THE RISK Management Institution of Australasia (RMIA) has made a bold decision to outsource the entirety of its back-office operations in an effort to propel its member services capabilities to a new level.
A business services agreement with the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) has seen the RMIA hand over its operational and administrative functions to the larger association, allowing the peak body’s board to focus on policy direction of the membership and the risk profession.
The deal will give RMIA members access through ANZIIF to more advanced technological infrastructure, and will deliver education and event management resources, a dedicated customer service department, a higher level of membership support, as well as marketing and promotional support for the association and profession.
The RMIA also hopes the partnership will allow it to leverage ANZIIF’s established international reputation and reach to extend its membership base from across Australasia into the fast-growing Asia Pacific region.
RMIA president Brian Roylett told Risk that the association had grown over the years to the point where it had outgrown its “volunteer” status, which included a large amount of voluntary effort in chapters across the country.
The demands of an increasingly sophisticated membership base for better facilities and member support, and particularly better technological infrastructure, were beyond the RMIA’s own immediate financial means.
“We saw the advantages of having a partner with already developed infrastructure systems, and the highest standard of member support and professional development,” Roylett said.
“We wanted to get to that point now without delaying the process for another five or ten years.” ANZIIF has a membership base of 14,000 across 34 countries, with a strong contingent of insurance professionals, something both associations have argued is a good match.
The deal allows ANZIIF to reap the benefits of scale after investing in the development of its own systems for its members.
One of the first initiatives of the RMIA will be to begin delivering its education courses online, for training and accreditation purposes. The RMIA will focus on converting its existing hard copy programs to online learning first, and follow this by rolling out more online programs as they are developed.
Roylett said the board would make sure the deal did not diminish the RMIA brand, with the association focused on promoting the improved services on offer to members rather than its relationship with ANZIIF specifically.
The agreement was approved unanimously by the RMIA Board, and took effect on the January 1 2010. The back-office functions have already been transferred to ANZIIF, which Roylett said occurred without a perceivable change in brand or profile of the organisation and little impact on member services.
News