The corporate culture of Taiping Insurance

“People-oriented, a promise worth a thousand dollars” is Taiping Insurance’s service philosophy when it resumes business in China. "Mechanism to attract talents, system to utilize talents, environment to retain talents, and training to educate talents" was the first corporate culture enlightenment class I took before joining Taiping Insurance. It was also the first lesson I took after seeing the recruitment advertisement published by China Insurance News in 2001. , the reason why I want to join Taiping Insurance.

一

At that time, there were very few job advertisements in the insurance industry. Because after the resumption of domestic insurance business in the early 1980s, there were only two entities in the market, namely PICC and Xinjiang Xinjiang Corps Insurance Company. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, two more companies, China Pacific and China Ping An Insurance, were added. However, because the financial and insurance industry was not liberalized at that time, and the income and benefits of employees in the industry were good, even in 1996, during the period when the PICC branch was operating, there was basically zero or negative growth in terms of personnel joining the company. There were only exports, no import. I remember that in 1995, after Ping An Insurance of China transformed from a regional insurance company to a national insurance company, it published two full-page recruitment advertisements in the China Insurance News. It was a sensation in the industry at that time.

In the early days of China Pacific and China Ping An Insurance, most of the personnel and managers in key positions came from the People's Insurance Company of China. I was working in the Planning Department of PICC Gansu Branch. My leaders and colleagues Kuang Jizu and Bi Hansong also went to Shanghai Ping An and Shenzhen Ping An after seeing the recruitment advertisements.

Although four new regional insurance companies, Xinhua, Taikang, Huaan and Yongan, were established in China in 1996, this will not affect the PICC, China Life, Ping An and Ping An of China in general. The monopoly position of the Pacific insurance market. China's insurance industry as a whole is still not active enough. But the turnover of people in the industry has begun to increase. Ping An Insurance of China began to introduce talents from overseas in 1995, especially in the life insurance industry. It has a special liking for Taiwan's talents. In 1999, it launched the "Dragon Plan" to introduce external talents. Since then, Ping An Insurance of China has embarked on a healthy path of integrating with international standards and developing rapidly. In 2004, Ping An Insurance of China was successfully listed in Hong Kong. One of its important features was its international and professional talent team and a management team that combined Chinese and Western skills. Therefore, the concept of "people-oriented" is correct. The president of Coca-Cola once said: If a big fire breaks out and the factory buildings and raw materials are destroyed, as long as the talents are retained, Coca-Cola can still develop rapidly.

II

Taiping Insurance and Taiping Life Insurance are subsidiaries of China Insurance Holding Company. It entered the domestic insurance market under the new situation of China's accession to the WTO and further accelerated opening up. It was founded in Shanghai in 1929, went overseas for business in 1956, and returned to its hometown in 2001. It is the most complete and oldest insurance company in domestic history. Yang Chao, who originally served as chairman of China Insurance Holding Company (retired, served as chairman of China Life Insurance Company before retirement). Based on the actual situation of China Insurance Holding Company and the domestic insurance market situation, it was decided that Taiping Insurance would resume operations in China. At that time, the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis swept across Southeast Asian countries, leaving all countries scarred. Faced with the severe economic situation at that time, China Insurance Holding Company raised funds through China Insurance International, China's first listed insurance company, to be listed in Hong Kong. Under the cordial care of the state and central leaders, it returned to China and began to cultivate the domestic insurance market. . After nearly 10 years of hard work, Taiping Insurance, Taiping Life Insurance, Taiping Pension Insurance and Taiping Asset Management Company have all achieved remarkable results. Taiping Life Insurance has opened up a new market through bancassurance channels. Taiping Insurance’s premium volume exceeded 10 billion yuan in December 2013. It can be said that the achievements are considerable.

Three

In March 2002, I officially submitted my resume.

In June 2002, three months after I submitted my resume, I received a call from Shenzhen Taiping Insurance. The other party asked me very politely if I had time to go to Shenzhen for an interview. It happened that the People's Insurance Company of China organized us to go to Hong Kong for training at the end of June, so I agreed to take this opportunity to go to Taiping Insurance. One night in July, we were passing through Shenzhen. On Shennan Avenue where the evening breeze was blowing, I saw the neon lights of Taiping Insurance flashing. At this time, a warmth suddenly rose in my heart.

The training time in Hong Kong is short but rich.

The person who received and organized our training was China Insurance Holding Company. China Insurance Holding Company was separated from the People's Insurance Company of China in 1996 after the domestic insurance business was separated. Therefore, after meeting with the comrades from the training department of China Insurance Holding Company, both parties were very cordial. During the training, we visited China Insurance Holdings Company and had discussions and discussions with the middle and senior management of another subsidiary of China Insurance Company, Hong Kong Mining Insurance Company. The good working environment, busy and orderly work, and relaxed and harmonious language communication all attracted me. The result of the exchange gave me a deeper understanding of China Insurance Holding Company and further strengthened my determination to join Taiping Insurance.

After returning to Shenzhen from Hong Kong, I contacted the Human Resources Department of Taiping Insurance. Under their arrangement, I came to the headquarters of Taiping Insurance Co., Ltd. on the 17th floor of Jiangsu Building, Yitian Road, Futian District. At that time, the area around Jiangsu Tower was not prosperous, but after years of construction, it is now very modern. Shenzhen CBD, city government, concert hall, library, and Shenzhen Book City are all located here.

The people who interviewed me at that time were: Assistant General Manager Chen Yongxin who was in charge of the Human Resources Department in the General Manager’s Office (has passed away due to illness), General Manager Luo Haiping of the Marketing Department at the time (the first session of China Insurance Industry Development and Reform The planner of the forum and modern insurance function seminar, currently the deputy general manager of China United Property Insurance Holding Company), Assistant General Manager Cao Xiaorun, Deputy General Manager Sun Fengshou of the Human Resources Department, Sun Hu (Deputy General Manager of Taiping Insurance Hebei Branch) and staff member Wang Ke. After raising a few questions, let me spend 5 minutes to prepare for the topic of the current development status and future development trends of China's insurance market. The speech will last 10 minutes. I completed the speech at the scheduled time. Perhaps the content of the speech also impressed the people present, and the interview went very smoothly. After that, I met Assistant General Manager Chen Jinkui and Assistant General Manager Jiang Zhongming. Assistant General Manager Jiang Zhongming used to work in Hong Kong. His Mandarin is not very standard, but he is very humorous. He asked me several questions about business and insurance law very carefully. In the final step, Deputy General Manager Qi Zhiqiang interviewed me and signed his agreement. Later, after joining Taiping Insurance, I discussed the first Taiping auto insurance system reform with Deputy General Manager Qi Zhiqiang. The human resources department originally arranged for the then general manager Jiang Yidao to interview me, but Mr. Jiang was in Hong Kong at the time and after listening to the introduction from the human resources department, he agreed to let me join Taiping Insurance. By participating in this interview, Taiping Insurance left a very deep impression on me with its seriousness, pragmatism, and responsible attitude towards the interviewers.

In the summer of 2004, at a party, the then deputy general manager of the human resources department, Sun Fengshou, introduced me to the then assistant general manager of the general manager’s office, Li Xiaoming, and said that I was the best person interviewed when he joined Taiping Insurance. Strict.

Taiping Insurance attaches great importance to employee training and education. Thanks to the support of China Insurance Holding Company, starting from 2004, the Human Resources Department of Taiping Insurance, under the auspices of Li Xiaoming, Assistant General Manager of the General Manager Office and Chen Xiaoyan, then General Manager of the Human Resources Department, organized a group of outstanding domestic personnel to come to China Insurance The overseas institutions of the holding company conduct studies, which plays a positive role in the healthy development of Taiping Insurance’s domestic business and practices the humanistic concept of “training and nurturing talents”.

In early 2005, a senior manager who applied for a job at Taiping Insurance pointed to the cultural wall on the 17th floor of the company and said to me: "Do you know what attracts me to your company? It's integrity, dedication, and harmony. "Sharing" in this business philosophy moved me inexplicably. "In 2007, Luo Haiping, then deputy general manager of the general manager office, was discussing the development strategy of Taiping Insurance Co., Ltd. from 2006 to 2010. Planning", the business philosophy of "careful management and honest service" has been deeply rooted in the bones of employees at the grassroots level, which shows the power of the company's corporate culture.

Four

Of course, Taiping Insurance’s corporate culture also keeps pace with the times and is constantly undergoing changes and enrichment. For example, the business philosophy proposed by Fuye at that time of "making big profits and doing big things, small profits and small things, and not doing anything without profits" was gradually no longer advocated with the development of the times.

“Realize yourself, enjoy life, develop together, and give back to society.” This was one of the company’s business philosophies initially advocated by Taiping Insurance when it resumed business. Whenever I log in to my company's old OA, this sentence is what jumps out at me. Although this idea is no longer promoted, it had such a profound impact on me that I still cannot forget it.

It is said that this business philosophy has been criticized, and the main controversy is over "enjoying life". It seems that instead of encouraging company employees to work hard and be positive, they encourage everyone to enjoy themselves. Maybe due to different understandings, the results will be different!

But I have my own opinions on this business philosophy. My understanding of "realize yourself, enjoy life, develop together, and give back to society." is: the prerequisite for enjoying life is self-realization. After understanding each person's strengths and specialties, the company builds a platform for employees to realize themselves, plan their future, grow and develop with the company, and contribute to society. The purpose of work must be to pursue a better life, and enjoying life is the motivation for people to work better.

I remember that when I was working at the People’s Insurance Company of China, I once saw an economic program on CCTV 2, which was about the growing popularity of placing tea, milk and coffee in the pantry among Western companies. People usually have less contact with each other at work. During the fixed break time every day, everyone can go to the tea room at the same time. In this way, they can communicate with each other and inspire their thinking, which is more conducive to work. So I combined the actual work of the company at that time and submitted it to the company I worked for in the form of rational suggestions, but I encountered resistance. The biggest resistance is that some employees pointed out that comrades in the grassroots companies are working tirelessly to collect insurance premiums, while the staff in the agency are drinking coffee and working, a bit greedy for enjoyment. Western corporate culture is under attack in China. After I started working at Taiping Insurance, I was very happy when I saw that the company had a tea room. The computers placed in the tea room can be used to search for information online, newspapers can be read at will, and notice boards are posted about the major activities that the company will conduct in the past two days. Everything gives people a fresh feeling. The original suggestion was easily implemented here. All this reveals the vitality of the overseas company.

I still remember that the company first shot a documentary to reflect the company’s corporate culture. In the large conference room on the 17th floor, the photographer asked Jiang Lin from the marine insurance department to hold a drink and asked me to flip through a magazine, and then took the view facing Shenzhen’s blue sky and green Lotus Mountain. It’s still hard to think about it. forget! I think that if a company reaches the stage of "drinking Changsha water, eating Wuchang fish, crossing thousands of miles of Yangtze River, and seeing Chutianshu as far as the eye can see", the future prospects of this company will undoubtedly be very brilliant. Of course, the cruel reality of market competition does not allow companies to be so romantic, but I think a company should work hard towards such a goal.

In addition to this business philosophy, the company also has the catchy business philosophy of "operating with heart and serving with integrity"; the management of "establishing the company with integrity, prospering the company with efficiency, managing the company professionally, and strengthening the company with cooperation" idea. The six spirits advocated by Feng Xiaozeng, then Chairman of China Insurance Holding Company, are all having a profound impact on the employees of China Insurance Holding Company. I think the reason why these concepts are catchy, unforgettable, and have such a profound impact naturally has its own charm. After more than 80 years of continuous creation, development and accumulation, Taiping Insurance has formed a relatively rich value system, which is a huge spiritual wealth created by Taiping Insurance people in all generations. In 2008, based on the initiative of Comrade Shen Nanning, then Chairman of Taiping Insurance Company, and under the auspices of Deputy General Manager Luo Haiping, then General Manager Wang Wenhui of the Strategic Management Department drafted and issued the "Taiping Insurance Co., Ltd." after absorbing opinions from all parties. "Corporate Culture Construction Outline 2008-2010" is the first document on corporate culture construction issued by Taiping Insurance since it resumed operations in China. It has played a positive role in promoting the construction of Taiping Insurance's corporate culture.

Now that I think about it, the cultural heritage accumulated by China Insurance and Taiping Insurance over the past century should be an important factor in attracting me to join Taiping Insurance. When Xu Wenhu, director of the Insurance Department of Fudan University in Shanghai, talked about the question "What will be the core competitiveness of Chinese insurance companies in 10 years' time" at a symposium in 2002, he made two points. One was the technical content of the product; The second is the insurance culture of the company. From now on, this statement is true. I am also a supporter of the above two points. Because during these years of working at Shenzhen Taiping Insurance, I have a deep understanding of the above two points, especially the company's corporate culture. Because the products are homogeneous and no culture conveys the same feelings.

Extended reading: How to buy insurance, which one is better, and step-by-step instructions to avoid these "pitfalls" of insurance