Dare to dream, be bold for change
Intact Lab team

Dare to dream, be bold for change

I get asked a lot about how I feel being the rose among the thorns in the world of IT. Until 2014 I was the only woman in my team of 14. I am working to change that.

I am trying to build a more diverse team. IT is an exciting field but there are still challenges. Here’s an example: I am recruiting to build a mobile development team in Montreal and I would like to see a 50% men-women team. However, based on what I am seeing on LinkedIn, there seems to be only a handful of mobile developers who are women in this city.

Looking back on my career path, I realize I have always been involved with change, one way or another. I was an agent of change in my first job – I trained employees in companies how to use emails. That was before we had Google, Facebook or Twitter.

In 2011, in my role at belairdirect, I often thought about how my team could change the world of insurance, and be the best online insurer in the world.

Then I got my lucky break. Intact Financial Corporation was looking to set up a centre of digital excellence, called Intact Lab, and I was given the opportunity to contribute.

Be change-ready

Because I was dreaming so much about Intact Lab before it was born, I was ready when the opportunity came. I’ve been very lucky to be given the opportunity and a great team to make Intact Lab happen. Setting up the Intact Lab is the boldest move I’ve ever made in my career. And it is an amazing feeling to see your dream come true.

But it wasn’t always a bed of roses. Take the Quick Quote tool for auto as an example. Even after we launched it, we had to keep improving on it, study consumer behaviour to understand why people were not buying online with us, and their pain points. It took us 35 rounds of improvement but change we did. And we made Quick Quote even better! Now, customers can get a quote in less than 3 minutes by answering a few simple questions. Quick Quote is easy to use, saves consumers time and we are generating a large amount of new business across the country.

Attracting the best talent

I strongly believe that to be successful, you need to hire people who are smarter than you. It is super important. You want people who are able to challenge you so that you can do even better. My team is made up of people with different experience and different expertise and I learn from them every day.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Be bold for change”.

The world will continue to change. So why not embrace it? Or better yet, commit to be bold for change. Drive it.

Jaspreet Sidhu

MBA Candidate University of Illinois

7y

Imen, the Quick Quote story really stands out and the Intact lab setup is the real game changer for Intact. Thanks for sharing the story and inspiring many.

Jean Drouin

Project Manager at Desjardins

7y

Bravo Imen !

Stéphanie Sörensen

Director of Employee & Corporate Communications at Intact Financial Corporation

7y

"...you need to hire people who are smarter than you. It is super important." So true! Thanks for sharing.

Magalie Ross

Directrice principale, formation et communication, Indemnisation, Québec chez Intact

7y

Toujours aussi inspirante Imen!

Brandon Zehr CRM, FCIP

Property & Casualty Insurance Professional

7y

Great article. Thank you for sharing your experience and drive!

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