Working at Achmea

Lieke is currently working as Performance Analyst at Achmea. In this interview, she describes why she likes working at an insurance company and especially Achmea. Furthermore, she tells about what she did in her traineeship.

Please tell us something about yourself.
At present, I live close to the centre of Amsterdam. I did not live here my entire life, I grew up in a small village close to Zwolle. But now I am enjoying life in the big city. During the weekends, I can be found running in the Vondelpark, having a drink with friends or visiting a museum with my boyfriend. After middle school, I decided to study psychology at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.  I have always been interested in why people behave in a certain way. During my studies, I found out I was one of the few students that really liked statistics. Therefore, after completing bachelors in Psychology, I started my studies in Business Management and completed Masters in “Organizational and Management Control” in the summer of 2013. Thereafter, in November 2013, I started as Financial Management Trainee at Achmea, where I am currently working as a Performance Analyst at the international department.

Why are you working at an insurance company, is that not boring?
I hear this question a lot when I tell people that I work at Achmea. I wanted to work in the insurance industry because it is an industry that is not only socially responsible but also subject to change. We need to constantly reconsider our current business model and how we serve our customers. At Achmea, this means that you work in a dynamic environment and there are lot of challenges in terms of innovations. This is an ideal environment in which I can make the best use of my knowledge of finance and psychology.
Furthermore, I chose Achmea because of its focus on personal development. And now, after my traineeship, I can say that I am very happy with the opportunities I got to develop personally. Working in an organisation involves much more than just applying the knowledge you gained during your education. At Achmea, I have been assigned a mentor who guides me personally.  Also, I have had the opportunity to attend regular coaching sessions with fellow trainees, which we intend to continue even after completing our traineeship.

What do you do as trainee at Achmea?
During two years, I did four different assignments within several divisions of Achmea.  In my very first assignment within “Investor Relations”, I got the opportunity to meet the CFO. This is quite usual for Achmea as it has an open and accessible culture. The assignments within the Financial Management Traineeship are mainly focused on controlling, in which you work as a financial or business controller. Accordingly, I did an assignment related to business control within the health purchase segment and then I also worked as a financial controller within the disability insurance segment. As a controller, you are responsible for the financial accountability or management information and you advise the business to take the right decisions. In every assignment, I was allowed the freedom to implement the improvements that I considered necessary. This freedom demands that you to take the initiative, be result oriented and search for the connection between different departments.

And after you traineeship..?
Last week I started with my new job, as a Performance Analyst International. Before that I have been working as business controller for six months at Centraal Beheer.  Now you may possibly wonder, after six months a new step again! Achmea is going through a reorganisation due to big challenges and that influences my department as well. Uncertainty is exciting and also very educational. Therefore, in order to utilize the opportunity to learn in an uncertain environment that comes with a position that suits me less, I was keen to find a different type of role.  As an old-trainee, with experience and network within the organisation, I was able to explore various opportunities within Achmea, and I am very happy with this new position that I finally selected!