Meet the team: Tomas Connah - Insurance Dept. Administrator

Published 5th February 2021 - We're pleased to introduce another member of the Unity Mutual team, Tomas Connah.

Next in our ‘meet the team’ series is……Tomas Connah. Tom has been with us for 18 months, joining us as part of the 'Apprenticeship Academy' program which is an award winning Manchester based training program for school leavers looking to develop themselves in the workplace.

We are pleased to announce Tom has successfully completed his Apprenticeship, and we have now welcomed him as a permanent member of our Insurance team.

Here is what Tom has had to say about his experience as part of this program.

Can you outline the work that you undertook during your apprenticeship?

Primarily my role consists of processing new business applications, for all products including the Lifetime ISA and our Guaranteed Investment Bond. After having a very successful and busy year, it’s been a vital part of my role to manage the workload and ensure all demands are met, along with providing great customer service. I am in regular contact with customers, handling queries and helping out wherever required, as this is the most important part of our business. As time has progressed I have now taken on more responsibility and I regularly offer assistance to my team wherever I see it may be needed. My colleagues regularly ask me for input and this works really well, as we all know we can rely on one another to complete tasks. I completed several PowerPoints, on topics like stakeholders and business principles specific to Unity Mutual, and presented them to my Mentor at the Apprentice Academy. This boosted my confidence considerably as it allowed me to learn more about Unity Mutual and talk confidently about my role.

What do you most enjoy about the role?

I’d say the thing I enjoy the most about my role here is how well we work as a team, knowing there is always support and great colleagues eager to offer help wherever they can. With this consistently positive working environment, it allows us to give the best possible customer service. The feeling of assisting a customer, always being polite and putting their needs first whilst doing so, gives me the enthusiasm and hunger to continue to do so going forward. There are lots of opportunities within my role and I am grateful to be able to progress myself as much as possible, to keep on increasing my value to the team, and progressing as a business.

What will your new role involve, now that you have been appointed into a permanent role at UM?

My new role will involve continuing with my development, starting by being trained to take customer calls. I am also aiming to heavily increase my knowledge on our products, in particular the Lifetime ISA, and become an expert on all aspects of our products. I will be retaining all of my duties that I built up during my apprenticeship, and I will look to get involved with some other exciting projects that the business will undertake.

What would you say are the best things about your role and working for UM?

I would say being involved in such a supportive company is my favourite part. Ever since I have joined Unity Mutual at the age of 18, all of my colleagues have been so supportive throughout, and I have never had issues. I understand my importance and value to the team and this gives me so much motivation to consistently work hard. The trust I have with my colleagues and the trust they have in me is invaluable, and knowing that I am partly responsible for maintaining customer’s happiness gives me a huge lift.

Lastly – what is your go-to inspirational career quote?

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” – Pelé