INSURANCE BUSINESS MAGAZINE: Women of Influence 2018

June 2018
This article has been reproduced

Since joining QuestGates four years ago, Julie Kelly has had a major influence on the culture and performance of the business, resulting in it doubling in size. As a member of the operations board, Kelly’s efforts have transformed QuestGates from a company solely focused on the end customer to one that’s fully engaged with its people, effectively embedding a customer-service ethos throughout the company. This shift has led to greater employee satisfaction and created a positive impact on QuestGates’ relationships and performance.

The multiple initiatives Kelly has championed include surveying of both clients and staff, which has led to improved communication and training and the creation of an efficient process for managing customer complaints, which has helped reduce the justified complaints rate to only 1.58%. Kelly also took over the day-to-day management of a subsidiary business on short notice, and managed to turn the business around by thoroughly engaging the team and helping them improve performance in all areas. Thanks in part to her efforts QuestGates received a three-star Exceptional accreditation in its second year and the new Gold standard in 2017.

Kelly hopes the industry as a whole can experience a similar cultural transformation, especially in terms of diversity. “I see a lack of female role models in the industry as being one of the greatest challenges.” She says. “You can’t be what you can’t see and experience on a day-to-day basis. However, we can help ourselves to a great extent by honing the key skills necessary to be given opportunities. Improving our communication skills and gaining confidence to speak up builds respect and improving our emotional intelligence allows us to manage our relationships more effectively.”