{"id":5125,"date":"2024-01-24T11:09:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T11:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/debatrix.com\/en\/?p=5125"},"modified":"2024-01-25T16:06:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T16:06:26","slug":"how-achmea-brings-its-purpose-and-core-values-to-life-in-the-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debatrix.com\/en\/2024\/01\/24\/how-achmea-brings-its-purpose-and-core-values-to-life-in-the-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"How Achmea brings its purpose and core values to life in the organization"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How Achmea brings its purpose and core values to life in the organization<\/h1>
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With over 16,000 colleagues, Achmea serves more than 10 million customers every day. Recently, the organization revitalized its cooperative identity by defining a clear purpose (Sustainable Living Together) and establishing core values. The primary aim is to provide guidance to all employees and activities. You might think it’s impossible to effectively implement these core values top-down, and indeed, that’s the case in many organisations. However, Achmea has opted for a sustainable approach that aligns more closely with its cooperative identity.<\/p>\n

In the introduction of the purpose and core values, the focus is on dialogue, collectively assigning meaning, and sharing (personal) stories. This approach ensures a more inclusive and participatory process. The change is spearheaded by the Management and Senior Management, illustrating their commitment to the transformation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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From Storytelling to Story Sharing<\/h2>\n

Stories are the foundation of this approach\u2014stories from within the organization that illustrate the purpose and core values, bringing them to life. Therefore, Achmea allows its executives and senior managers to take the lead in developing these stories. However, Achmea’s approach goes beyond telling these stories; it aims to initiate a dialogue about them. Consequently, Achmea offered a training program in Story Sharing to 300 colleagues in leadership roles. This program focused on developing a combination of storytelling skills and conversation techniques, enabling participants to share inspiring example stories and bring colleagues’ stories to the surface.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

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Valuable investment of time<\/h2>\n

But how do you get these busy managers on board? Firstly, support and exemplary behavior from the management are crucial. Through a live inspiration session and teaser, we initially discussed the value of this program, emphasizing its benefits not only for the organization but also for the managers themselves.<\/p>\n

Next, it was imperative that the training should be effective, to-the-point, and practical. Thus, during a live meeting, board members and senior managers received concrete tools in a customized online training:<\/p>\n

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  1. tell the purpose in an inspiring way.<\/li>\n
  2. communicate the core values with a personal story.<\/li>\n
  3. facilitate dialogue with their team on this subject.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    …valuable skills that will come in handy later.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

    And with great success<\/h2>\n

    With an average rating of 8.7, the program ensured that in six months, in more than 500 dialogue sessions, employees engaged in a dialogue with each other about how the purpose and core values are represented in their daily work.<\/p>\n

    Johan Blok, Senior Manager Rewards, Analytics, Advice and Wellbeing at Achmea HR. stated, “The training provided a lot of energy and tools to collaborate in bringing Sustainable Living Together to life. It allowed us to express authentic stories from our own contexts and engage in inspiring dialogues about it.”<\/p>\n

    * Recent reputation research (MT500) by the UVA showed<\/a> that the image of companies is strengthened by a concrete purpose. Researcher Henk Volberda: “I see purpose shifting from something on the periphery of operations to the core of activities. I think that purpose and social positioning are becoming increasingly important for the reputation of organizations. Companies with a strong purpose are well regarded by the respondents in this study.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>