'The dusty image attached to insurers is really not our reality'

Even though she herself has only been working at Athora Netherlands for a year, communications consultant Inez Kruijswijk is already thinking about retirement. Not her own, but that of many colleagues. Because an ageing population means that many employees will be retiring in the coming years. And not just at Athora Netherlands, but at many organisations. So it is important for an organisation to be ready to attract new talent. Together with colleagues from HR and Communications, Inez deals with Employer Branding. “The challenge is to get good people on board and then bind them to us,” she says.

When it comes to recruiting colleagues, Athora Netherlands has quite a few irons in the fire, Inez knows. “We have a beautiful head office in Amsterdam and a very nice office in Alkmaar. What I personally really like is that we are not a very large organisation, which means that as an employee you can really make a difference. At the same time, you feel that the work we do contributes something to society. Because retirement is a very important issue for every Dutch person. ”

Well regulated

Another important aspect is hybrid working, mentioned at Athora PASS, which many organisations struggle with. How do you keep employees working in different locations, at varying times, in the office and from home, connected? And how do you collaborate properly and effectively? “That is really well organised here. We received the Leesman+ Award for this in April this year. That study compares working in offices worldwide and Athora Netherlands stood out because we have decorated our offices so well, very green, with nice furniture, with good facilities and IT facilities. It sounds crazy, but many organisations find that individual employees like their home working environment better than the employer's office. With us, both environments are actually very well rated. So our office really has something to offer.”

Wrong image

Yet in the outside world, there is often a very different image of insurers. That of a boring and stuffy working environment. For many people who come to apply, it is also often a surprise what they find at Athora. “That was also a bit true for myself. Before I walked in here, I had a different image anyway.’ And that's where the Employer Branding project comes in, to, among other things, convey the true image of the organisation to the outside world. “First of all, we conducted research into how employees experience our organisation. This showed that people are enthusiastic about the pleasant working atmosphere, good cooperation and work-life balance. Hybrid working is really a distinguishing factor in this respect.”

“Hybrid working is truly a differentiator” 

Every disadvantage has its advantage

We are currently working on a strategy to increase and target the labour market. Because while the Zwitserleven and Reaal brands enjoy great fame, Athora Netherlands is still relatively unknown. “Fortunately, our relative unfamiliarity in the labour market also has an advantage: namely, according to our rules, we can build a nice employer brand.”

The jobseeker of the future will soon get a much better insight into the organisation. “Initially, we are not so much concerned with recruiting more people yet, because at the moment we are still getting the vacancies filled well. But if we do start noticing shortages later on due to the outflow of colleagues retiring, we need to be ready to win the battle for talent. We therefore want to acquaint the outside world with our organisation and show what it is like inside our offices. By doing so, we show that the stiff and stuffy image attached to insurers is really not our reality.”