Employee testimonials
It’s not all work and no play at AXA – Team Leader Gary has been able to develop his career and get involved in the social aspects of life at AXA.
Gary Harford
“From the early stages of my career with AXA I knew it would be the perfect fit for me. With AXA there’s a positive atmosphere within the company, clear career paths and a great education policy for all staff.
Since joining AXA my role has varied, from a Notification Agent to Dispute Claims Handler to Personal Injury and, to now, where I am a Team Manager. In these roles I have always felt empowered and supported and have enjoyed each day as there is always something new happening. Due to the very nature of motor Insurance we need to constantly evolve, due to regulatory requirements or customer habits, so this has resulted in an area whereby there is plenty of career opportunities and personal development.
AXA realise the importance of all their staff where goals are agreed with staff and encouragement/guidance is given on how to reach them and their true potential. This is done through mentorship, in-house training or with external courses. I am currently midway through my Management Diploma in Insurance, which has been sponsored by AXA, with the goal of being ACII qualified within the coming years.
One of the key priorities for AXA is being that of a responsible employer. Over the years AXA has been involved with numerous charities where we have held numerous events, for example: Abseiling our Head Office, Parachuting and a Wax & Shave night. Recently our charity partner was Make-A-Wish Ireland, which I was delighted to be involved with, where we raised €70,000.
We are also lucky to have a Sports & Social Committee who have a full calendar of events to cater for everyone where they have organised outings to Tayto Park, paddle boarding, pool competitions and more.
As an employer AXA have been very conscious of how COVID-19 has impacted staff. As a result of the pandemic there are now further supports available to staff from our Well-being programme, increased Force Majeure allowance, enhanced flexible working hours and to our new paid Volunteering Policy.
AXA is a great company to work for and one which I’m proud to say I work for.”
International mobility
Working for a global organisation can have its benefits, hear from Marie Estelle on how her career has taken her from France to Malaysia and now to Ireland.
Marie-Estelle Conchon
“I joined the AXA Group in 2013, to work as an international actuary in AXA Global P&C, based in Paris. I learnt a lot in that role, worked on very diverse projects, met many people from all around the globe and travelled fairly extensively.
After 3 years in the job, I wanted to move to Asia, and my managers fully supported me when a really great opportunity came up in AXA Malaysia. I moved to Kuala Lumpur for a 6-month assignment, and really enjoyed my time there. The project I was assigned to was extremely interesting and I got to travel a lot in the region during my weekends and holidays.
I then wanted to move back to Europe, to be closer to my family and friends, but I was keen to explore other opportunities not go back to Paris. I got in touch with some of my contacts in AXA European entities and Ben, who is my Director now, told me about an exciting opportunity in his team in AXA Ireland. So, I packed my bags and moved to Dublin! I started as pricing sophistication team leader and progresses to my current role Risk Pricing Manager after a year. I’ve been here for almost 4 years now.
What struck me most when I arrived at AXA Ireland was how much emphasis was put on the work / life balance of employees. I enjoy much more flexibility here than in any other place I’ve worked for.”
Leadership development
Jill started her career on our AXA Graduate program and is now one of our senior leaders.
Jill Kelly
“Over my career with AXA there has been a huge amount of change in the industry as customer expectations and needs evolve, technology enables new sales methods and new ways of working and regulation creates step changes in how we do things. I have been fortunate to hold both technical specialist roles and those that involve managing departments. My current role as Head of Retail Lines Portfolio is particularly rewarding. And while most of my working life to date has been spent with AXA, the diverse group of people I have work with and the varied elements of my roles have allowed me to build a satisfying and rewarding career here.
I started in AXA in 2003 on the Graduate programme working in our AXA Broker support department. I later worked in HR and Claims before joining the team in Underwriting. This gave me the opportunity to learn several aspects of the business and work with many different teams. In Underwriting, I worked as the Private Car Account Manager responsible for our risk appetite, policy covers and portfolio management of our private car accounts. During that time, I was also involved in cross functional projects working closely with IT, distribution and claims.
As a global organisation, AXA has opportunities to move to different companies in the group and in 2007, I moved to Paris to work as Global P&C Product Manager in AXA’s Head Office in Avenue Matignon for a couple of years. It was a great experience involving a lot of travel as I worked with all the AXA entities across Europe, Latin America and Asia and it changed how I look at both challenges and opportunities.”