Perhaps part of the secret behind OUTsurance’s green and purple glow is not just great service or smart strategy, but also the CPO Suren Naidoo, who understands that humanity will always be the most powerful business model of all.
Over more than two decades, Suren has nurtured a culture that places employees at the heart of the business, shaping both the company and the individuals who work there.
Long before he became CPO at OUTsurance, Suren’s heart was always drawn to people, but in a different way. “I studied social work in the early ’90s, and at the time there was a lot of exciting energy in the country around change, transformation and the new South Africa. I wanted to play a role in trying to help with that effort.”
“By my second year, I became aware of occupational social work as a discipline within social work. In my third and fourth year, I specialised in occupational settings,” he says. “I had the privilege of being placed at The Sowetan newspaper. At that time, it was at the forefront of reporting on issues relating to liberation in South Africa.”
After completing his studies, Suren’s path into HR unfolded naturally. His first professional role was with Southern Life (which later became Momentum), before joining OUTsurance in June 2002. “There wasn’t an HR function in play at all at that time. One of my crowning glories in my career is having set up the human capital function at OUTsurance from scratch.”
From 318 employees and no HR department to 7,500 employees globally, Suren has watched the company evolve into an international brand. “It’s been an amazing growth story for the company, but for me personally, it’s been a journey I’m eternally proud of and grateful for,” he reflects. “Not many practitioners get the opportunity to set up things from scratch, or to spend that long in a single business and see it grow.”
People-centred culture
The magic that lingers at OUTsurance and has also kept him there for over 20 years is what Suren calls the green and purple lemonade effect, a promise that once you’ve tasted the company’s culture, it never leaves you.
“OUTsurance is quite a dynamic business, so no two days, no two years are the same,” he explains. “There’s always change and energy around innovation that keeps us going.”
“We also have an amazing people-centred culture. When you step into our buildings anywhere in the country or internationally, you’re almost overwhelmed by the energy of the place.”
Suren explains that that culture is also built on how OUTsurance grows its own, an approach to leadership that has become the backbone of the organisation’s culture.
“Whether it’s a frontline supervisor, department manager, general manager, or even exco member, we find that talent internally. Even our CEO started off in our call centre as a frontline employee two months before I joined the company. That’s not a unique story as many of our senior leaders started their journeys on the ground. There’s no substitute for leaders who fundamentally understand your business from the inside out. We even have a saying, borrowed from Malcolm Gladwell, that to be an effective leader here, you must have done your 10,000 hours at OUTsurance.”
Remaining grounded
He highlights that this approach has birthed structured leadership programmes that identify, train and prepare floor-ready talent before vacancies even exist. “We don’t wait until someone is appointed to start developing them,” Suren says. “We develop them beforehand, give them exposure and even acting opportunities so when they step into leadership, they’re already prepared to succeed.”
Even in an age of AI and automation, Suren remains grounded in timeless truths about people. “We’re not early adopters,” he admits. “There are fundamentals around client and employee needs that will persist regardless of technology. People at work want to feel valued, cared for, challenged and fairly treated. Those fundamentals don’t change.”
And those same fundamentals underpin the company’s long-standing slogan, You Always Get Something Out, a promise he says extends not only to customers but to employees too. “We’ve integrated that into our human capital strategy and EVP. We say our employees will also always get something out, whether access to awesome benefits, wellness solutions, development programmes, or leadership opportunities.”
“When we set up our leadership teams in new destinations, we staff them with leaders who were homegrown in South Africa,” Suren says. “That’s been a powerful way to export our culture. Whether you’re in Ireland or Australia, our values and leadership framework remain the same.”
Of course, every journey is not without challenges, as Suren recalls the Covid period as particularly testing. “It was a challenging one but the amazing thing is we didn’t lose a single job during that period. We protected our people and continued paying them. In the context of South Africa, unemployment and transformation remain challenges, but agility has been key to survival.”
A passion for community
“It’s also very easy for HR to fall into a situation of irrelevance,” he admits. “But my team and I have worked hard to ensure HR has a firm place at the leadership table. We have a voice not just on people matters, but on broader strategic issues too.”
Staff retention, though, remains an ongoing battle he also highlights. “Our staff retention strategies focus on five main principles namely OUTies who work for a client centric and world class organisation with a strong brand (internally and externally), challenging our people so they bring their best to work, paying people fairly for the value they bring, and having a fun and people-centred work environment. We have also learnt that people don’t leave companies, they leave bad leaders, that’s why our retention strategy begins with developing a great leadership team.”
Suren’s unmissable calmness and commitment to great leadership and people stretches into his personal life. “I come from a small town in northern KwaZulu-Natal called Estcourt,” he shares. “For many years, small-town South Africa has struggled with service delivery and other challenges. I invest a lot of time in community work there, helping with water crises and other local initiatives. It’s a big part of my purpose.”
That passion for community he says, echoes within OUTsurance’s own culture.
“Giving back is who I am,” he says. “But OUTsurance has an explicit value called passionate. Rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty is a fundamental part of who we are as leaders. Our corporate values of human, recognition, passionate, honest, dynamic and awesome service are all deeply people-weighted.”
“We have a project called Staff Helping SA Out where we empower staff to go back to their communities and help out. It’s a natural extension of our brand promise, allowing our people to help South Africa out through various projects. It’s a direct extension of Ubuntu because whether it’s our employees, clients, or broader communities, we want them to feel humanity in everything we do.”
