The Role of Leadership in GEICO Insurance Company

Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO)

Government Employees Insurance Company, (GEICO) is an auto insurance company which has its headquarters in Chevy Chase. The founders of the company initially targeted the government employed individuals and the military personnel as their customers but the company has since then expanded its customer-base and provides services for a wide range of customers. The company is the second-largest and most successful insurance company in the United States. The company’s low charges, proper management, the competent workforce, conducive working environment and excellent customer services are some of the reasons the company has been able to perform well in the insurance industry.

Leadership and Employee Development

GEICO insurance company has a strong sense of good leadership and ensures that all the workers employed to work in the company possess adequate leadership skills. The company ensures that the employees are fully equipped with good leadership skills by providing them with essential training and coaching required for success. With these leadership skills instilled on individual associates helps to strengthen the relationships between workers and their colleagues as well as the relationships between workers and the customers. The necessary managerial skills imparted on the associates have, therefore, helped the company to remain on the forefront in providing the best customer experience in the insurance industry.

Leadership Program for Young Graduates

Moreover, GEICO has a leadership program that helps equip young graduates with first-hand knowledge of the complex insurance industry. The program aims at providing competent future business leaders and equipping them with an understanding of what it takes to be successful in business. Considering the huge expansions in businesses, GEICO feels the need to develop young leaders who are going to take over the industry in future (Plunkett, 2006). During the program, the interns are taught how the company operates as well as the required operational skills to ensure they succeed in business. After the program, successful applicants are offered a job where they are assigned supervisors to monitor their grasp and compliance with the company’s policies. Supervisors and other workers are very welcoming to new workers and ready to help cope with their new workplace.

Key Management Personnel

GEICO is managed by Olza Nicely who is the company’s chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bill Roberts the president and Chief Operations Officer, Greg Kalinsky the Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice president and Janice H. the Assistant Vice President (Plunkett, 2007). The organization’s board of directors is made up of nine members who are held responsible to ensure that the company complies with all the legal policies of the country (Plunkett, 2006). The directors, therefore, have to ensure that all employees receive proper and adequate training regarding the legal regulations they are supposed to adhere to. However, the company also has an Insurance Law Compliance Committee that helps the directors with the compliance policies. The legal committee ensures that the company is compliant with all the legal guidelines and prepares proper documentation regarding its operations.

Employee Satisfaction and Working Environment

Moreover, the GEICO management puts its associates’ needs for quality life first considering that employee satisfaction is primary for a company’s success (Malhotra, 2000). GEICO, therefore, provides incentives like medical and life insurance, paid vacations and leave for their employees to raise their motivation and desire to work. The friendly treatment of the workers by the management in GEICO Company has helped the company in ensuring that the workers’ commitments to help the company achieve its long-term goals are high.

Conducive Working Environment

The supervisory values held by leaders in GEICO insurance company have to a great extent helped in building a conducive working environment in the workplace. Before hiring new employees, the company conducts financial and criminal record checks on the personnel. The company then conducts checks on the potential employee’s credit background to ensure they are not in a financial crisis that may hinder their productivity in the workplace. Qualified employees are also taken through a fraud awareness program to instill honesty in them. The check conducted on the individuals ensures that the company employs personnel compliant with the organization’s code of conduct. These employees are more likely to adhere to the company’s policies and accept any disciplinary actions taken against them in case they break the policies (Malhotra, 2000). Moreover, these employees are not likely to cause trouble with their colleagues thus reducing the chances of conflicts in the workplace.

Company Policies and Customer Experience

The company is guided by strict policies that are supposed to be adhered to by all associates working for the company. These policies help in promoting positive customer experiences thus strengthening the company’s operating base. For instance, GEICO has a policy that adequately provides protection of their customer’s personal information like their health and financial information. This ensures that the company does not provide their customer’s personal information to unsuitable parties (Malhotra, 2000). Moreover, the company has implemented standardized technologies to safeguard their customer’s personal information. Access to these electronics with such information is limited to a few authorized personnel who are strictly monitored. The company also has a policy stating that customer complaints should be handled within fourteen days (Plunkett, 2007). The company associates, therefore, ensure that customers’ complaints are properly recorded and they are provided with reliable and timely feedback. Moreover, the company also monitors and responds to the complaints made by customers through social networks like Facebook.

Quality Assurance and Customer Service

GEICO’s supervisory practices are very reliable and are the major reasons the company has been able to provide dedicated workers and leaders. The employees receive constant training and are closely monitored by their supervisors to ensure they comply with the company’s standards (Malhotra, 2000). The company also has a quality assurance department that ensures that new employees acquire adequate training to enable them to work for the company. Moreover, to ensure proper customer service, supervisors frequently listen to how customer care representatives respond to the customers and then provide the results to management. The feedback then allows the associates to improve their customer response relations.

Conclusion

GEICO insurance company has a strong customer base in the United States making it the second-largest auto insurance company in the state. The company strongly emphasizes the need to have good leadership in the management of the company’s operations to help sustain its growth (Plunkett, 2006). The good leaders in the company have ensured that the employees comply with the company’s regulations through adequate training and strict supervision. The company also has a law compliance committee that oversees that the company is compliant with the legal regulations of the state.

References

Malhotra, Y. (2000). Knowledge management and business model innovation. Hershey, Pa. [u.a.: Idea Group Publishing.

Plunkett J. W. (2006). , Plunkett’s Insurance Industry Almanac 2007: Insurance Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies. Plunkett Research Ltd.

Plunkett, J. W. (2007). Plunkett’s Insurance Industry Almanac 2008: Insurance Industry Market Reserch, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies. Plunkett Research Ltd.