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PZU Group pays great attention to the quality of socially responsible activities also outside the country.
Insurance companies in the Baltic states and LINK4
A responsible action is mainly the way of thinking introducing the standards of corporate responsibility into everyday activity.
The awareness of responsible actions is also high among PZU Group’s other insurance companies (specifically those in the Baltic states and LINK4). The positions of AB Lietuvos Draudimas and AAS BALTA – the leaders of the insurance markets in Lithuania and Latvia respectively – also entail obligations, just like the role of PZU in Poland. But a responsible action is mainly the way of thinking introducing the standards of corporate responsibility into everyday activity. Most CSR operations are conducted in the following areas:
- creation of a friendly workplace,
- activities to contribute to the broad concept of safety, specifically traffic safety,
- support for local communities,
- promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle,
- protection of the natural environment.
AB Lietuvos Draudimas
The mission of AB Lietuvos Draudimas is to be a “trusted expert and leader who sets new trends on the non-life insurance market and regularly creates and provides innovative solutions for all Lithuanian residents and enterprises”. The company is a socially responsible enterprise and employer. Its CSR activity in 2015 covered the following key projects: “Stwórzmy bezpieczny świat“ [Let’s create a safe world] (improving traffic safety), “Wsparcie społeczności lokalnych” [Support for local communities] (initiatives strengthening the sense of identification with local communities, employee volunteering), “Razem tworzymy historię” [Linking history] (support for national pride projects, promotion of modern heritage, financial education, social integration of youth). By supporting and taking part in various campaigns, the company is trying bring together as many people as it can and organize them around a common objective to solve problems, protect the community, and stimulate changes contributing to the creation of both a safer future and balanced society.
In 2016, Lietuvos Draudimas took part in the following social campaigns:
- „Zero agresji” [Zero road range] – campaign motivating reduction of road rage. 85 special road signs were installed in 25 Lithuanian cities by the end of 2015. The year 2016 included the social experiment aimed to demonstrate how important it is to be polite when driving a car.
- „Chroń mnie” [Protect me] – every September, the schoolchildren of all schools are insured by Lietuvos Draudimas against the consequences of unfortunate traffic accidents. The campaign has been organized since year 2000 together with the local communal centers, which provide special signs to pedestrian crossings near schools. In the past 10 years, the number of traffic collisions in Lithuania involving children has been reduced three times.
- „Kup ubezpieczenie mienia - zasadź drzewo” [Insure your property – plant a tree] – its main objective is to plant about 50 thousand trees.
In response to the needs of its clients, the company has also launched an online self- service portal and actively encourages communication with the use of innovative tools. The remote administration of the client accounts on the portal reduces paper printouts, the number of paper invoices and documents, shortens the response time, and considerably improves the claims handling process.
AAS BALTA
As the leader of the insurance market and a responsible employer, AAS BALTA wants to actively participate in the life of the Latvian community. In 2016, the company’s volunteering employees supported six social projects on a national scale. AAS BALTA contributes to the programs promoting safe behavior in everyday life. To promote traffic safety, it organizes an annual contest for entrepreneurs under the slogan: “Safest Corporate Vehicle Fleet”. The “Safety in beaches” project included an educational campaign concerning the rules of safety near water and on all public beaches in Riga, whereas information signs promoting safe behavior were placed throughout the commune. The company has been supporting the “Honor families 3+” program for the past three years. This is a national support program for Latvian families with three or more children. The company also cooperates with the state blood donation center, takes part in numerous charity and sponsored campaigns, and supports animal shelters and tree planting campaigns.
In 2016, AAS BALTA received the Gold Category in the Latvian index of sustainable development [InCSR] and was one of only 24 companies in Latvia to receive the title of the “Company friendly to families”. This prestigious award is presented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy to companies which promote balance between professional and family life and create friendly workplaces.
LINK4
LINK4 is a pioneer and leader in the field of direct insurance in Poland. It also expands its activity through other channels of distribution. According to the company’s mission, its employees “transform their passions into friendly and innovative solutions for the safety of their clients”. The company wants to set the trends for the future of the insurance market. To ensure security and top quality, the employees spend a lot of time making an analysis of the client needs, adjusting products, and studying satisfaction and service quality. LINK4 was the first direct insurance agency to receive the ISO 9001:2001 certificate in claims handling.
As a responsible employer, the company creates a friendly workplace for its employees to let them develop and raise their qualifications. LINK4 has numerous development and motivation programs. They include events aimed to integrate the employees and their families, e.g. the company has a day for children during every winter break, a family picnic with presents for children organized every summer, and offers parents an additional day off for the first day of school and kindergarten in September. LINK4 also has a permanent place for children in its HR department, where classes such as yoga are held. Other interesting campaigns include: healthy days with seasonal fruit and “occasional gifts”. The special events held for the employees last year were accompanied by additional attractions, including a photo booth, ice cream, or hot chocolate served at the office.
When LINK4 signed the Diversity Card in 2016, it joined the international initiative supporting diversity in the workplace.
LINK4 engages in various social activities. It actively supports the operations of the Bartek Kruczkowski Foundation “Organiści” promoting organ transplantation in Poland and the activities of Fundacja Dzieciom “Zdążyć z Pomocą” [the Foundation for Children “Help on Time”]. The company organizes numerous charity campaigns involving its employees. Last year, the company’s managers took part in the renovation of the gym at the association for the disable in Żelechów and in art workshops for the disable, as well as once again in the blood drive of Centrum Krwiodawstwa i Krwiolecznictwa [Center for Blood Donation and Haemotherapy]. The charity campaigns have also been initiated by the employees. They organized the pre-holiday fair, took part in Szlachetna Paczka [Noble Gift], and collected money for an animal shelter last year. The employees also collected money for their colleagues who had found themselves in a difficult life situation.
In 2016, LINK4 also provided support for the interesting grassroots project “Serce Twojego samochodu” [The Heart of Your Car]. The initiative was started by four graduates of the class with additional medical rescue program from the LXXV Jan III Sobieski High School in Warsaw, who decided to intervene and make first-aid kits mandatory in cars. They organized a campaign and handed out first aid kits to drivers to make them aware that this small box can actually save a lot of lives.
The company was also involved in the celebrations of the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. In August 2016, the company conducted the informational campaign “Pamiętamy” [We Remember] mainly in the online media and press.
Standards of social responsibility in Alior Bank
Alior Bank pays great attention to applying standards of social responsibility in its everyday operations. Its priorities are good relations with its clients and employees. The bank engages in educational, cultural, charity, and sponsorship activities.
From its very start Alior Bank has been customer-oriented through its consulting services based on advantages and adaptation of products to customer expectations. This approach lets Alior Bank play a leading role in the Polish bank sector in the scope of maintaining and promoting high service standards, which has been confirmed by numerous awards and distinctions.
Its employees are considered as important capital of Alior Bank. The new HR strategy assumes the improvement of employee experiences throughout the whole employment cycle and building of an organizational culture supporting the transformation process. The employees can become experts in selected fields or team management, consequently developing their management skills. The dialogue serving to build relations with the employees included the internal survey “Alior Bank pod lupą” [Alior Bank under a magnifying glass]. It aimed to diagnose the current organizational culture of the bank, preferences concerning the employee offer, and evaluation of the quality of tools and processes. The obtained conclusions have allowed for the verification of the previous activity and development of the staff policy on local levels and the level of the whole bank.
The employee benefits offered in 2016 by Alior Bank focused on the following three aspects: support for the families of the employees, promotion of active sports, and inspiring the professional development of women.
During the 2016 winter break, the children of the employees of the Centers in Warsaw, Kraków, and Gdańsk had the opportunity to attend a day camp. The event allowed parents to work more comfortably in the daytime. In May and June 2016, Gdańsk, Kraków, and Warsaw hosted picnics for Alior Bank employees and their families. They served as an excellent opportunity to get to know one another and integrate the teams through snacks and athletic games, also for the employees of the dispersed sales networks of Alior Bank in these regions.
To support the athletic initiatives of its employees, the Bank has 11 sports divisions. Each of them associates a group of employees around the idea of active competition in a given sport and its promotion among a wider audience.
The 2016 initiatives also included continuation of the professional development program for women. Its main objective is to build organizational culture where women can take full advantage of their potential by sharing their experiences and transferring knowledge.
As an institution stressing the importance of corporate responsibility, Alior Bank has been supporting local communities for years and engaging in numerous initiatives. Such activities aim not only to assist in the realization of individual projects but also promote information about social responsibility and sustainable development among the Bank’s employees, clients, business partners, and shareholders. The employees often submit projects of their own initiative which they believe are important and reflect the values represented by the bank. As a result, more and more internal initiatives are combined with external campaigns each year.
The bank engages in educational programs directed to various age groups, including children. In January 2016 the Bank launched the pilot educational classes conducted by Alior Bank experts to promote matters associated with entrepreneurship and finances in cooperation with the Ekomini Foundation in one of the elementary schools in the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship.
In April 2016, Alior Bank once again provided support for the “Czytam w podróży” [Reading en route] campaign promoting reading and the works of Zbigniew Herbert. Hundreds of volunteers joined last year’s event and handed out bookmarks with a poem of one of the top Polish poets of the 20th century in public transit, at bus stops and train stations. The cooperation with the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation saw the active participation of Alior Bank employees. In over 320 branches, they handed out bookmarks promoting the works of the author of “Mr. Cogito” and encouraging reading on the way to school, work, or a dream vacation place.
Alior Bank was the patron of the 2nd edition of the “Stolica Języka Polskiego” [The Capital of the Polish Language] festival in Szczebrzeszyn, which took place at the turn of July and August 2016. The event, which promoted classic and contemporary Polish literature as an essential element of the social and national identity, reached the rank of one of the most important literary festivals in Poland. Its second edition was attended by 12 thousand people. Alior Bank was also the patron of the concert performed by Zbigniew Wodecki and the Mitch&Mitch Orchestra and Choir.
In 2016, Alior Bank became the benefactor of the holiday illumination on Warsaw’s Nowy Świat. The bank handled the special appearance of the representative street for the second time. Thanks to the illumination, the residents of Warsaw and tourists were able to stroll along Nowy Świat and look at the unique holiday decorations until early February.
For Christmas, Alior Bank also organized the charity campaign titled “Świeć przykładem – pomóż dzieciom” [Set a good example – help the children]. The dedicated website saw the holiday star lit up 50 thousand times to provide financial support of PLN 50 thousand for five selected foster care centers in Gdańsk, Kraków, Krasnystaw, Szczecin, and Warsaw.
Alior Bank once again joined “Mikołajkowy Blok Reklamowy” [Santa’s Advertising Block] – a charity campaign organized by the Polsat Foundation. The holiday spot of the bank promoting a new form of credit was aired in the advertising block, the profits from which went to the children that the Foundation supports. “Mikołajkowy Blok Reklamowy” was watched in 2016 by over 6 million viewers. PLN 1,2 million was collected and it will all go to the treatment and rehabilitation of sick children.
In 2016, for the second time in a row, Alior Bank became a sponsor and partner of Smogathon, an event organized to fight environmental pollution with the use of various technologies developed by different fields of science and business. Another initiative of the Bank was the sponsorship of the first programming competition in Poland which combined the new technologies with the world of culture -“HackArt”. The competition was organized in cooperation with the best cultural institutions in Warsaw: the Syrena Theatre, the Zachęta Art Gallery, the Museum of Warsaw and the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra.
As the official sponsor of the Polish National Soccer Team, Alior Bank continues its cooperation with the Polish Soccer Association. In 2016, over 50 thousand fans were holders of the Bank’s Fan Card, which serves as an identification card and replaces traditional paper tickets. It also serves as a pre- paid payment card. This is a key element associated with the multimedia platform “Łączy nas piłka” [Soccer unites us]. Alior Bank is one of its official partners.
For more information concerning campaigns and programs in which Alior Bank was involved in 2016, please read the Alior Bank annual report.
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