A private sector life insurance company, Bajaj Allianz Life is planning to provide permanent work from home facility to over 10,000 employees. The lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic had led companies to build a digital platform to carry on their business. Throughout this period, the company had found that the lockdown and the resultant remote working have sharpened the skills of employees and shape them enough to dispatch the services efficiently.
As a part of expanding the work from home format, the company intends to promote their mid-to-senior employees to have the gig ecosystem. They are also planning to minimize the size of their 600 branches, as people and staff need not have to visit the branches every day. They will allow the staff to work from the office once or twice a week.
Tarun Chugh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bajaj Allianz Life conveyed his interest in continuing the work from home format even after the lockdown. As per the statement given by the officials of the company, it’s been understood that by permitting more of its employees to work from home, they can save an amount of around Rs 100 crore annually by way of travel, power bills, admin charges, and other expenses. Specifically, the company can reserve Rs 25 crore on travel annually, Rs 15-17 crore on infrastructure and administrative costs, Rs 9 crore on electricity bills, etc.
Tarun Chugh added to his words that, during the period of lockdown, the company had devised a digital tool that helps in group browsing. It can be up to four people, the agent, one/two executives from the underwriting side, and the ultimate customer. The main aim behind this digital tool is to have better clarity on its sales commitment. Through this co-browsing app, they have conducted around 50,000 sessions and also sold approximately 10,000 insurance policies since it went online in late August.
As part of its digitalization, the company had introduced an industry-first app for hiring agents, called i-Recruit, in May. Using this digital app, the company can hire and onboard an agent in a fortnight. Some of the other digital tools of Bajaj Allianz Life include i-Serve, Whatsapp, chatbot Boing, Life assist mobile app, and a customer portal. Going forward, the company expects to grow further through their digital interactions and online sales and services.
