My twenty years with the lion

Vera Jerman from Generali Zavarovalnica d.d.
The day I first crossed the threshold of Generali Zavarovalnica in Ljubljana twenty years ago is still clear in my mind. The job interview and the room where my future bosses questioned me about my motives for joining the insurance company. I was wearing a red costume.

Joining Generali Zavarovalnica was a turning point in my life. I changed jobs, my long marriage ended and I moved from a small town where I knew everyone to Ljubljana, where I knew no one. The doubters among my friends shook their heads and warned me that I was leaving a safe harbour and heading for the open sea, full of unpredictable pitfalls. But I bravely accepted the challenge.

The basis for a successful job is good professional knowledge, but I have also used the skills from my previous jobs, insights into life, general knowledge and even experience in the field of amateur theatre came in handy. Working with people is challenging, because everyone is an individual. There are differences in age, profession, education, background, lifestyle and habits. And they all value attention, reliability, and a quick response. Hard work pays off.

I started out in the field, with a coolie in my hand, forms and a calculator to work out the premiums. Then came the era of the big, heavy suitcase with the computer and printer, then the tablet. Work processes were digitalized, making us even quicker and easier to reach for the customer. I continued my work at Generali, which brought new aspects, challenges and opportunities.

I have many different memories of my journey. One of the most interesting is my participation in the preservation of the Chedad manuscripts, one of the four oldest written documents of Slovenian history in their original form, which were exhibited in Ljubljana on the occasion of Slovenia's accession to the European Union. The exhibition was attended by people from three countries, Italy, Austria and Germany, and the then Prime Ministers of Slovenia and Bavaria also attended the ceremony.

Even a business meeting with a lady who was a venerable hundred years old but didn't even show it was a pleasant experience.

On one occasion, in order to get a client's advice, I quietly suffered the domestic dog under the table chewing on the heels of my boots.

I had to go to the bathroom, because it's the only way to get some peace and not beep all the time.

Grateful clients often respond with small tokens of appreciation, a bouquet of calfskin or a rose. It is a great feeling when a client says something nice and complimentary about the General, my professionalism and my communication after the meeting. But it has also happened that a client whom I have advised several times on different insurance policies has found me so kind, compassionate, a great listener and advisor that it would have been best to marry me.

And life at work is also shaped by your colleagues. I get on well with them and always get all the help I need in my work. There is a creative and unifying energy between us. The educational trips with the Lionhearts that I have taken part in, the sports and health days and all the other social events are unforgettable, and I am particularly proud of presenting Generali's talents, excellent singers, instrumentalists, dancers and humourists at the events that I have had the opportunity to host on several occasions.

Generali, committed to excellence and long-term value creation, celebrates its centenary. It is a crown of the past and a glimpse of the future, mysterious but inevitable. In more than 190 years, it has left an indelible mark on countless pages of the history of the development of the insurance industry. I am happy and proud that my name will be on one of those pages.

Mojih dvajset let z levom

Dan, ko sem pred dvajsetimi leti prvič prestopila prag Generali Zavarovalnice v Ljubljani,  imam še vedno jasno pred očmi.  Razgovor za sprejem v službo in  prostor, v katerem sta me o mojih motivih za zaposlitev v zavarovalnici spraševala  bodoča šefa.  Oblečena  sem bila v kostim   rdeče barve.

Prihod v Generali Zavarovalnico je bil   prelomni trenutek v mojem življenju.  Zamenjala sem službo,  končala se je moja dolgoletna zakonska zveza in  iz manjšega kraja, kjer sem poznala vse, sem se preselila v Ljubljano, kjer nisem poznala nikogar.  Dvomljivci iz kroga mojih prijateljev so zmajevali z glavo in me svarili, da  zapuščam  varen pristan in se podajam  na odprto morje, polno nepredvidljivih pasti. A sem pogumno sprejela izziv.

Osnova za uspešno delo je dobro strokovno znanje, uporabila pa sem tudi  spretnosti iz preteklih služb, življenjska spoznanja, splošno znanje in celo izkušnje s področja ljubiteljske gledališke dejavnosti so mi prišle prav.  Delo z ljudmi je  zahtevno, saj je vsak zase individuum.  Razlike so v starosti, poklicu, izobrazbi,  okolju, iz katerega prihajajo, načinu življenja, navadah.   Vsi pa  cenijo pozornost, zanesljivost, hiter odziv. Trud zanje se obrestuje.

Začela sem z delom na terenu, s kulijem v roki,  obrazci in kalkulatorjem za izračunavanje premij. Sledilo je obdobje  velikega in težkega kovčka z računalnikom in printerjem, nato tablica.  Delovni procesi so se digitalizirali in strankam omogočili še hitrejši in enostavnejši dostop do nas.  Z delom sem nadaljevala v poslovalnici Generali, kar  je prineslo nove aspekte, izzive in priložnosti.

Na prehojeno pot imam veliko najrazličnejših spominov. Med zanimivejšimi je moje sodelovanje pri zavarovanju Čedadskih rokopisov, enega od štirih najstarejših pisnih dokumentov slovenstva v izvirni obliki, ki so bili ob vstopu Slovenije v Evropsko unijo razstavljeni v Ljubljani. Na razstavo so prišli  iz treh držav, Italije, Avstrije  in Nemčije, svečanosti sta se udeležila tudi tedanja  slovenski in bavarski premier.

Tudi poslovno srečanje  z gospo, ki je imela častitljivih sto let, a jih sploh ni kazala,  je bila lepa izkušnja.

Nekoč sem za nemoteno svetovanje pri stranki tiho potrpela, da je domači pes pod mizo grizel petke na mojih čevljih, saj je le tako dal mir in ni  ves čas bevskal.

Hvaležne stranke  se velikokrat odzovejo z malimi pozornostmi, s šopkom telohov ali z vrtnico.  Čudovit občutek je, ko stranka po končanem terminu o Generaliju, moji strokovnosti in komunikaciji reče kaj  lepega in pohvalnega.  Zgodilo pa se je tudi, da  sem se stranki, ki sem ji nekajkrat  svetovala za različna zavarovanja,  zdela tako prijazna, sočutna, odlična poslušalka in svetovalka,  da bi se bilo najboljše kar poročiti z mano.

A življenje na delovnem mestu krojijo tudi sodelavci. Z  njimi  se dobro razumem in vedno  dobim  vso pomoč, ki  jo pri svojem delu potrebujem.  Med nami se pretaka  ustvarjalna in povezovalna energija. Nepozabna so  izobraževalna potovanja z levjesrčnimi, ki sem se jih udeležila, dnevi športa in zdravja, vsa druga druženja, posebej ponosna pa sem tudi na predstavljanje Generalijevih talentov, odličnih pevcev, instrumentalistov, plesalcev, humoristov na prireditvah, ki sem jih nekajkrat imela priložnost voditi.

Generali, zavezan k odličnosti in ustvarjanju dolgoročne vrednosti,  praznuje jubilej.  To je krona preteklosti, obenem pa pogled v prihodnost, skrivnostno, vendar neizogibno. V 190 letih se je na nešteto listih neizbrisno zapisal v zgodovino razvoja zavarovalništva. Vesela in ponosna sem, da bo na enem izmed teh listov zapisano tudi moje ime.