Asia case study marcus profile
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Tell us about your role at AIA I manage Group Internal Communications for the AIA Group, Asia’s largest pan- Asian life insurance provider. The company has a diversified franchise across the region serving clients in 17 markets. It’s a matrix organisation in which Group Internal Communications has both a strategic as well as a tactical component. What where your first 100 days like? Any advice? They were tough and instructive – both. To a very large extent our work as communicators is based on relationships. When we move from one company to another those relationships (and the inherent trust) have to be rebuilt. Not having a rich network of people at hand to help me to be as effective and efficient as I can be…it was frustrating. In addition, much of what we do depends on an instinctive understanding of the culture by which every action in a company is defined. Adjusting to a culture to the point where it becomes ingrained in one’s thought and decision processes is an osmotic progression. It takes time. Until the moment where culture becomes second nature, decisions often involve a time consuming assessment – which, again, can be quite frustrating. My advice for anyone starting out in a new position: be patient! What are you currently working on? And main challenges? AIA last year launched its new brand positioning. We strive to be The Real Life Company, engaged in the real life of our stakeholders – be they customers, agents, employees or local communities. Embedding a new brand is a multi-year exercise – the first step in this long journey is easier than those that follow … it’s not that difficult to create awareness; the real challenge lies in keeping the momentum going, to ensure that employees are not only aware of the new brand positioning, but truly understand its significance and connection with the company’s vision, purpose and strategic direction. Ultimately, we want to foster an environment where our people embrace the brand and how it applies to their everyday work. My team and I are working closely with leadership from HR and Branding on this, to develop and execute on an integrated, cohesive plan aimed at increasing awareness, understanding, alignment and behavioural change among employees, in line with our corporate values and the Real Life Company brand positioning. It’s both complex and exciting – as good as it gets, really! One of the main challenges in this context is to balance the strategic with the tactical … not losing sight of the bigger picture – while still giving the fundamentals your full attention and remain obsessive about the quality of work and materials produced to keep the engine humming. How influential do you perceive IC to be in Asia, now and in the future? We are off the blocks in terms of being recognised as an important contributor to a company’s success, but I think we still have a long way to go bringing the full potential of internal communications to bear. Until recently, Internal Communications was seen almost solely as a function that created and distributed messages for senior management and, perhaps, edited an employee newsletter. But as I write this, many of us have moved far beyond that … and the best have moved from being managers to leaders, tightly connected to the business, driving strategy and focused on creating tangible ROI. I believe that is what more and more CEOs and Executive Committees are expecting from us – that we become a force in driving business, accelerating growth and creating value. What’s the biggest communication lesson you’ve learnt during your career? There really is no one over-arching communication lesson that I have learnt throughout the course of my career. Rather, there are many, many smaller ones. Do you have a guiding principle for communicators? Success is all about working together – our job as internal communicators is to help make working together easier and more satisfying. The rest will follow. Marcus Balogh is Director of Internal Communications for AIA www.vmagroup.com Europe | Asia-Pacific | North America PROFILE: Marcus Balogh Director of Internal Communications, AIA
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Profile of Internal Communications Director for AIA, based in the Asia-Pacific region
Transcript of Asia case study marcus profile
Tell us about your role at AIAI manage Group Internal Communications for the AIA Group, Asia’s largest pan-Asian life insurance provider. The company has a diversified franchise across the region serving clients in 17 markets. It’s a matrix organisation in which Group Internal Communications has both a strategic as well as a tactical component.
What where your first 100 days like? Any advice?They were tough and instructive – both. To a very large extent our work as communicators is based on relationships. When we move from one company to another those relationships (and the inherent trust) have to be rebuilt. Not having a rich network of people at hand to help me to be as effective and efficient as I can be…it was frustrating. In addition, much of what we do depends on an instinctive understanding of the culture by which every action in a company is defined. Adjusting to a culture to the point where it becomes ingrained in one’s thought and decision processes is an osmotic progression. It takes time. Until the moment where culture becomes second nature, decisions often involve a time consuming assessment – which, again, can be quite frustrating. My advice for anyone starting out in a new position: be patient!
What are you currently working on? And main challenges?AIA last year launched its new brand positioning. We strive to be The Real Life Company, engaged in the real life of
our stakeholders – be they customers, agents, employees or local communities. Embedding a new brand is a multi-year exercise – the first step in this long journey is easier than those that follow … it’s not that difficult to create awareness; the real challenge lies in keeping the momentum going, to ensure that employees are not only aware of the new brand positioning, but truly understand its significance and connection with the company’s vision, purpose and strategic direction. Ultimately, we want to foster an environment where our people embrace the brand and how it applies to their everyday work. My team and I are working closely with leadership from HR and Branding on this, to develop and execute on an integrated, cohesive plan aimed at increasing awareness, understanding, alignment and behavioural change among employees, in line with our corporate values and the Real Life Company brand positioning. It’s both complex and exciting – as good as it gets, really! One of the main challenges in this context is to balance the strategic with the tactical … not losing sight of the bigger picture – while still giving the fundamentals your full attention and remain obsessive about the quality of work and materials produced to keep the engine humming.
How influential do you perceive IC to be in Asia, now and in the future?We are off the blocks in terms of being
recognised as an important contributor to a company’s success, but I think we still have a long way to go bringing the full potential of internal communications to bear. Until recently, Internal Communications was seen almost solely as a function that created and distributed messages for senior management and, perhaps, edited an employee newsletter. But as I write this, many of us have moved far beyond that … and the best have moved from being managers to leaders, tightly connected to the business, driving strategy and focused on creating tangible ROI. I believe that is what more and more CEOs and Executive Committees are expecting from us – that we become a force in driving business, accelerating growth and creating value.
What’s the biggest communication lesson you’ve learnt during your career?There really is no one over-arching communication lesson that I have learnt throughout the course of my career. Rather, there are many, many smaller ones.
Do you have a guiding principle for communicators?Success is all about working together – our job as internal communicators is to help make working together easier and more satisfying. The rest will follow.
Marcus Balogh is Director of Internal Communications for AIA
www.vmagroup.comEurope | Asia-Pacific | North America
PROFILE: Marcus BaloghDirector of Internal Communications, AIA
