Stemming from the reversal of the company’s privatization and in line with the vision of His Excellency the President in turning around Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation into a dominant and competitive state entity – the company is now propelling itself to the status of a nation minded financial service powerhouse. Delivering on that promise, the company has launched a series of instituted benchmark systems, processes and activities including its latest corporate communications campaign, and Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, the Managing Director of SLIC speaks with Derana on how they are now powered to instill a customer-centric culture across the company.

“Today Sri Lanka stands in the throes of change. After three decades of terrorism, the war has come to an end. The war basically controlled the fortunes of Sri Lanka for almost 30 years. Everything we did depended on that. And now that the war has come to an end, the circumstances have changed. The perceptions about Sri Lanka, the business confidence levels in Sri Lanka, the attractiveness of Sri Lanka to foreign investors - even the mindset of our own people have changed. United as one country and one people, Sri Lanka now stands on the verge of a catalytic rise in economic accomplishments. It is a new beginning for the country - and therefore it is a new beginning for any economic activity in the country. The reversal of privatization of SLIC therefore happened at the right time. We at SLIC can also look at the future with an open mind, set some ambitious goals, strategize how to achieve such goals and begin a fresh journey as a cohesive team.”

According to Dr. Godahewa, when His Excellency the President visited SLIC on the 3rd of July 2009 soon after the takeover by the government, he had mentioned very clearly that he had two objectives in mind when he won the election. Firstly he wanted to end the war, and secondly he was committed to bring economic prosperity to the country - and in that mission he wanted the public sector to play a leading role. “The President’s vision is very clear,” states Dr. Godahewa, “however, most people are cynical about the ability of the public sector to lead the economic turn around of this country. Then it was the same view people had about ending the war. But His Excellency the President delivered that promise with the able support of armed forces and the people of this country. Therefore, in our context - being one of the premier national institutes, we believe that SLIC has a very high responsibility towards making his second objective also a reality.” Today SLIC is managed by a Board of Directors comprising of professionals who have excelled in their respective fields in both private and public sector institutes. With a good mixture of professionals covering a wide cross section of management and disciplines together with a competent and committed team of management ably supported by more than 2,000 internal staff and over 3,000 field sales force, SLIC is quite confident that the organization is ready to take up those challenges and play a leading role in the economic turnaround of the country.

According to Dr. Godahewa, the Government representing the general public, the employees of the company and their customers could be considered as their three main stakeholder groups. “In the current scenario all these stakeholders are bound to gain as we are genuinely interested in their well being. We are keen that SLIC is managed as a profitable organization creating wealth for the nation. The money that we intend to generate for the Government will hopefully filter down to the general public through Treasury in terms of financial support for infrastructure development, free education, healthcare facilities and in many other ways. And unless we delight our customers, attract and retain them in large numbers the organization cannot grow and will not be profitable. Without growth and profitability we cannot look after our other stakeholders namely the Government, public and the employees. Therefore we will do everything possible to make SLIC, truly a customer oriented organization. It is easiest said than done. But we are confident of the end result because we do have a clear plan.”

Emphasizing on their concern for the well being of their employees who mostly represent the lower middleclass of the society, Dr. Godahewa further stated that, “We do understand their grievances and intend to do our utmost to uplift their life standards and also to make workplace a pleasant environment so that in turn they will be motivated to actively contribute towards corporate goals. I can assure our employees that our vision for the Company is one that aspires to achieve the highest level of corporate excellence in the immediate future. When you work for a government organization - and particularly in a situation like this, where we’ve taken upon ourselves a national responsibility, our contribution is to the nation - where you can become an indirect beneficiary as well. For example, if we can generate money which would be filtered down into the country in terms of funding for infrastructure development, improvement of education system, healthcare development, etc. the society is benefiting and you, as a part of society will also benefit. Your children will benefit, your parents will benefit, your brothers and sisters will benefit… so in reality you will be working for yourself in a much broader sense.” He said.

“Therefore, our stakeholders will all appreciate that we are resolved to push the boundaries, inspired by the knowledge that by doing so not only will we generate recognition for the Company as a model for corporate success but also by the fact that our efforts will place Sri Lanka on the brink of a new victory – a victory of economic prosperity for the nation. Plans are already underway to re-launch the entirety of our Company’s service portfolio in a strategic and concerted bid to notch our services to an all-new standard.” According to him, at the moment SLIC is in a unique position, because they are a large and strong insurance service provider coming with a strong private sector exposure yet governed by the government. This means that even in their product portfolio they can now look at launching national products and services which can have a much broader social value - for example, the innovation of policies which can be developed and promoted at a national level. Strategically that is what a government insurer should be doing – thereby increasing the insurance penetration level of the country, which is quite low at the moment compared to high levels of penetration seen in developed countries. “And so we have a responsibility, through our strategy development, product development and channel development, to take insurance to the masses. A protected family will never be a burden to the society. Hence, educating public and a proper insurance is in a way a social responsibility.”

Speaking on the new communication campaign which was launched on Sunday, Dr. Godahewa emphasized that in any business which depends on customers and has different stakeholders, communication is of essence in order to ensure that the right message filters down. “If you look at the current situation of SLIC, we are in fact enjoying the best of both worlds. We have the backing of the government - the positioning as the strongest government owned insurance in the country, and at the same time we also have the private sector exposure, where we know how to treat our customers, meet their expectations and delight them. Our responsibility as an insurer is to ensure that our customers are protected and when they’re in difficulty, they are cared for. So we see this like in a family, the father providing protection to the family, and the mother providing care to the family. A combination of both is what a family stands for and that’s what we at SLIC envision to provide – “Piyeku Men, Mawaku Men” – “Like a Father, Like a Mother.” Once again re-assuring the customer of their commitment to be the best, “we will take what it takes to achieve this objective; we will work with a focus on the vision for the Company and deliver with dedication. Therefore the future, is one filled with great opportunities - where we can propel Sri Lanka Insurance to be a benchmark for not only Sri Lanka’s insurance industry but also for other industries,” he concluded.