How do you make sure that new advisors learn the tricks of the trade in no time? And that experienced advisors stay on top of new products and changes in laws and regulations? These were the questions that cooperative insurance company Univé struggled with. Working from eight Regional Univé offices and one hundred local branches, the insurance company works hard to reassure their clients. They do this by simply being there for clients who have questions, using real connection, good advice, a sympathetic ear and a helping hand. This way, Univé helps to prevent damage so their clients will be better off. That is exactly where the Unive customer advisors play a crucial role. They have to know Univé inside and out. Jan Hooiveld, trainer at Univé, explains how they tackled this challenge with Drillster’s help.

For the more than 1.300 advisors that work for Univé it is incredibly important that they can live and dream the products Univé has to offer. Also, it is important that they are informed about the ins and outs of new products on very short notice. Jan: “Besides the fact that our advisors are the face of our organization, this type of product knowledge is crucial to uphold the quality of the conversations they have with clients. It helps them properly answer the more substantive insurance questions.”

Getting prepared in four weeks

Previously, new advisors would go through a four-week training program, including an introduction day where they were introduced to the story of Univé. That turned out to be inefficient. “Four weeks may seem like a long time, but it was too short to make sure that advisors learned everything they needed to know”, Jan explained. “We also noticed that information did not always stick for everyone after an introduction day. Not just because it was too much information at once to really take in and remember, but also because people enter the organization at different levels. It was difficult to even this out.” This is why Jan started the search for a tool that could help advisors enter the advisors quicker and at the same level.

A successful pilot

This resulted in a pilot using Drillster in 2020, specifically for new advisors in the customer service and claims departments. Univé’s story and, more importantly, their products formed the basis for the first drills that were shared with the new advisors before the first training session. Drills combine a short explanation or context about a subject with a set of questions. This way, advisors learn about the subjects at hand using a question-based method and they gain insight into their proficiency level.

“The pilot was very successful”, Jan explains. “Using the drills immediately saved us a lot of time. Because the advisors learn about the basic principles before the training starts, they all started the training demonstrably at the same level of mastery. This allowed us to change around the period of training and make it more interactive. It became unnecessary to discuss all the Univé products separately, which opened up room to take a more in-depth look at new subjects.” The pilot then turned into an official collaboration and that is how Drillster entered the work floor of the insurance company through the customer service and claims departments. 

“New advisors now demonstrably have the same mastery of the basics when they start the training. This allowed more in-depth discussion of new subjects.”

Ambitious next step

Soon after the start of the collaboration, the question arose about how the learning application could be used for more experienced advisors. “An example is when launching new products or when existing products are changed. This information was now often communicated to the advisors via email, by sharing an article or a notification in the weekly update. This way we couldn’t see whether people actually saw the information, let alone whether they understood and could apply the new information.”

But how would you go about doing this? Jan: “The million-dollar question was how we could encourage our advisors to work with Drillster. Every Regional Univé has their own identity. They get to decide themselves which tools to use and how they apply them. This meant we had to think carefully about how we could get everyone on board. Another point to consider is that the workload is high for advisors. Because of this, using Drillster should not feel like an obligation, but as an aid. Most of all, it had to be fun and current. When starting this process, we worked with Drillster to create a clear plan of action to achieve this.”

Testing, tweaking, testing

To do this, Jan met with Drillster several times. One of these meetings was to determine which content had to be included in the drills. “After sparring sessions with Drillster, we got the organization itself involved too. Then we worked with Drillster to create a roadmap for the following year.”

Using a video and presentations, Drillster was introduced to the Regional Univé offices. “The first time the advisors used Drillster was through a health insurance campaign”, Jan says. “Information about the campaign and associated healthcare insurance was put in a drill.” Little by little, the learning content was rolled out in the organization through drills. “It was a constant process of implementation and testing by users. Our product specialists were also consulted to check whether the drill about their subject area was complete. Drillster had a team at the ready to help with the implementation process, which was wonderful.” 

Tailored learning

The shared efforts of Univé and Drillster are successful. The learning application has been fully implemented in work processes of the customer service and claims departments: it is successfully being used to train new advisors and they use it a lot. “It is great that they now demonstrably have knowledge of our organization and our products befóre they start working as an advisor”, Jan says. “Additionally, Drillster allowed us to reach our experienced advisors more quickly with product changes or updates. That flexibility allowed us to focus on the actual learning needs of our advisors. That is how Drillster helps us realize a continuous learning process for everyone, both new advisors or those that have done this work for years.”

“Drillster helps us realize a continuous learning process for everyone, both new advisors or those that have done this work for years.”

Continuous discussion

The organization has certainly not finished the learning process. Plenty of plans are still on the horizon. Using Drillster for experienced advisors is still a work in progress. Jan: “A number of Regional Univé offices enthusiastically embraced Drillster, but we strive to increase this number. That is why we continue discussions with Drillster.” Together, we also continue to work on new content. “We are now looking at the feedback we get from conversations with customers and how we can make the drills more interactive by using video”, Jan says. “All in all, Drillster has been a pleasure to work with. We keep each other up to date on the latest developments. Additionally, Drillster really understands the dynamics within our organization. They are a perfect fit and that makes me very happy.”