At the beginning of a new year, it is customary to make resolutions. According to a recent opinion poll, this year most resolutions involve adopting a healthier lifestyle: eating less, taking more exercise and - for those who have not already done so - stopping smoking.
- New Year Message from Chairman of the Executive Board, Niek Hoek
The following message was sent by the Chairman of Delta Lloyd Group’s Executive Board, Niek Hoek, to all employees of the group today.
"At the beginning of a new year, it is customary to make resolutions. According to a recent opinion poll, this year most resolutions involve adopting a healthier lifestyle: eating less, taking more exercise and - for those who have not already done so - stopping smoking.
"Companies also have to keep an eye on their condition, always on the lookout for opportunities for improvement. Last year, you worked very hard so as to be ready in time for the new healthcare insurance act, the life-course savings scheme and the WIA [Work and Income according to Capacity to Work Act]. And it paid off. All of our life-course savings products are now a commercial success. According to the consumer programme, Kassa, the Delta Lloyd life-course savings scheme is the best life-course savings product on the market. Independer also rates us among the very best. We could do even better if more companies realised that as Delta Lloyd, OHRA and ABN AMRO Insurance together, we are one of the largest and most sophisticated providers of financial services in the Netherlands. This is why our profile as a Group is so important and we will build on this in 2006.
"Our New Year’s resolution is to increase professionalism throughout the entire organisation, commercially speaking. This means that every employee of Delta Lloyd Group will follow a personally tailored commercial training programme in 2006. With such an impetus, 2006 will surely be an even better year than 2005 in commercial terms.
"In order to keep our organisation healthy, we need to adapt it regularly. For some years now, the concept of ‘shared-service’, where the same type of activities are housed in the same back office for all brands, has been central to our strategy. It is now time to apply this strategy to the organisational structure of Delta Lloyd Group in the Netherlands.
"This means that this year we are beginning to convert the organisation gradually into an efficient, new-business-oriented back office and decisive, market-oriented brand organisations.
"For many employees of the Group, this means switching from working for and being proud of one of our brands to working for and being proud of all three of our strong brands, Delta Lloyd, OHRA and ABN AMRO Insurance and thus the entire Delta Lloyd Group.
"As from the end of March, a new staff newsletter will be published for the whole group, replacing the existing brand newsletters and helping to strengthen group identity.
"The entire process of change will take several years and, as is our custom - will be discussed and agreed in very great detail with the Boards, staff and works’ councils. I expect to be able to give you more information about this at the end of the first quarter.
"Just now I mentioned the new life-course savings scheme. I also see this scheme as a major step towards further improving our ‘health’ as a Dutch company.
"With a few adjustments, the life-course savings scheme can become a tool for greatly improving the flexibility of the Dutch labour market.
"I believe that the life-course savings scheme should be transformed into personal employment insurance which people can call on if they become incapacitated or unemployed. They can then use the remaining balance of the life-course savings scheme at a later stage in their life for downshifting or early retirement and eventually to top up their pension when they reach retirement age. In this way, we are spreading the future costs and risks of both social security benefits and (pre-)pensions.
"The government can then confine itself to providing a social safety net for those genuinely in need of welfare assistance. It is possible to finance this due to the absence of unemployment and incapacity contributions. However, employers and the self-employed will then have to contribute the maximum amount of 12% to the life-course savings scheme each year and the maximum life-course savings balance of 210% will then have to be abolished.
"In 2006, Delta Lloyd Group will continue to strive to achieve a secure financial future for all our stakeholders. We will also develop new initiatives to equip people to deal with their personal finances. We will be focusing in particular on vulnerable groups who have difficulty dealing with money and find themselves in financial difficulties as a result. Delta Lloyd Group will share its expertise in financial services by advising and informing these groups.
"I wish you and all those close to you an extremely successful, happy and above all, healthy 2006."
-ends-
Further information:
Angelique Bronneburg
Press Officer
TEL (020) 594 44 88
cc@deltalloyd.nl