PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Most of the learning we all do happens on the job. However there has to be time to reflect on learning and seeking knowledge in other sources.

Benefit From Knowledge Hunger

Ever heard of a team looking for people who do not want to learn? Well, we are no different, it’s a very simple logic: We look for people with a huge knowledge hunger, and personal development is therefore important to all team members we hire. If we want to keep them and have the benefit of their hunger we need to enable it. 

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Budget for Personal Development

To support every team member’s development, each employed team member – regardless of team or position – is given a budget for personal development. On a work day full of things to do, it was important for us not only to give money but also time.

How the money and time are spent lies with the initiative of the team member and is a decision between the team member and the team leader.

Internal Courses

For some a continuous row of online or offline courses to develop further skills can be the right decision, other join conferences / meet-ups to challenge themselves with peers, and for another group personal coaching might be of most benefit. 

Not all development solutions need to be found external, we have good overview over team member’s skills and most of the time there is a lot to learn through internal courses or coaching. Several courses are therefore prepared and accessible, whether it be soft skills, leadership, Excel or JavaScript.

KEEP GROWING WITH THE COMPANY

The Pioneer Program

There are always those who are in a life phase and mental state of wanting to grow faster than the normal development curve. A side effect is that these team members are putting their whole time and energy level into the team and company development. We thought that we owed them, that we also invest more back. We called it our Pioneer Program.

Why Pioneers?

We see the company as a pioneer: we innovate and step up new paths which others follow. But also we see our pioneers in the sense of being a Berlin pioneer - we wanted to give our own innovators perspective and inspiration by bringing some of the biggest Berlin pioneers closer. Also these big pioneers had or have their everyday with hard work and thoughts on what they are actually achieving.

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Why Pioneers?

We see the company as a pioneer: we innovate and step up new paths which others follow. But also we see our pioneers in the sense of being a Berlin pioneer - we wanted to give our own innovators perspective and inspiration by bringing some of the biggest Berlin pioneers closer. Also these big pioneers had or have their everyday with hard work and thoughts on what they are actually achieving.

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Who Is a Pioneer?

A Pioneer is someone who has proven qualifications which indicate good potential for becoming excellent in a specialised field and/or leadership. She or he is focused on career development on the job, showing high motivation and personal scarifies to learn and develop faster than expected.

Pioneers show high commitment to the company and come up with initiative beyond their role. They contribute very positively to the team spirit and other team members wellbeing at work.

To sum it up: to be a Pioneer is to represent our team values.

How the Program Works

The pioneers are chosen once a year and anyone – regardless of team or position – can become a pioneer. 

A Pioneer gets an increased money and time budget for his/her development, leadership training and a mentor.  In addition, she/he is part of the pioneer group who is given the possibility to address topics important to them once a month with the top management. 

Fun fact: the pioneer group of 2019/20 defined their vision to make everyone in Friendsurance a pioneer.
Read more in this article.

108

Team Members

10

Percent of Pioneers

25

Recently booked trainings

Career Talks

Once a year it is important to step one level up: look away from daily tasks and performance, and give room for the long-term perspective. Career talk takes place on the person’s anniversary, it’s around that time pretty natural to reflect on where you are and where you want to go. The talk is between the management person of an area and the belonging team member, but can also be supported by the People Team. In the career talk we use a technique we call tracing the future backwards. In the talk the focus will solely be on the team member. 

JOIN FRIENDSURANCE TODAY!

Being part of the Friendsurance team means thinking new every day. We are bringing two worlds together: customer centric technical innovation and the insurance business.