UNIQA Asigurari SA

Alina Sebe

Changes in the HR Landscape within UNIQA

In UNIQA, building a strong organisational culture through a positive employee experience remains a top priority on our agenda, with a strong purpose: living better together as a large and diverse professional community and, beyond that, as ambassadors of this vision in every aspect of our day to day lives. As a responsible member of the community, UNIQA Group has set the goal of becoming the most attractive employer in our industry by 2025. Therefore, a series of measures have been designed to achieve this objective, with a consistent implementation plan over the next few years in an environment that is challenging for HR. We have always sought solutions to improve the employee journey and reinvent ourselves as leaders. UNIQA Group invests in a best-in-class technology function that will unlock tremendous opportunities and improve employee experience. We are focusing on reviewing HR processes at the international level, standardising them, and developing an HR technology platform.

Effectively Navigating and Leading Teams through Significant Transitions

Change is the only constant in life, and we should develop the ability to adapt to what is happening around us, perhaps from the time we begin our studies, to learn and relearn constantly, and to find our internal resources to manage increasingly complex contexts. The global context of the last four years has made it even clearer that leadership and the capacity to handle change and uncertainty are key during challenging times.

From my perspective, in times of change, leaders must first learn to lead themselves to be 100 percent present for the team. Then, realise that resistance to change is a common and natural response, and not everyone will readily accept the change and embrace the discomfort of not knowing or having clarity all the time. Another important aspect for a leader in these circumstances is to understand and manage their emotions and those of others. I believe emotional intelligence can play a crucial role in this process and support it. Demonstrating leadership in managing change also means leading by example, displaying resilience, and being adaptable. By nurturing a culture of adaptability, leaders create an environment that emphasises psychological safety, where employees feel empowered to embrace change.

Changes over the Years

Indeed, there have been some changes from 2012 until now, many of them even within UNIQA, but I believe my curiosity and desire to learn new things every day have helped me become better at what I do. In every change you undertake, there's a risk involved, and sometimes, you make mistakes or require multiple attempts or adjustments during the journey. My career is very much aligned with my personality and values. I didn’t have an initial strong and resolute vision of working in HR, but I'm glad to be where I am now. Right from the beginning, it made a lot of sense to invest my time and energy in working with people and to have the feeling that I make an impact in their lives.

“I believe it’s important for a leader to build relationships, to recognise that we’re all human beings with lives and aspirations that extend beyond the job”

I believe that I have had a good professional journey, going through all the stages that are useful for a young professional to gather the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary to build a career in HR. I started to work in a recruitment agency; then, I made the transition to an internal HR department. In 2014, I joined UNIQA Romania, and over the years, I have gone through many areas of expertise. All roles have been demanding, but I believe the people manager role has been the most captivating and challenging. Leadership is a journey, not a destination; there's always room for improvement, and along this journey, I have always tried to be modest, open to feedback, and actively seek opportunities for personal development. I'm proud of the experience accumulated over the years and of the challenges and opportunities I've had at UNIQA. I do everything with passion, take life as it comes, and enjoy it, and these changes and opportunities have always been welcomed and embraced. Last but not least, I am grateful for the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with, who have inspired and motivated me to continue the journey and better myself.

Lessons Learned in Your Journey as a Leader

Over time, I've taken several lessons with me: cultivating self-awareness, humanity, and the understanding that if you want something, you must be a doer and work for it.

● Cultivating self-awareness allows you to understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, enabling you to identify patterns and tendencies that could influence your leadership style. This self-reflection can help you understand your impact on the team and beyond, promoting a greater understanding of how your actions and decisions shape work relationships and team dynamics. You can identify those 'blind spots' so you will be able to make conscious choices and adapt your approach to serving your people better. 

● To forge stronger and more genuine connections with your team, you need to have humanity, whether you express it through empathy, generosity, and understanding. At the beginning of my corporate journey, I tried to hide this aspect of myself. I always tried to be more pragmatic and business-oriented, and sometimes, I felt ashamed when I showed vulnerability. However, I had a wonderful leader who encouraged this side of me. I remember when I took on my first role as a people manager, she gave me a book titled 'How to Be a damn good boss without losing your humanity' and told me that this is a skill I must highlight more.

● Take initiative, be proactive, and be willing to invest time, effort, and resources into pursuing your ambitions. My parents raised me with the belief that all valuable things are built over time through work, constant effort, and sometimes even sacrifices.

Greatest Leadership Strength

For sure, every team needs both stability and development from their leader to function properly. Additionally, I believe it's important for a leader to build relationships and recognise that we're all human beings with lives and aspirations that extend beyond the job. I think it's important to find time for real, authentic conversations, to get to know each other on a human level, to find out what's important to each other, to share what motivates us, what gives us the energy to come to work with a smile on our faces, as well as the reasons why we might not want to come to work at all. Because ultimately, when you wear that hat, it's more about serving other people, not ourselves. And what I've learned, above all else, in my 12 years in HR, is that you have success if you have the right people by your side, empower them and together create magic as a team. So, in addition to authenticity and empathy as a leader, I'm grateful that one of my strengths is having an exceptional team by my side on this journey.