Katri Kennedy, If P&C Insurance: “Viima has changed the way we do business development”

If P&C Insurance Company Ltd. is the largest Property and Casualty insurance company in the Nordics with over 3.8 million customers and almost 7,000 employees. The company wanted to improve its business development and customer service. The result was found in a new kind of innovation tool called Viima.

To really do customer oriented business development, If decided they needed to listen more closely to customer feedback. They realized they had to consider the opinions of the frontliners who interact with the customers every single day. Here’s where Viima came in.

– At If, Viima is a tool and also a way of working. When we realized that we needed an online tool to gather this input, Viima really stood out. It was the simplicity and the fact that it’s a very visual tool that made the decision for us, If’s Head of Business Development Katri Kennedy reveals.

– The requirements for such a tool had three key points. It needed to be as simple as possible since the frontliners have very busy schedules. It also needed to be engaging so that it’s fun to use. Lastly, we wanted it to be very transparent. Viima was able to provide all of these requirements, she continues.

Everyone can participate in creating new ideas

Viima is used to gather ideas and input that can be used in business development. At If, everyone has access to the software. When an employee comes up with an idea, you can easily make a note of it. Every other user sees the note and it can be liked or commented on.

– This way we can engage a large part of our organization into business development. With Viima, we have been able to gather the ideas and prioritize the ones that are considered most important. We can make sure the things we do implement are truly those that the customers want and need, Kennedy says.

It’s not about one or two big changes

As of today, over one hundred new ideas have been put into practice based on the employee feedback. The most important thing people at If have come to realize is that it’s not about one or two big changes. The real development comes from many small improvements that need to be implemented all the time.

– It’s something you never get ready with. I would really recommend Viima to anyone who wants to involve a bigger part of their organization into business development or any other part that needs input from a wider audience. In my opinion, it’s an excellent tool to engage and improve transparency within an organization, Kennedy says.

– Viima has changed the way we do business development. Before implementing the software, the ideas came from a much smaller group of people. Now the new challenge is how to prioritize the many great ideas we get, she finishes.