The new shadowing learning format was launched at UNIQA Austria for the first time in 2022. Two employees observe a member of top management in their day-to-day work like "shadows" for half a day – no staged scenes, no special treatment, complete authenticity. We asked the participants for their impressions.
After a successful start last year, the shadowing learning format went into a second round this year. 154 employees from a wide range of areas took the opportunity to look over the shoulders of top managers at UNIQA and gain insights into their daily challenges.
As part of the "UNIQA 3.0 - Seeding the Future" programme, all UNIQA colleagues are working together on the further development of the company. But what does the strategy mean for their own day-to-day work? How can UNIQA 3.0 and day-to-day business be linked? And what influence do the Guiding Principles have on day-to-day activities? The shadowing format provides a deeper insight into the implementation of UNIQA 3.0 and the importance of the Guiding Principles in professional behaviour.
"I'm a big fan of shadowing and look forward to it every time because it gives all participants a new perspective. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes for a few hours supports mutual understanding and personal development. I always learn a lot from my shadows, their observations and questions," says CEO Andreas Brandstetter, describing his shadowing experience.
Shadowing at the regional office in Upper Austria: f.l.t.r.: Alexander Schinnerl (country director OÖ), Astrid Napetschnig, Andreas Hüttner, Franz Puchinger
All participants agree on one aspect: how valuable it is to look at topics and challenges in a different context and from a new perspective. Especially in a corporate structure with such a broad range of tasks, shadowing can help you get to know the company even better – and gain inspiration for your own everyday life. Astrid Napetschnig from People AT, for example, describes the half-day with Country Director Alexander Schinnerl in Upper Austria "as an absolute wow experience that will linger for a long time." Jakob Schmaus, Head of VTS at the Vienna Regional Office, also took a lot of inspiration from his shadowing in Legal & Compliance: "This was my second time shadowing and this time I was able to gain an insight into the exciting and very diverse work of Legal & Compliance. In my opinion, shadowing is a great format: getting to know great colleagues, being inspired by top managers and, last but not least, thinking outside the box - all this is possible in just a few hours."
A change of perspective is therefore always a good way to break out of our own silo mentality. Especially when we experience departments with which we otherwise have few or no points of contact in our own day-to-day work. Monika Antoniadis, Group Operations, Improvement & Service, took advantage of this opportunity and spent half a day with Manager Filip Kisiel from UNIQA Health Services. "We were able to attend the SanusX Report Outs, where teams presented the progress of their healthcare services projects. I gained new insights into our overarching work and innovative offering in addition to the pure insurance business."
Elisabeth Wagner from UNIQA Media House also had a positive experience during her visit to the Tyrol Regional Head Office and in dialogue with Regional Director Michael Zentner: "Shadowing is a great opportunity to get out of your own bubble and gain new impressions. My conclusion: the big issues are the same, but the implementation is often customised to the respective region."
Shadowing at the Regional Office in Tyrol: Armin Pirker, Regional Director Michael Zentner, Peter Majorkovits, Elisabeth Wagner, Viktoria Blaha, Christian Peternell, Stefanie Höllwarth, Paul Mair und Gottfried Grauss
There was also a great deal of feedback on the corporate culture. For example, participants noticed positively that the Guiding Principle Customer First is visibly at the centre of attention as soon as they enter a regional head office – from the friendly greeting to the posters and information displayed on the screens. The strong UNIQA community was also noticeable across all areas, such as for Kristina Kosnar from UNIQA Media House, who was able to gain an insight into the Group Actuarial department: "It was particularly exciting and inspiring for me to see how natural it is for employees in the actuarial department to work closely with colleagues from other departments and countries. Our Guiding Principle of Community has been successfully practised here for a long time."
Claudia Brandstetter, Sales Trainer and Apprentice Representative in Salzburg, shadowed CEO Andreas Brandstetter and was able to experience the strong community spirit not only by taking a look behind the scenes at Town Hall, but also by getting a taste of start-up life at a UNIQA subsidiary. "My shadowing started with a very special highlight for me – the Town Hall with our Salzburg apprentices. In the second part, I went on to WeXelerate with Andreas Nemeth and UNIQA Ventures. I was particularly impressed and inspired by the type of collaboration and meeting culture there."
Shadowing with CEO Andreas Brandstetter, f.l.t.r.: Oskar Miedaner, Claudia Brandstetter, Katrin Koprivnik, Andreas Brandstetter
The shadowing participants were also impressed by the wide range of topics and the common goal of all participants. Florian Graßmück, responsible for Employer Branding in the People Group division at UNIQA, commented: "Shadowing Hans-Christian Schwarz, Head of Retail Austria, was an exciting day for me that inspired me on several levels. On the one hand, the enormous range of topics in his area: from product design and sales to direct contact with customers. Secondly, I found it incredibly valuable to be able to communicate with our senior management on an equal footing." This impression is emphasised by Lisa Strasser, Pricing & Monitoring International, who also shadowed Hans-Christian Schwarz: "I was particularly impressed by Hans-Christian Schwarz's generous willingness to share his knowledge, which certainly broadened my perspective. At the same time, I was very impressed by the respectful co-operation and communication at eye level throughout the entire department. Without a doubt, the experience was a highlight in my UNIQA career and I can only recommend everyone to take part in the programme!"
All participants can take away valuable learnings for their own day-to-day work - even more solution-orientation, composure, structure or approaches to conducting meetings efficiently. One realisation stands out in particular: We are all in the same boat and we are all human, mistakes are okay, but learning from them is important.
Shadowing at UNIQA Health Services, f.l.t.r.: Monika Antoniadis, UNIQA Health Services manager Filip Kisiel, Stephanie Scheubrein
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