Allianz Nigeria Lists Peculiar Policies Distinguishing It As Best Work  Place In 2019

The above photo is not from a dress-down Friday at work. It is not a working holiday either. No, it’s a regular workday, a Monday actually. Surprised? Part of the dress code policy at Allianz Nigeria – a composite insurance company owned by the Allianz Group – allows employees to ‘use their best judgement when determining appropriate attire and appearance’. That’s right, they trust their employees to dress smart and dress right!

By CLEMENT NWOJI, Abuja

In this era of competition in the insurance market, every company is out to put in place policies that will distinguish it as well as encourage its workforce to give out their best while satisfying customers optimally.

Allianz Nigeria, a global leader in insurance underwriting and asset management said it has got three secrets  that puts it as  a strong contender for best workplace in 2019

These according to the company,  include Flexi-hour and Allianz Nigeria is the first and the only company in Nigeria to have this as a work policy.

In line with this, employees of the company can choose to resume as early as 7am or as late as 10am provided they put in the required 8 hours of work (plus a 1-hour lunch break) and voila! You’re done for the day. “So if you resume by 7am, you can hit the close by 4pm and manage to beat the city traffic.

On the likelihood of abuses by some employees the  Executive Director of the company, Mr Owolabi Salami replied: “There are however, concerns about the abuse of such a policy. We really don’t care. For us it is substance over form.

“We trust our people to do the right thing even when no one is watching, and for the past two years our people have made us absolutely proud of the decision to make flexible work hours a company policy”.

Secondly,  dress policy. The company said traditional attire everyday is allowed. “The policy states simply that Ankara/wool/cotton attires are acceptable modes of dressing during the week.

The Human Resources Manager, Ifeleke Aboyeji, explained that the company wants its people to ‘dress the culture’.

“This contributes greatly to the ambience of the workplace. Employees are free to put on  traditional attires that are both trendy and comfortable.

“In my interactions with employees, I detected that people are generally happy about this flexibility in our dress culture”, she concludes.

Thirdly, Benefits/Remuneration. Aboyeji,said Allianz Nigeria may not boast of the most robust incentive package out there but as an employee puts it, ‘the timeliness of our monthly remuneration is as dependable as sunlight’.

In her words, “But why should this even be something to be highlighted. Many reputable companies owe their employees’ salaries for months in a row, in blatant violation of extant labor laws.

“As shocking as this sounds, it is the grave reality. With unemployment rate at 23%, employers take undue liberties with the payment of benefits confident that their employees have nowhere to go.

“Allianz Nigeria has a standing policy of paying out monthly benefits on the same day each month. Where the day falls on a weekend or public holiday, payout is the working day immediately before.

“In the final analysis, we make our living here, so we want to offer our people financial security and freedom in the knowledge that the reward for their labor stays sacred”, Aboyeji stated.