operational manager Review

Item: operational manager at Direct Line
Rating: 5
Author: Anonymous

at Direct Line

Higher Level Apprenticeship

Insurance and Risk Management

Doncaster

Review Submitted: May 2021

Overall Rating

5 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

5/5 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

5/5 - Structure and Support

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

5/5

My role as an operational manager is to oversee a department of circa 150 people. I lead a direct team of 13 team leaders, who have motor sales and retention teams. I have KPIs to achieve on a monthly basis including trading, assurance, customer satisfaction, efficiencies, as well as ensuring morale and engagement of teams is kept high. I need to ensure coaching and support is delivered to both consultants and my DR's to ensure everyone is supported to deliver in their role

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

5/5

I absolutely loved this course. I like how it is very much self learning throughout so you can go at your own pace spending more time on certain modules that you didn't understand, and a make that time back on other modules you have a good understanding of. This meant I could embed all the learning throughout. I like the set up online of being able to move on to the next module whilst awaiting marking so this didn't hold you back. The workshops were great and this allowed us to build relationships with people external to the company on this course to help support each other when you are struggling which was great

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

Yes, I have learnt many new skills throughout this course as well as developed new ones. I have learnt about budgets/forecast/finance throughout this course which was not an area I was confident in before due to not having much exposure directly in the role. I have developed so many more skills around stakeholder management, building successful relationships but the main take away from this course was the project management side of things, as well as how to build and maintain a high performing team. I have been involved in company projects during and after this course and I feel I have taken so much to these from this course

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

5/5

very organised. The modules flow in a great order to build you up to your end point assessment. The learns you get as you go along are used in each of the modules after so I feel it was extremely well structured and the catch ups with your tutor come at the right times throughout

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

I received fantastic support from my employer throughout this course. They helped me network with stakeholders across the business who could help me with different areas, as well as giving me the space to put my learns into practise. They also supported me getting involved I project work to support my end point assessment as well as adhoc coaching and support in areas I was struggling with on the course.

How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

5/5

The support was fantastic. My tutor Tim was amazing and always had other support he could provide such as reading material, links to web sites etc to help me understand the modules more from an external perspective to my company. The catch ups I had were so valuable and a key time to ask any questions I had but also adhoc my tutor was always there for me should I require support

How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

5/5

There is no doubt that the qualification has made me a much better leader. It has made me a more all rounded leader, and gave me exposure to areas in an organisation I wouldn't have necessarily got without doing this qualification, and every area I have spent time with has made me a stronger people leader. Every module I completed I have taken elements of into my day to day role

Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

5/5

At my organisation, we put on social events throughout the year such as quiz nights, Christmas parties etc, as well as in the past we have done sporting events such as entered a football team in a local company football competition. this isn't something we do as much now with virtual working due to COVID

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend Direct Line to a friend?

Yes

Why?

The company is absolutely fantastic. It really cares about its people and does what is right for them as well as our customers. You get fantastic coaching and support from the moment you join the business in your new training group, all the way through to being competent and there are so many avenues you can go down from a personal growth perspective

What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Direct Line?

I would recommend people to be themselves - we have such a diverse culture and welcome the behaviour of 'bring all of yourself to work' so don't try to be something else. Research the company values to ensure these are personal values you hold close to you as these are values to live by

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