Team players working for the common good

“If you stretch out your hand, there’s always someone there to take it. We genuinely live our value ‘One AXA’ across the organisation”, say Susanna Tell, HR Business Partner at AXA Partners Scandinavia and Tarja Ristolainen, HR Business Partner at AXA Partners Finland.

Susanna Tell and Tarja Ristolainen

HR Business Partner at AXA Partners Scandinavia and AXA Partners Finland

To be sure, AXA Partners is truly an international workplace. Despite being a close-knit team of 160, AXA Partners Nordics is part of a global organisation of 160,000 people. This creates a special dynamic.

“You’re a part of a small family, which is part of a larger family in an even larger world”, explains Ristolainen.

Why is AXA a good place to work?

“It starts with an incredible team spirit, both here in the Nordics and in the AXA Group as a whole. Being a part of a large global company offers great opportunities to grow and learn. There’s so much knowledge and so many influences in the mix. What you sense throughout AXA is the willingness to co-operate, internally as well as with our partners.”
 

What makes you proud of AXA as an employer?

“Locally, it’s the incredible drive to always improve, to empower our people, to look forward and to make AXA a good place to work. On the international level, it’s the group’s high ambitions to be a positive force in society. Our purpose is to act for human progress by protecting what matters most, and our employees are working incredibly hard to live up to that. What we do really makes a difference. We also want to take responsibility when it comes to diversity, inclusion and corporate responsibility. This makes me proud to say I work for AXA.”
 

How do you approach corporate social responsibility?

“When it comes to diversity and inclusion, we are striving for gender balance at all levels of the organisation, including (importantly) in critical leadership and senior decision making roles. Beyond that, we have inclusion campaigns that recognise events like International Women’s Day, Pride and the International Day for People with Disabilities, to mention a few. Our work with corporate social responsibility is also manifested in our withdrawal from tobacco businesses.”
 

What is typical for the AXA culture?

“AXA has four values: One AXA, Courage, Integrity and Customer First. ‘One AXA’ makes its mark through the co-operation across different functions to find the best common solution. ‘Customer First’ is immediately recognisable in an operations associate’s drive to deliver absolute word-class customer service. They are ready to go the extra mile to find the best solution for our customers and, at the same time, achieve our purpose to help people when they need it the most. As we express it: Act for human progress by protecting what matters. ‘Courage’ and ‘Integrity’ are there to create an atmosphere of trust where you say what you think and dare to stand up for what you believe is important.”
 

What are valuable traits for people working at AXA?

“That you want to be a part of a team and work for the common good. You are a team player who loves to communicate and build relations, internally as well as with our partners and end customers.”

How does AXA help people grow?

“You have free access to online courses around the clock. It can be anything from HR management to Excel or finance for leaders. More, it’s a big company offering opportunities to be a part of various projects. For instance, if you are an operations associate and have an idea on how to improve our business, you will also be involved in the project driving that change.”
 

What are the most common professional roles at AXA Partners?

“AXA can offer a wide range of positions. We are in the B2B2C space, which means that we have account managers for our business partners, sales managers for new business opportunities, and value proposition managers, deployment managers and underwriting to develop our products and services. You can also work in distribution to train our partners’ customer service and support their marketing actions. Operations associates have a very prominent role. They are the frontline, helping customers when the unexpected happens. Operations in general have many roles, from customer service associates to managers working with customer experience development projects. We have recently launched a career page, where you can register your interest, upload your profile and apply for jobs worldwide.”
 

In which roles will AXA see a growth in recruitment?

“We will be looking for a wide range of roles. They all have one thing in common: a genuine interest in service. We are also putting effort into recruiting candidates with diverse backgrounds who share our values and believe in our purpose. In the operations associate’s role, for example, you don’t have to have a specific degree. Still, experience in the area, or from a job in the service sector, is an advantage. And we are also interested in people from health care, who have valuable experience and knowledge.”

What is your strongest offer to meet young people’s expectations?

“We are a very humane employer. We want you to prosper at work and have fun with your colleagues. We want you to be able to have a life outside work. When we speak about diversity and inclusion, we mean that you bring your whole self to work. Your gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and the life you live at home are all parts of who you are. We value the unique insights, perspective and life experiences which each person can bring.”