where they support each other, it's a network where they give each other advice, where if they need any topic about uh I don't know, some recommendation, there they are. We also have our Red Pride and also this year the idea is to launch the Red Grace which is our race network.

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Diversity and Inclusion

Julia: Wow, spectacular! And I love to see because I think that you are definitely ahead of what is suddenly happening in Colombia in terms of diversity and inclusion, and I think that adds a lot to the employing brand. But also this issue of compensation benefits, how are they integrating it into the employing brand by attracting talent?

Liz: From attracting talent with withholding bonds when we have key talent, when we have those positions that we know are Key Talents, talents that really us as a company, retention bonuses. In addition, Since we started our selection process, we have been telling them about the benefits they have. We are very competitive in the market, so that means that they come to work with us and we can also keep the best talent.

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Development and Growth

July: Spectacular, Liz! And in terms of professional development and growth, how many opportunities are there? Okay, I know I have an attractive package today, hey, it sounds really cool, but I don't want to stop there, what alternatives does Allianz offer and how have they structured this whole process to also empower people to continue to grow within the organization?

Liz: Sure, we have a PDP, which is the personal development plan. In this personal development plan, everyone, I have always said, each one is also the owner as well as of their growth. So, we have training tools, we have tools so that people can continue to grow, they can continue to prepare. In addition, we have programs for Coaching, we have leadership programs, we have a program of Go Leaders, that's the name, where we focus them on our four pillars which is Accountability, empathy, the whole topic of joy, the whole subject also of process knowledge. So, that is also where we are guiding our Aliancers so that they go with a topic of development, the topic of professional growth. And at the career plan level, last year, as a matter of fact, more than 80 of our Aliancers they had the opportunity to be promoted because they applied to internal opportunities and were selected. What do we do? We first look at our Aliancers for career plan topics, we publish these vacancies internally so that they can participate if they see that the profile fits both their work experience or so much to the moment of life they are living, yes? And the experience they want to have from then on. For us it is very important to be, to always be close to people and also to know what moment of life they are in because for us it is essential that we like Aliancers Let's really identify ourselves and act as we are, which is why the whole issue of diversity because for us, and I come back and repeat, people are very important.

Julia: Super spectacular! What possibilities within this development are there to grow hey right now you told us that they can work remotely not only from Colombia but from other locations, but there are also possibilities to grow at the group level?

Liz: There is also at the group level, hey, we actually have a platform where they publish vacancies that exist at the group level. We have already had success stories: some have gone to Brazil, others have gone to Germany, others have gone to Mexico. So, growing at Allianz is possible, but as I tell you, for us, growth is also in ourselves, but we are that first small tool and first step to support them so that they can begin that path of development.

Julia: No? And to have that road map that surely motivates, drives many more and makes that growth tangible. Liz, hey, for me this topic of compensation is an art, it's an art because in reality, let's say, it includes a lot of things, there are issues of state motivations, the company moment, results that have to live together to achieve that ideal compensation scheme. But a little, let's just say that what references do you draw inspiration from? How do they make this model? With which studios do you also reach agreements with your parent company or how do you do that process a little?

Liz: Yes, the compensation scheme is local. We and what we lead in my area, what I lead with my work team, is to be able to start creating those Wage bands that we have by levels and in addition to structuring the entire compensation package for our employees is by means of salary surveys. We buy salary surveys where we can really compare ourselves with the market, we can know which companies are or that Peer group of companies with which we want to know and compare ourselves, hey if we are competitive or not, yes. After this, we do an analysis to find out depending on the percentile where we want to compare, 50th percentile, 75th percentile, depending also on how critical the position is, and that is where we begin to do our entire process of creating structure at the compensation level.

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Closing message and advice

Julia: And if you were to give some advice to people who are soon watching this podcast and who say “I am receiving the issue of compensation or I would like to make a career in compensation processes” what advice would you give them so that they can become a leading company like you?

Liz: Love what you do, the numbers are wonderful, uh, focus a lot on the subject of structure at the level of job appraisals, job descriptions. The first step for us to assemble an organizational structure is to be able to carry out this survey of position descriptions where we really know what the functions are, objectives of the positions and then we begin to evaluate and know at what level each of the positions we have is. When we value, we value positions, not people. So, that's why this structure can always be put together thinking about the empty box. What other recommendation would I give to those people who are just starting out? Again, love what they do and really focus on the person, in other words, for me 100% is thinking about the moment that the person is living at the level of benefits and at the level of compensation, looking equity, both internal equity and external competitiveness.

Julia: Overall, an ally that certainly cannot be missing the issue of compensation eh in organizations. Hey, but we at Magneto can't leave without asking one last question that we say is aligned with our purpose and that is to connect technology to the service of human talent. So, I would like you to tell us a little bit about technological tools or how you rely on technology as well to achieve compensation models where you are talking to me is the number and there it is super key to know that entire population in terms of those numbers and those figures. How is technology leveraged or how do you, excuse me, leverage technology?

Liz: Right now at Allianz we have a digital platform that helps us with the issue of both salary increases, bonus payments. It is also a very strategic ally in terms of our objectives and performance evaluation. When it comes to increases, we take into account both performance and market positioning. So, what is this tool going to help us do? It's going to help us Take out reports so that I know how each of my Aliancers At the time of making a salary increase. What else does this tool help us to do? Take out indicators, indicators at the level of Equal Pay. Allianz right now, and it's a fact that I'll tell you too, we have at the level of equal pay between men and women, the difference is 0.1%. We really have an equity where, as I said, we are the majority at the women's level, the 63% of the Aliancers we work at Allianz, uh, and we try and it's our pillar to maintain that equity among employees.

Julia: Spectacular! Well, any message to close to everyone who saw us today and who want to learn or develop more on compensation issues?

Liz: No, because basically my final message is: Love what they do. From this area we really generate a lot of strategic information, we are an ally of all the people in the company and we are always here to listen to them and to be able to start implementing and innovating in terms of benefits but above all in salary structures.

Julia: Liz, nice to have you here, thank you for your generosity in sharing all this knowledge. Thanks to everyone who accompanied us today, hey, who want to continue developing, knowing these trends and good practices of many companies on issues related to human talent to work on us also those strategic areas of talent and take our organizations to the next level. See you in an upcoming episode of Coffee Break. Thank you, Liz!

Liz: To you Juli, thank you very much!

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