John Hancock Financial Services
Company: John Hancock Financial Services, Portsmouth, NH
Company Description: John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Collaboration Solution – New
Nomination Title: John Hancock Administration Collaborative Service Model
Tell the story about this nominated product or service (up to 500 words). Describe its function, features, benefits, and sales to date:
In January 2012, our in-force service organization was set up to support equal to a billion dollar sales year and was divided into specialized functions, “silos” to handle historically high transactions. The economic reality quickly shifted our perspective as we realized a continued shift in the annuity market. We had recently integrated product lines to create efficiencies and started on the resulting organizational development. Our operational mission shifted to servicing our 1.2 million customers as efficiently and effectively as possible, which translated to a new call to action.
Each group had a dedicated staff to support the demands of the day to day. There were teams of Directors, Operations Managers and Managers facing similar challenges within their specialized functions. The communication infrastructure was in place to proactively adjust and we quickly realized similar challenges across the teams. We implemented regular monthly meetings for the management group and created opportunities to consolidate and gain efficiencies by sharing ideas and resources. There was a major demand for change in order to adapt to this new environment and collaboration was a must!
The first critical step was committing to breaking down the “silos” and moving forward as one organization. The mission became - together we have a better chance of success than any one of us alone. We consolidated similar functions, identified and prioritized the needs of the new collective organization. This forced the management team to think beyond their area of expertise, to see the bigger picture. We assessed skill sets of staff members and cross trained to better address the priorities. This new found operational flexibility allowed us to pool our resources and address any transactional spikes across the unit as a collective.
Other realized benefits of breaking down the silos were sharing best practices and leveraging the strengths of each manager. As an example, one manager that is technically strong benefits from working with a manager that is a great team builder. Together they leverage knowledge and experience to provide a better product for the staff and our customers. We took advantage of this through peer coaching and collaboration. Other examples include sharing documentation techniques or incentive program ideas to increase operational effectiveness. All of this “sharing” benefited the group tremendously and as a result we now operate under a shared business model as opposed to the segregated approach we started the year with.
Today we are a smaller, smarter, more nimble team. We’re more efficient, more effective and face challenges together with a “can do” attitude. As a result of this collaborative environment, John Hancock Annuities Administration has reduced the number of errors by 50% and has reduced the cost of errors by 60% in 2012. We have maintained all service levels and have received numerous accolades for the service we have provided over the year. Our staff has expanded their individual skill sets via cross training and our managers have grown professionally from their shared experiences.
Together we’ve become better than any one of us alone!
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that developed this nominated product or service:
Keith Gendron is Assistant Vice President of John Hancock Annuities. Mr. Gendron has held various positions throughout his 14 year career at John Hancock and currently has overall responsibility for the Service Center, Disbursements, Annuitizations, and Benefits along with Training & Development.
Under his direction and strong leadership, the Service Center has received multiple awards. It has been recognized as the #1 Annuity Service provider and continues to be an industry leader.