心态现代化-Biswa Misra 2023访谈-麦肯锡

June2023

InsurancePractice

Modernizingthemindset:AninterviewwithBiswaMisra

Totransformacentury-oldcompany,BiswaMisrahelpedAIAGroupweavetechnologyintoitsbusinessstrategyandtapintotheconsumermentality.

©AIAGroup

2Modernizingthemindset:AninterviewwithBiswaMisra

Challengingtheperceptionthatinsuranceis

alow-techindustry,AIAGrouphasupdatedits

offeringsandprocessestobecomemoreaccessible

tomillionsofcustomersinAsia.Inthisepisode

oftheMcKinseyonInsurancepodcast,Biswa

Misra,thegroupchieftechnologyofficerandlife

operationsofficeratAIA,spoketoMcKinseysenior

partnerAnandSwaminathanabouthowhehelped

chartacourseforchange,theimportanceofstrong

teamsandleadershipduringtransformations,and

whereheseestheindustryheading.Thefollowing

transcripthasbeeneditedforclarity.

bemoreefficient.Whenwestartedtomove,we

gotridoformodernizeddatedsystemsandtools

thatwewould’veotherwiseleftuntouchedifwe

hadn’tchanged.Thisstephelpedusbuildthe

infrastructure,security,andhygienefactorstohave

agoodfoundation.Intermsofefficiency,today’s

technologyisalotleanerandgreener.Technology

becameaproxyforautomationforus.Webuilt

straight-throughprocessing,whichnowhandles

morethan70percentofourtransactions.Seven

outoftenclaimstransactionsgostraightthrough

withouthumanintervention.

AnandSwaminathan:TheinsuranceindustryhasAnandSwaminathan:Howdidyoumeasurethe

historicallybeenperceivedaslow-techandface-valueofthesetechnologytransformations?

to-face.Asaleadingglobalinsurerwithahundred-

year-pluslegacy,howhasAIAchallengedthisBiswaMisra:Thereisacostadvantage,butonly

perception?ifyoucompletethetransformationatscale.Not

manycompaniescanbeatthelevelofcloud

BiswaMisra:IthinkofAIAasoneofthebellwetheradoptionthatwehaveachievedbecauseofthe

companiesleadingthemarket,notjustintermsbreadthofcoveragewehaveaswellasthemodern

ofdigitalexperiencesanddigitalizationbuttechnologiesthatcameinasapartofthecloud.

alsointermsofefficiency.ThepervasivenessWehaveaninternalrateofreturnofmorethan10

oftechnologyinAsia,whereweoperate,waspercent.Thebusinesscaseformovingtothecloud

somethingthatweexperienceasconsumers,andspokeforitself.Somesofterbenefitsincludeda

financialservicescannotbeinisolationfromthatmindsetshifttothatofanomnichannelcompany.

macrotrend.Alotofthefoundationsweputinplace

werecenteredonhowtomodernizeahundred-AnandSwaminathan:Howdoyouattract,retain,

plus-year-oldcompanytomakesurewetapintotheandmotivatetalentatAIA,andhowdoyou

mindsetofconsumersandprovidethemahigh-techcontinuouslydeveloppeopleoncethey’reatthe

experience.company?

AnandSwaminathan:AtMcKinsey,wehavefoundBiswaMisra:Talentisanimportantaspectforany

that,inAsia,agooddealofinnovationinmarketingcompany.Weareapurpose-drivencompany—we

anddistributionisbeingdrivenbyinsurtechsinthewanttomakeAsiahealthierandhelpourcustomers

lifeandhealthspace.AIA’stransformationfocusedlivehealthier,longer,betterlives.It’sapowerful

onthreepillars:technology,digital,andanalytics.Inaxiom.Thefirstpartinourtalentacquisitionand

somecases,organizationsstruggledtodoallthreeretentionprocessistogivepeopleapurposetohelp

wellatthesametime.Whatwasyourapproach?themstayoncourse.Ourattritionatseniorlevelsis

quitelowonthetechnologyside.Ibelievetheinnate

BiswaMisra:Wefoundthatcompaniesoftenreasonforthatisourpeople’sdesiretochangethe

developedatechstrategyandabusinessstrategy,faceoflifeandhealthinsuranceinAsia.

andeventuallythetechstrategysupportedthe

businessstrategy.AspartofourtransformationInsuranceisalow-tech,low-touchindustry,and

atAIA,wefocusedonbringingintechnologiestheseeffortsarechangingthefaceofitforever.

toaugment,supplement,andembellishourFromachangemanagementperspective,one

businessstrategy.Wemadeastrategiccalltoofthethingswetrytodoisinfusepeoplewho

runalltechnologiesthatwecouldonthecloud,arecomingfromdifferentindustriesandfrom

whichhelpeduscreateasolidfoundationtodifferentsegmentswithintheinsuranceindustry

moveeverythingweneededtoanewspaceandstep-by-stepintoourexistingworkforce.It’sbeen

alearningopportunity.Theonlywaythisstorywillsucceedisif[ourcurrentworkforcedoesn’t]feelleftout.Sowebroughtinexecutiveleadershipprogramsthathelpedtoskewpeople’sperceptionstowardlearnability.Canabusinessanalystbeadatascientist?Canatraditionalinfrastructureguybecomeacloudspecialist?Whoknows?Butunlessyoumakeaconcertedeffort,you’llneverknow.

Duringthetransformation,weinvestedinfourareas:agile,human-centereddesign,cloud,andanalytics.Internally,understandingoftheseconceptshasdevelopedimmensely,whichhasbeenakeyfoundationforustoretaintalent,integratepeopleintothatjourney,andmakesurethatnewpeopleandestablishedpeoplewhounderstandourexistingapplicationscancoexist,collaborate,andprosper.

AnandSwaminathan:Ourresearchshowsthistalentgapisstillquitesignificantinorganizations,especiallywhenconsideringtechnology,digitalanalytics,andskillsets.There’snotavastsupplyoftalentfromwhichwecanpickandchoosewhoeverwewant,wheneverwewant.Gettingthebesttechnologytalentordigitaltalenttakesrealskill,effort,andpatience—andthenit’simportanttodeveloppeople’scapabilitiesandkeepthemmotivated.

Let’sswitchgears,Biswa.Fundamentally,technologyisever-changing,andtherearenewcapabilitiesbeingintroducedeveryday.Howdoyouseethefuturefortheinsuranceindustrywhenitcomestoadoptingtechnologies?Howareyoupreparingforthatfuture?

BiswaMisra:Thenatureoftechnologyisthatitalwayschanges,soit’snosurprisethatitkeepsevolving.Thebestcompaniestrytolookattechnologiesthatarerelevantandintegratethemintoendoutcomes,suchasproductivity,experience,or,insomecases,efficiency.Sofar,wehavebuiltalotofperformancesystemswithbasicintelligence.ThenextphaseofourtechjourneyistobuildmoreintelligenceintotheseperformancesystemsusingthepowerofAIanddataanalytics.Oureffortwillbefocusedonharnessingthetonsofdatathatwehaveavailable,structuredandunstructured,andmatchingthemwithourperformancesystems

sothatenduserscanstarttoseethealphaforthemselves.

TheywillbeabletointeractwithAIAthrough

theirsuperapp.Wecanusefacialrecognitiontoallowthemtoswitchfundsornudgethemaboutcompletingtheirannualhealthcheckupsbasedontheirhealthhistory.AIisaverypowerfultoolwhenit’susedethicallybecauseitcanhelppeoplelivehealthierandlonger.Forexample,ifsomeonesubmitsaclaim,AIcouldsuggestaspecialistwhohandlestheconditionthatthepersonisdealingwith.Itbecomeshyperpersonalized.Wehavetalkedaboutpersonalizationandhyperpersonalizationforalongtimeinthefinancial-servicesindustry,butnowisthetimewhentherealpotentialwillstarttocomeintoplaywhenweconsideracustomer’svitality.Wecanlookattheirprofileandmakesuggestionsbasedonhowthey’redoing.Thenwecantapintoourwideecosystemofhospitals,healthcareproviders,andwellnessproviders.WecanusedataandAItointegrateAIAintocustomers’lives.It’llbefascinatingtoseehowthesethingsevolveandhowwecanuseconversationalAIandcognitivecomputing.

AnandSwaminathan:WhatadvicedoyouhaveforinsurersoutsideofAsiabasedonwhatyou’velearnedfromthisjourney?

BiswaMisra:Twokeythingsinspiredmeduringourtransformationjourney.Itbecamecleartomewhat“voicefromthetop”means.WehaveagroupCEOwhobelievesinusingthepoweroftechnologytochangetheinsurancelandscapeandbuildsomethingtohelpwithefficiency,customerexperience,anddistribution.Thattone-settingfromthetopisimportanttosettherightdirection.Thesecondone,whichisequally,ifnotmore,critical,istheteam.Thevisionoftheexecutiveteamisimportant,butitmustbebackedbyateamthatbelievesinthisvision—ateamthatisdedicated,committed,andpassionateaboutthepurpose.Andacommittedexecutiveteamfurtherdrivesthevalueforyourstakeholders.

AnandSwaminathan:Werethereanyinspiringmomentsinyourlifethatinspiredyourpassionfortechnology?Whatdefinesyourleadershiptoday?

Modernizingthemindset:AninterviewwithBiswaMisra3

Findmorecontentlikethisonthe

McKinseyInsightsApp

Scan•Download•Personalize

BiswaMisra:Myleadershipistiednottomypersonalstorybutrathertothestoryofmyteam,ourpeople,andourleadershipteam.Thistransformationhasbeenateameffort,andwecouldn’thavegottenwherewearenowwithouteveryoneworkingtogether.

Whatshapedmyowninterestintechnologyandplayingaroleisperhapsmoreofasidestorytothat.Throughoutmylife,I’veknownmanypeoplewhoneededhelpfromahealthandwell-beingperspective,andinsurancewasanaturaldomainformetoseethattechnologycouldhelpthepeoplethatIgrewupwith—thegeneralfraternitythatweserve—andmaketheirlivesalittlebitbetter.

Ihaveneverworkedinotherindustries.I’vebeeninlifeandhealthallmycareer,andIhaveseeninthepastthreeyearsespecially,andformydurationatAIA,thattechnologycanplayakeyroleinachievingthatchildhooddream—tousetechnologytomakesomebody’slifelesspainful—andthat’swhatIwillcontinuetopursue.

BiswaMisraisthegroupchieftechnologyofficerandlifeoperationsofficeratAIAGroup.AnandSwaminathanisaseniorpartnerinMcKinsey’sSanFranciscooffice.

Commentsandopinionsexpressedbyintervieweesarethe