Our people

Introduction

My name is Aaron, I work in New Business Sales in Newport.

What attracted you to working at Admiral?

What attracted me to working at Admiral was the company's good reputation, lots of staff benefits, plenty of opportunities to progress within the company as well. I've heard they do look after their employees.

What do you enjoy about working at Admiral?

What I enjoy about working with Admiral? My role is a sales job so I enjoy working towards targets because I am quite a self-motivated person. I enjoy the people I work with every day. We have a laugh in the department and we have a great social life as well.

What makes you stay at Admiral?

What makes me stay at Admiral is the way the company treat their employees. As staff members we have great benefits, like our share scheme – we get paid dividends twice a year, we have a great pension scheme, and we've also got a great social life as well.

What career opportunities are there?

There are a lot of opportunities for career progression and promotion within the company. Either within the department – or if you want to move to other departments, it is actually encouraged not frowned upon.

What training have you had?

I have had a lot of training within the company. The induction training at the beginning was pretty comprehensive, we learned all about insurance and the products we sell. We have ongoing training within the department regarding procedures. I have been on motivation courses and development plans as well.

What are the other benefits of working at Admiral?

There are lots of benefits for staff for working at Admiral whether that is our share scheme or our pension scheme. We get discounts at bars, restaurants and shops. And of course we currently sponsor the Welsh Rugby team so there are sometimes opportunities for free tickets and discounts on rugby shirts as well.

What is your office like?

I like working in the Newport office. It is bright and airy. Everyone has their own desk that you can actually personalize to suit yourself. There is a chill out area as well in the office. We've got vending machines and magazines. We have an Xbox in the office for breaks times as well. And it is ideal for me as it is only five minutes up the road from my home.

What is the social life like?

The social life in the New Business department is great. There are plenty of team afternoons out, staff parties and department activities such as ice skating and bowling. We organise our own nights out at the weekend as well.

Why should someone want to work at Admiral?

The reason someone should want to come and work for Admiral? It's a nice place to work, there are great people in the company and they are a company that invests in their staff. There are lots of great benefits such as a share scheme and pension scheme. And there are great opportunities for career progression as well.

Tell me about an 'Admiral Thing' that you have done

A good deed I've done for my team is that sometimes during our quiet times I offer to do the food run but my generosity does not extend to paying for it.

Introduction

I'm Michelle Evans, I am based at the Cardiff site and I work for Customer Services.

What attracted you to working at Admiral?

What first attracted me to Admiral was that I heard a lot about the company. I started working for Admiral back in Swansea. Basically I'd heard they were a great company to work for, it was a totally different career progression for me so I thought I'd give them a try.

What do you enjoy about working at Admiral?

The main thing I enjoy about working here is the culture, the fun aspect. I am very proud to work for Admiral. It is a great company to work for, I can see very much exciting things going on in the company and I am very proud to be part of that. It is a great atmosphere – it is not a call centre atmosphere. We have a great time working here. We know it is a very busy department, but we know how to have fun as well. And that is what I really enjoy about working for Admiral.

What makes you stay at Admiral?

I think the thing that makes me stay at Admiral is the lot of job opportunities and prospects within the company. There are a lot of different departments and a lot of opportunities to move around the company. There is also progression to travel abroad and I've actually done that myself. I have done six months abroad in Canada. It was a fantastic opportunity to work in another country. The career prospects are fantastic, to work for the Group, I progressed through the ladder in my career in Admiral and I wouldn't wish for anyone better to work.

What career opportunities are there?

I think within the Admiral Group there are fantastic career progression opportunities. Myself, I started on the phones, just answering customer queries. And I progressed then to a team management level where I was running my own team within the department. I had the opportunity then to go to work in Canada for six months to assist with the training of managers in Canada and make sure they are supported to run the department over there for us.

Basically when I came back I wanted to progress further within my career in Admiral, so I became part of the 'Gold plan', which is part of the training department to help Managers like myself that are quite experienced and wanted to progress within the company. And I had a fantastic opportunity within that plan to get to know people within the company that I wouldn't have any sort of relationship with in the past. That basically put me into my job now which is running my own department within Cardiff Customer Services.

What training have you had?

The training in Admiral is fantastic. When you join the Admiral Group we all go through the same training and induction, so we are fully aware of what is expected of us and what is involved when you actually take on and deal with customers within the department. Through my career progression through Admiral I have had various courses from outside agencies and inside the department as well. We have a central training department, they are very supportive and we also have top-up training throughout my career as well. So whatever I am doing for Admiral, whatever position I am at, I feel very supported.

What are the other benefits of working at Admiral?

We get some great benefits working for Admiral. One of the main benefits is obviously that we get discounts on car insurance. So any company member can actually get a discount through the company for their car insurance. We have a 'Bike to Work' scheme as well, which is fantastic for people that actually want to bike to work and stop using their vehicles. We also have a pension scheme which is a great company pension that we pay into every month. And a 'Saving Club' as well which helps you do a little bit of saving that actually comes directly from your salary. And the main thing as well is that every member of the company gets a part of the free share scheme which is a fantastic benefit to work for the Admiral Group.

What is your office like?

The Cardiff office is situated perfectly in the heart of Cardiff. It is fantastic for any sort of commuting whether you're on the bus route or the train routes into Cardiff. The office itself is fantastic. We have a canteen area where you can pop up and use the Internet as well on your breaks. We have consoles on the floor if you want to pop up and have a game or challenge someone, that's there available for you. For social aspects it's perfect. Right in the heart of Cardiff if you want to pop out to the banks or shopping or just meet someone for a quick lunch it is situated perfect.

What is the social life like?

The social life at Admiral is great. It really blends in with the fun culture of the company. We have had some fantastic parties as part of the Admiral Group, we have actually had Madness and The Sugar babes play at our parties in the past. And the staff has great opportunities to win some fantastic prizes. We also have department based parties as well, and nights out, where they can go bowling or to the cinema, or there could be a quiz night. We also recently in my department had a 'wild west night' where we all dressed up and we really had a chance for everybody to get together, enjoy themselves and get to know each other outside work.

Why should someone want to work at Admiral?

I couldn't think of a better company to come and work for. They have some fantastic career prospects within the company. There are various departments outside the call centre environment as well where you can get involved in. As well as being supported from the central training department and from your Managers in your existing department. There are some great opportunities to work for the Admiral Group, as well as the social side of things which really blends in with the culture of Admiral.

Tell me about an 'Admiral Thing' that you have done

A good deed I've done for the Admiral Group was when I was part of the 'Gold Plan'. We actually did some charity work to raise as much money as possible for the Prince's Trust. We did various things from raffles throughout the company and auctions and we also held our very own 'Admiral's Got Talent' where we held auditions. It was very successful for the 'gold plan' and we managed to raise of £33,000 towards the Prince's Trust.

Introduction

My name is Denzil Hopkins and I work for the Customer Services department in Cardiff.

What attracted you to working at Admiral?

I was first attracted to working at Admiral because it was a fun lively environment and I heard the career progressions were very good.

What do you enjoy about working at Admiral?

I enjoy working at Admiral because the department is really fun, the people are really friendly and supportive, and we have a real family feel within the Customer Services department.

What makes you stay at Admiral?

What makes me stay at Admiral is the people, the friendly atmosphere, the family feel, the culture within the department. The job is very interesting and varies day by day. The shares are a great boost to everybody in the department – especially on share day. Everybody is buzzing and having a laugh and the fun atmosphere within the department.

What career opportunities are there?

There are lots of opportunities for career progression within Admiral. I started 10 years ago on the telephones, answering customer queries and dealing with changes to their policies. Within three years I had worked up to a supervisor position. Which I did for three years, I was then promoted to Team Manager. Which I did for one year before I went to our Indian call centre to work for a six months, which I really enjoyed – it was an amazing experience both professionally and personally.

I then came back to Customer Services and I then was promoted to the Quality Manager of Cardiff Customer Services. I then went back to India for a three month opportunity, again an amazing opportunity that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was great to go back and see the people I worked with previously. I then came back to Cardiff Customer Services where I have been the Quality and Support Manager ever since.

What training have you had?

The training I've had at Admiral started with induction training which lasted four weeks like everybody else has had within the department. For every role I have ever progressed towards I have had additional training to fully equip me ready for those roles.

While in those roles I have also had additional training to give me extra tools to make me even better at those roles that I'm currently in. I have also had outside training from our central training department to help me progress further within my career in Admiral and make me more equipped to do a better role then I am already doing.

What are the other benefits of working at Admiral?

In addition to my salary the other benefits I get for working at Admiral are the share scheme. It is an amazing scheme that is a massive staff morale booster. We get the pensions scheme, the 'Ministry of Health' which gives us free membership to the local gym, we get free fruit delivered every day, and we get a 'Bike to Work' discount scheme. We also get discount off car insurance with some of the brands and we also get discounts off local shops and bars.

What is your office like?

The Cardiff office is a great place to work. It is full of fun, lively and full of friendly people. We are right in the middle of Cardiff city centre, so we are very close to shops, restaurants and bars. So if you want to pop out quickly on your lunch to pick up something to wear to go out that night then it is just around the corner. Or for something quick to eat you're just off Queen Street. We also have an on site canteen, so if you want to pop up for something quick to eat it is quite reasonably priced while having great views of Cardiff city centre.

We also have a vending area where there is a coffee machine, a can machine and fridge if you want to bring your own lunch in you can store it. We also have a chill out room with a plasma TV if you're on your breaks you can sit and watch This Morning or Jeremy Kyle. We also have a Wii Fit, a dance mat, an Xbox so you can entertain yourself during your breaks or on your lunches with other team members on the floor.

What is the social life like?

The social life in Admiral is fantastic. Every two years we have a massive staff party put on by Admiral for everybody in the CIA, with headline acts, most recently we have had The Sugar babes and Madness, which was a great night out for everybody that goes. We all get dressed up and have a good laugh while meeting other people from other departments that you may only get a chance to talk to on the phone while in work.

We also have department nights out, in Cardiff Customer Service we have we have an annual awards do – the last one was a City Hall. It was a formal event where everybody turned up, we had a really good laugh and it was a chance to recognise the hard work of the staff and give them trophies.

We also have team nights out and team away days. We have team away days where we go out, during work time, paid for by the department. We go bowling, have boat trips around Cardiff bay, go on speed boats or go for a meal and end up in a local pub to finish the night off. We also have individual get togethers, most recently we had friends together for a 'Come Dine with Me' night which was really good fun, we had a meal, and a couple of bottles of wine and it was really good fun.

Why should someone want to work at Admiral?

I think somebody should want to work for Admiral because I can honestly say it's the only company I know that puts its staff first. It really looks after its staff members. There is a great family feel in every department that you visit, not just Customer Services. It's fun, it's lively, it's a great social feel to the department. We all really work hard and we all get really rewarded for the hard work we put in – daily, weekly and monthly.

Tell me about an 'Admiral Thing' that you have done

A good deed I've done for one of my colleagues was most recently. We had two visitors over from our India office for two weeks, getting to know the culture of the UK, the Cardiff, Swansea and Newport office. During the weeks they spent their weekdays in the office but on the weekends and weeknights I took it upon myself to meet up with them personally and take them out around Wales (and Cardiff) to see the sights and get to know more about the Welsh culture. We took them to the 'Big Pit' which was an amazing experience – I had never been before so it was a learning curve for all of us and we really enjoyed it. We also went to visit local castles in the area to know about the history of Wales and again we all really enjoyed that. I invited them back to my own home for them to cook a local Indian dish which they did, it was amazing. We all had a really good laugh and I can honestly say I've made friends for life.

Introduction

My name is Shelley Davies, I am currently on the Graduate Program in Admiral and I am located at the Cardiff office.

What attracted you to working at Admiral?

What actually attracted me to work at Admiral was basically their reputation at the time. I joined Admiral five years ago now and at the time there was a lot of press surrounding the fact that the company had floated on the stock exchange, so having heard that all the employees a had a little bit extra money in their pocket was definitely something that I was interested in. I just kept looking in the paper until there was an advert out and as soon as there was one I just gave them a call.

What do you enjoy about working at Admiral?

What I really enjoy about working at Admiral is just how friendly people are and just how approachable people are. It's a very relaxed environment. Everybody is up for working hard and getting the results in but on top of that there is a lot of fun that goes on as well. There is always team afternoons out, or just going out and enjoying yourself and having fun in the office. So as well as all the hard work there is a lot of fun that goes with it as well. It is a very, very enjoyable place. The Admiral culture is very different what I've seen before, in any other company, they really push having fun at work. So it is a very enjoyable place to work.

What have you done on the graduate programme so far?

On the programme so far I have been to a couple of different departments now. I started off in New Business Sales, which is where it all begins really. It is where the customer will call and ask to take the insurance out. For that I was there for three months, I was at entry level taking the calls and processing the sales. Which was very enjoyable and very exciting. It's such a really good environment to be working in. The sales team are really fantastic. From that then we looked at the senior roles and looked at what the managers do as well and all the support departments which are on the sales function. We moved on to the Renewals department. A very similar environment but obviously just looking at when the customers want to renew their policy.

Then I moved on to work for one of the projects that was offered to me as part of the graduate scheme which was to work for confused.com. With that I am actually doing some web development with our in-house internet system. Also then working towards our 'Top 10 Presentation', which is a presentation which is done every year at Admiral for all departments to show exactly what they do as a department. They spend ten minutes doing this presentation and then try to win some awards, selling themselves as a department and as an individual. So I am currently on confused.com at the moment – really, really enjoying it and looking to see if there are any permanent roles there.

What is the best aspect of the graduate programme?

For me the best aspect of the graduate programme is the management qualification that I am going to have at the end of the eighteen months. I am currently working on that at the moment. We have one, maybe two, training days a month where we will meet up with the Course Manager and go through all the different training modules that are involved. I just think that it is really, really fantastic that the company are willing to pay for the qualification for me. And I get that as well as all the experience that comes with learning it, it is an extra qualification on my CV – which I think is fantastic.

Where would you like to work after the programme finishes?

When the graduate programme is over I would really like to be working in the HR department of Admiral. Here in house we would call it our 'People Services' department because we are just here simply to support all our members of staff. Just making sure from day one until the present that they feel confidence in our department. That we are there to help and support them with anything they need or want advice in. I'm currently working in confused.com working within the HR team, developing my skills there and really enjoying the role. So I am really hoping to stay within the HR departments.

What benefits do you get at Admiral?

With Admiral we have some fantastic benefits. Alongside the salary, we have a free gym membership so if you want to the gym before work, lunchtime, after work, on the weekends then that is totally free. We have free fruit delivered every day to the office. So every floor you come on to you can always grab yourself some fruit. With those two benefits alone you have some really healthy motivated people working at Admiral which is fantastic.

We have a free share scheme which is really, really fantastic. That's quite a lot of money extra on top of your salary, so that's always worthwhile finding out a little bit more about that. Also being an insurance company, all the insurance plans we provide we also have some staff discounts on them as well, the discounts are endless which is really fantastic.

What is your office like?

The office here in Cardiff is very central. It is right in the city centre. So as far as walking to the shops and pubs, etc. it's easy. So if you wanted to go on any team lunches or if its somebody's birthday and you want to go for a drink after work, then it is right in the city centre for you to do all those things. The inside of the office is fantastic, it is really colorful and bright. You have the cafeteria here, so you don't really need to step out the building if you don't want to. There are loads of Wii consoles located around the building to have a bit of fun in your own time. We also have a table tennis and few things like that where staff can entertain themselves on their breaks. It is a really enjoyable working environment. You've all got your own desk, so you're never hot seating or anything like that. You can come in and be relaxed in your own little space which is really great.

What is the social life like?

The social life at Admiral is really something else. If you're not with your colleagues in work, then you are with them as friends outside of work. Admiral themselves run a lot of parties to make sure that as departments, as teams and as a group collective we're all out enjoying ourselves together – so you can let your hair down. There is always a Christmas party, a summer party, departmental parties, team parties, there is always something to get involved in. Especially on the graduate programme as well we are all trying to get to know each other and working with each other. So that helps us in a working environment, but it is really nice as well to go out for a few drinks outside of work maybe go for a nice meal and get to know each other personally.

Why should someone want to join the Admiral Graduate Programme?

The reason someone would want to join the Admiral Graduate Programme I think is due to the way it is run and the length of time that it is run for. The whole idea of the course is to take you around all of the business, so you can fully understand how the business works, and how each of those departments are important and how then as whole it can work towards the Admiral objectives.

It is an eighteen month course. It's not just a month course where you are rushed into learning everything and then expected to do the role after. It's for eighteen months. You've constantly got support from people of all levels that are willing to get you to a stage where you will be confident in your new role after the course. Alongside that you also get a management qualification that will be added to your CV forever.

It is a really fantastic good course and I think everybody involved on the current programme is so very pleased to have been successful onto the course. We had a lot of people apply and I know speaking personally, that I am very, very chuffed to be part of the programme.

Tell me about an 'Admiral Thing' that you have done

A good deed that I have been involved in that has been good for the business really was part of the graduate programme that I am on. We have had to move around all the different departments and within doing that we have helped with some of the induction training modules that they run. As a result of our experience going to all different departments we were able to offer our knowledge and experience of different training techniques used across the departments. So we have been able to implement some changes with the induction training, which going forward would be great for new starters coming in. And with the high recruitment drive we've got going at the moment it's going to be really helpful.