Mondial Assistance is not a run-of-the-mill insurance company. Alongside traditional travel and health insurance products and services, it specialises in getting assistance to people in out of the way locations. Case studies from the field include a customer who was struck down by chronic abdominal pains in a remote part of Asia, and another who was stranded in a broken down car in the middle of the Australian outback with an elderly passenger.
In Australia, Mondial Assistance currently employs around 450 people and has grown by 500% since 2001. The company is part of the Mondial Assistance Group, which employs over 9,350 people worldwide and is the world's largest medical and automotive assistance company.
As the examples above demonstrate, it takes a special type of person to handle the sometimes-stressful and always-challenging demands of a company like Mondial. Finding those people and filling the employment ranks of the Australian operations has been handled for the past three years by Angela Egan, HR manager for Mondial Assistance Australia.
The road less travelled
The route to HR often stems from an interest in industrial relations and employment law, but for Egan an unexpected interest in HR came through studying a cross-disciplinary major in her criminology degree.
"I was very interested in the legal and justice areas of criminology so employment law correlated well with me," Egan explains. "My first HR subject was International Human Resource Management which exposed me to the international business world. I realised that knowledge of commerce would be useful to understand real application of HR in the business world and graduated with the two degrees in the end, a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and a Bachelor Commerce with HR and Marketing majors."
Egan's original plan to join the police force was eventually jettisoned and her germ of interest in employment law was enough to set her on the path to HR. She says that her main attraction to HR was based on the desire to create a fair and equitable workplace and ensure legal compliance within the employee and employer relationship. From there has stemmed a passion for creating a rewarding workplace that enhances the value of employees within an organisation.
Honing her profession
Egan has found ample opportunities to develop that passion at Mondial Assistance, which she joined in 2005.
Prior to joining Mondial, Egan worked in organisations dealing with significant change management challenges and rapid growth, including Brisbane City Council and Hutchinson's Child Care Services. She cites her experience as HR officer at the childcare company as an important learning exercise. "The company had over 1,500 employees throughout the country. I worked there prior to and during their IPO [initial public offering] which provided me with invaluable experience in change management. The company acquired new businesses and experienced significant growth, so there was a need to ensure the original brand identity and culture was maintained and embraced by all employees," she says.
At Mondial, Egan's role reports to the general manager, HR and development, who in turn is part of the senior management team and reports directly to the managing director. Egan admits that her role is extremely diverse and involves leading the team through HR initiatives and projects, people and performance management, employer branding, recruitment and retention, and staff learning and development. Central to her role is working with the HR advisors to mange critical issues and ensuring continual business improvement and strategic development.
"The company has grown significantly since 2001 due to an innovative and proactive approach to business development and delivering exceptional service. The HR team consists of three HR advisors who work in each operational area, an administration assistant, and a recruitment and on-boarding coordinator. The advisors are true generalists who work as business partners with their divisions offering extensive support, guidance and strategic initiatives," Egan explains.
The recruitment and on-boarding coordinator works with managers throughout the business on their recruitment needs in addition to being the contact point for all candidates and new employees for their first 60 days of employment.
Significant inroads
Egan says the initiative she is most proud of at Mondial was the launch of the company's comprehensive Wellness at Work program, which allows employees to access personal trainers, lunchtime yoga sessions, relaxation therapy, financial planners and many other offerings which support them to achieve greater work-life balance.
"The plan was developed following extensive employee consultation about the support and benefits that would make their career at Mondial Assistance more fulfilling, productive and enjoyable. Feedback on the program from our employees has been overwhelmingly positive," she says.
Mondial has also shifted its attention onto workplace flexibility, especially for parents with young children. Although Egan believes a government-funded paid parental scheme will ultimately be essential for keeping parent (mothers in particular) in the workforce, Mondial Assistance has taken steps to introduce a flexible working arrangement policy which allows employees to return to work in a reduced capacity following their parental leave if they would like to do so.
Egan believes the issue of paid parental leave will continue to simmer as a large population of the workforce heads for retirement and employers are forced to deal with a shrinking talent pool. "Encouragement through financial incentives needs to be directed towards women so that they continue to have children, while the option for both mothers and fathers to return to the work in some kind of part time or flexible capacity also needs to be provided," she says.
Egan is also a keen advocate of mentoring in the workplace, having received guidance and assistance from her own mentor for the past five years. That mentor, now on secondment to the company's Paris office, helped to prepare Egan for her current role. "The great thing about Mondial Assistance is the access to mentors who help with the development and progression of your career," she says.
Despite tough economic times, Egan remains adamant that HR has an important role to play, and is pleased that Mondial has not dropped the HR ball in a rapidly changing economic climate: "It's a reality that all industries are having to address at the moment, but economic highs and lows are inevitable so it is important businesses plan for these changes. My goal is to have a team that is talented, committed and happy. This is definitely the case at Mondial Assistance. It's fantastic working in a company that obviously values its employees and takes steps to ensure they are supported," she says.
In her own words…
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?
Employee attraction and retention is a challenge facing the entire industry, and one that I’m working through at the moment. Attracting and retaining high quality talent to support future growth and success of companies is tough in the current low unemployment market. Employees today look for an emotional connection with the brand they work for so once a team member is employed it’s important to maintain and inspire the connection with their employer so that they remain engaged and committed to the company.
What do you consider to be your biggest career achievement?
For the past five years I’ve had an extremely supportive manager and mentor who has exposed me to many valuable experiences and opportunities. She was recently seconded to our head office in Paris and therefore the HR manager role was created, which I was able to step into. The great thing about Mondial Assistance is the access to mentors who help with the development and progression of your career. My greatest achievement has been leading a team of five HR professionals while the general manager is on secondment, as well as ensuring the HR team continues to support not only the business but each other.
Where do you see HR as a profession heading?
In the future HR will progress as a strategic, proactive, commercially focused business partner, contributing to business success through effective people resource strategies. Involvement at business strategic development phases will be an essential component of HR success in the future. Organisations are increasingly recognising that talented, committed and happy employees are one of their greatest assets, so HR departments will be given the resources and means to ensure employees are cared for and retained.