For overcoming the unemployment problem and for strengthening women’s role in 2016-2017 GPI created a wide employment program. This program gave the chance for employment and career growth to 580 middle and aged people. People who had different work experiences and social status. Part of the program were Healthcare Ministry’s employment agency “Worknet” and Georgia’s social responsibility club. Project started with a widespread campaign. The aim of the campaign was to reach those people who don’t use the internet that much. So vacancies were announced in different places: Metro, TV shows, Radio Talk Shows, etc.
Program contained several phases. Requirements were minimal and the main requirement was motivation. Project included 6 month, paid training. This training program was created by specialists in different fields and it was oriented on developing technical skills and specific competences. More than 7000 people applied. Every successful candidate was given a chance to check out the first phase of training. Total 800 people finished the training program and 578 were employed. Today most of these people still work in the company and they continue to have successful careers. 85% of employed people are women, average age - 35.
Part of the candidates are from vulnerable groups: refugees from occupied territories, women, who were victims of violence and socially unprotected people. For many women being employed was already an issue, because of the stigma in our country (Women shouldn’t work… This is not suitable work for a woman..). Most of them still decided to work, but somewhere around 10 women said no because of these reasons. (Not enough support from family members/partners; because some family members forbade it..)
With this program we employed 578 people. 89% were women, 81% were more than 25 years old.
Women’s employment program’s main result was employing people from different backgrounds. Main challenge was their full integration into our company’s culture. All parts of the company joined this process. For this program GPI Holding was awarded by Vienna Insurance Group. Also we received an award from “Gunther Geirg”. We were also the winners in “Business for Gender Equality” and received the special award from “Millenium Foundation”.
In 2017, after the “Kid’s World” fire, GPI Holding created a new initiative. A social project that was oriented on helping vulnerable groups - small and average sized business owners and their development.
The main goal of the project was to popularize insurance as a financial safety mechanism. That’s why we created a 50% sales program for business insurance.
Small and average sized businesses need to join the insurance system, because it’s also important for our country’s economic development. The fire in the Kid’s World was proof of that. Unforeseen incidents can be hard to handle even for big companies and they might stop, which can be damaging to the economy.
With this project we created mobile groups that were meeting entrepreneurs all over the city. They were giving out information about potential risks and if needed were insuring them at the same time.
10 years after the August War GPI created an anti occupation campaign. On August 8 a new field was added to buying travel insurance - “I agree that Russia is an occupier and I’m ready to tell it to the world”. Everyone who checked this field got Giovanni Morra’s passport cover with an anti-occupation message as a gift.
“Today 10 years have passed since 20% of our country is still occupied by Russia. That’s why we decided to help you spread the message. Together we can do more. Now, everytime you cross the border and you show your passport to the border guard, your passport cover will say the message. Fighting against occupation can be done with spreading the information too”, - we told our customers.
Anti-occupation campaign received a bronze medal at Ad Black Sea, an international ads festival, in the CSR category.
Occupation is a very heavy and important topic for our country. Russian propaganda is very active in Georgia and outside of it too. That’s why it was very important for GPI to do it’s part in this fight. Our goal was to remind everyone that fighting can be done with spreading the information and every citizen can be a part of it.
In 2019 GPI started a widespread social project - insuring cars from natural disasters. Free insurance for natural disasters is our social project, which was created after 2015, June 13. The main reasons were to care about society’s financial safety and to develop the insurance culture. In 4 years more than 100,000 car owners joined. We gave out 95,000 policies as a gift. In 2019 we reimbursed people in this program for 60,000 GEL.
Second phase of the program was oriented on regions. This insurance is active for one year and includes cars owned by individuals. Insurance covers the following risks: flood, storm, landslide, heavy snowfall, earthquake and mudflow.
GPI Holding created a third employment forum in 2019. There were 300 new vacancies. A lot of people applied. We were not asking for education or work experience. Age was not restricted. Main requirement was still motivation. In the end we employed up to 200 people. All of them went through the paid internship program, where they learned specifics of the job. After this our workers number increased to 700, which helped GPI increase sales and reach all desired results.
Beside the forum, GPI created a wide regional chain that covered all of the country and employed more than 1200 people. This was part of the program “Car Insurance from Natural Disasters”. People employed in the regions were tasked to make many people join the social program. They were giving people free insurance. Also their role included communications with insured people and raising insurance awareness in regions. We opened 36 offices in 10 regions. Employed people were from regional centers and villages.
“Action Day” is GPI Holding’s social project that gives its workers a chance to plan and do socially important voluntary actions. GPI gives them one working day and necessary funds. In 2019 12 teams were created in the company and during the year they carried out 12 different projects.
GPI workers organized “Azdaki Garden”s” play. There are disabled people in this theater company and they needed money to build a theatre. GPI workers helped them with this. They organized a play and exhibition/sale. Received money was transferred to “Azdaki Garden”
Gremi community is a settlement of disabled people in Kakheti. They have their own agriculture business. GPI team contacted them and learned that they had a land where they wanted to plant some trees. GPI team went to Gremi, brought nut plants with them and planted them with the community members. Trees have already started growing. Gremi community members are planning a harvest with March Team members.
GPI workers helped a family who lives in village Odzisi, near the border. Theu brought groceries, chemicals and agricultural equipment. Helped them with vineyard and with other fall works. They also gave the family vineyard insurance as a gift.
For Tbilisi school N198 it’s important to give special needs kids skills to adapt and integrate into society. May Team members gave N198 school’s work therapy class the new chairs. Also they placed some pots on the school window sills with school children, planted flowers and painted the pots.
The June Team gave an interactive lesson to children in First School. The aim of the project was to raise insurance awareness in school children. Team members explained insurance in a simple and interesting way and showed children how you can avoid financial risks.
Rustavi shelter for the elderly has been functioning for 25 years. 42 elders live there. August team members spend the day with them. They cleaned the yard, planted flowers and evergreen plants. They also brought sweets, yard tools and board games for the elders.
September’s Action Day was dedicated to war heros. Project’s aim was to raise awareness about heroes, who have streets named after them, in people who lived on those streets. They chose the date 27 September, the day Sokhumi fell and made stencils “You live on hero’s street”. There was a Facebook group on the stencil, which was created by team members. Everyone could join these groups and see the histories of those heroes.
Up to 80 people live in the Dzegvi shelter. Single moms, kids, elderly and disabled people. The November team brought them necessary items and groceries. They also made handmade new year toys with their hosts. This process was especially joyful for the kids. The November team sold those toys in December, in Tbilisi Mall. Especially for this day they brought kids from the shelter to Tbilisi and sold toys with them. The total income was given to the shelter. After the sale, shelter kids went to Zootopia.
December’s action day was dedicated to the problem that’s mostly important near the New Year. Team members went to the Christmas village and explained to its guests how to use different pyrotechnics. Team members also gave out flyers and asked people to be extra cautious with pyrotechnics. And for the last action: they asked people to give public promises in front of the camera to be cautious.
January team went to Oshakmashvili, socially unprotected family, in Martkopi. They brought firewood, food and everyday products with them.