We recently caught up with Laura Corbett, our Transport, Haulage and Logistics Manager to learn more about her role in C&C Insurance Brokers, and to hear how the department was doing. Laura joined us from Towergate in March 2021 and is based in Shropshire.
If you cast your mind back to that time, we were still living with Covid-19 restrictions so you may think it was an unusual time to make a job move.
“It just felt so right,” says Laura. “Even in early talks, I could see that C&C had a very different culture to other places I’ve worked – it was very refreshing. It’s large enough in headcount to be a very corporate beast and yet it’s not. It still has a very family-run feel; people are really friendly and supportive and our clients receive the personal touch when looking for the right solutions for their business needs.”
The Transport, Haulage and Logistics insurance (THL) department has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the last couple of years. Prior to lockdown, it comprised 10 people. It currently stands at 21 with two more joining in the next few weeks! There is an admin team of 6 and 15 handlers all managing between 200-250 policies each. Although, Laura feels that the word ‘admin’ is slightly misleading. “We’re not talking about doing the filing here. These guys carry out so much of the essential legwork, allowing us to provide the level of service our clients have come to expect as standard. Without them, we’d be lost.” Likewise, handlers are carefully recruited to suit clients, and not just on a skills basis.
“Recruitment can be a challenge anyway, especially in the current climate. But even so, we look for people whose personalities would be suited to our clients. We don’t just take on anyone. It’s not just about getting bums on seats – they must be the right fit for the team and our clients.”
This friendly, family-run, personalised approach is certainly appreciated by clients. The dept has a higher than average retention rate and receives a significant amount of new business referrals, partly driven by the fantastic performances of the regional offices.
Whilst Laura manages some clients of her own, a large part of her role is to work with the team to ensure it operates smoothly. So, she may find herself involved in recruitment, onboarding new recruits, organising training, appraisals, addressing workload issues, particularly when team members are on leave, and is always there to lend an ear if any of the team needs to talk something through.
At any one time, a third of the team may be working remotely so even when Laura is in the office, not everyone else is, yet there is still a great rapport and sense of shared values. How do they manage to achieve this?
“I’m in constant touch with the team. I have Zoom catch-ups with various team members on a daily basis and we do occasionally get together, perhaps at the venue of a club we sponsor. But really, the culture of the business comes from the top. Malc and Andy’s style drives everyone’s approach whether it’s the systems and processes we use or the nurturing environment we create for staff and clients. Then we have Georgina Shaw – our Oracle! What she doesn’t know about insurance isn’t worth knowing! Couple the company approach; Georgina’s knowledge and experience, and our insistence on recruiting people with the right fit and it makes for a very rounded proposition for staff and clients alike.”
With this unique mix of culture, skills and teamwork, we can only see the journey continuing and the THL department driving even greater growth within the C&C family!
