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Generali Hungary: Transforming sales network communication with Google Workspace

Generali Hungary herlo image

Generali Hungary improves sales team unit collaboration and manager insight using Calendar and Meet, while using Gmail as a highly available and reliable email service, across multiple devices.

Generali Hungary logo

Generali Hungary is one of the leading insurance companies in Hungary, providing both life, health, motor, homeower, and other insurance to its 876,000 customers.

Features used
Gmail
Calendar
Google Meet
Generali Hungary herlo image

Generali Hungary improves sales team unit collaboration and manager insight using Calendar and Meet, while using Gmail as a highly available and reliable email service, across multiple devices.

Google Workspace Results

Google Workspace helps to onboard a new generation of agents

• Simplifies email account and user administration

• Provides up-to-date contact information across the sales network, facilitating communication

• Empowers unit managers with insight in shared Google Calendars

For insurance companies whose agents are scattered across territories and frequently on the road, having robust and collaborative systems in place, with access to forms, calendars, and documents anytime, anywhere, is crucial. When Generali Hungary, one of Hungary’s leading insurance agencies and one of the world’s largest insurance companies, was looking for a way to provide the company’s more than 1,800 employees and 2,200 self-employed agents with a tool to communicate efficiently, it turned to Google.

“Our aim with this project is to digitize sales processes and improve our internal communication. The unit manager has the opportunity to have continuous online contact with his agents as well as Generali’s employees.” - László Kriston, Sales Digital Transformation Team leader, Generali Hungary

With multiple subsidiaries and coverage across the entire value chain of insurance (from motor, homeowner, and property insurance to health and life insurance), efficient communication among salespeople is critical for Generali Hungary. Self-employed tied agents (agents selling exclusively on behalf of the company) need tools that are professional and well integrated with the company’s systems. “We have tied agents located in almost every town across the country,” explains László Kriston, team leader of the Sales Digital Transformation Team at Generali Hungary. “Visiting clients and negotiating contracts are their daily duties, so they need easy access to information and their calendar to collaborate with colleagues or communicate with the head office.”

“Our aim with this project is to digitize sales processes and improve our internal communication,” adds László. “The unit manager has the opportunity to have continuous online contact with his agents as well as Generali’s employees.”

Prioritizing team communication

“A sales unit, comprising 10 to 12 people and a unit manager, is a community. Google Workspace gives them the tools they need to communicate effectively with each other, and with their clients, through Gmail, Meet, Calendar, Contacts, and Groups. It supports them in everything they do.” - László Kriston, Sales Digital Transformation Team Leader, Generali Hungary

Insurance companies sell their products through sales channels such as brokers and tied agents, who are the point of contact with their clients. Generali Hungary had issues with its previous mail system, namely performance, administration, and calendar sharing. The Sales Digital Transformation Team looked for a way to improve performance and make communication more efficient for both agents and managers.

To do so, Google Workspace was implemented. Generali’s previous email system had compatibility problems with Chrome, the preferred browser by most of its users. It was difficult to create new users and keep track of accounts. The company now uses Gmail, and the service is more reliable and the system is much easier to administer.

Previously, the calendar system could not be shared within the sales units. “The calendar was not user-friendly, and unit managers were not able to look at their subordinates’ calendars. That was a real problem,” says László. Now, with Calendar, managers can easily have insight into their team’s activities. Moreover, by replacing the company’s previous manually updated contacts system with Contacts, up-to-date contact information for the entire sales network is always available. Agents can also communicate through Google Meet. “This really supports the mobility of our colleagues, one of the original goals of this project,” says László.

“A sales unit, comprising 10 to 12 people and a unit manager, is a community.” says László. “Google Workspace gives them the tools they need to communicate effectively with each other and with their clients through Gmail, Meet, Calendar, Contacts, and Groups. It supports them in everything they do.”

Onboarding across generations

To help ensure a smooth implementation, Generali Hungary worked with implementation partner Aliz to put in place a change management plan. According to László, “The biggest challenge is that most of our tied agent network began their careers without the use of technology we take for granted now, so it took some time for them to engage with the new tools.” At first the core IT infrastructure was put into place, then two early bird phases onboarded, and finally the remainder were brought on board. By providing additional support and a period of parallel operation for tied agents and managers, Aliz assisted a smooth transition.

Generali Hungary also decided to extend the scope of implementation to include a newly created distribution network of young agents called ROAR. “I visited the ROAR headquarters in Budapest and I saw that Google Workspace has become an everyday tool for the ROARers,” says László. “They are our most active users. We’re actively trying to hire new, young agents and they really like the system.”

Following the move to Google Workspace, Aliz also helped Generali Hungary implement Google Mobile Management to improve the mobility of its provision. “When we started to negotiate with the implementation partner Aliz, we didn’t know much about Mobile Device Management,” says László. “When we realized that we needed it, we found it was already part of our Google Workspace package. We’re constantly finding new things that we can use to solve business problems.”

Long term plans

“I believe that we have found the best product on the market for our purposes. It’s the beginning of a long and hopefully beautiful friendship with Google. We have long-term plans with this system.” - László Kriston, Sales Digital Transformation Team Leader, Generali Hungary

Thanks to Google Workspace, sales units are now able to share calendars, access up-to-date contact information, communicate through Google Meet and Groups, and access their email from any device. This has transformed the ability of the managers to keep track of their teams. It also means that their customers receive better service from sales teams that function more efficiently.

Now, Generali Hungary is working with Aliz to expand the scope of the company’s use of the Mobile Device Management tool. “We have discovered this function and we will try to benefit from it as much as we can because most of our agents and young candidates have mobile devices and tablets. So, we need to create an IT architecture and infrastructure to support these devices.”

“It’s a slow process in terms of cultural change, but I believe that we have found the best product on the market for our purposes,” explains László. “It’s the beginning of a long and hopefully beautiful friendship with Google. We have long-term plans with this system.”

*Google Workspace was formerly known as G Suite prior to Oct. 6, 2020.

Deployment Partner (Google Workspace authorized reseller)

Aliz

Aliz is a Big Data and Machine Learning specialized Google Partner with offices in Budapest and Singapore.