Philippa Holmes, Aviva

Philippa Holmes is an operations manager in life assurance and pensions at Aviva. She has a BA in accountancy and business from the University of Manchester.

What path did you take to get to an insurance career?

I really enjoyed economics at A level and have always had an interest in finance so I completed a summer placement at KPMG and began my career working in accountancy. However, I decided that accountancy wasn’t for me so I joined my current employer on their graduate scheme.

What does your job as an operations manager involve?

I work in the life side of the business, which sells and administers life products including bonds, protection, endowments, annuities and pensions. My current placement is in the administration team in the bonds department.

'I enjoy the challenge of my work and like the fact that it makes a difference to our customers.'

My job is to look after a team of 22 people. We’re looking at what our customers’ experiences are when dealing with us at the moment and how we can improve this in the future. For example, if a customer calls through with a query about their bond we need to be able to respond to that query within five working days. This is called the ‘end to end’ time and the figures are checked by the board of directors to ensure we meet our customer commitment. My main aim is to make customer interaction as easy as possible.

What do you like about your job?

I enjoy the challenge of my work and like the fact that it makes a difference to our customers. Occasionally we’ll have to deal with a backlog of work, which can be frustrating, but my working hours are usually good – I’ll only stay late if it’s necessary for the project I’m working on. I’ve also been given a lot of responsibility. After two months with the company I was working on a project that required sign off from the directors. This involved pitching the idea to all the directors in a meeting, which was incredibly nerve-wracking, but the buzz I had once I’d done it made it all worth it.