RC4VETS: “Enhancing Marketing Strategies for Fen Church Faris”
Executive Summary
The following report has been conducted under the Erasmus+ KA2 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP PROJECT NUMBER 2020–1-ES01-KA202–082630 project “Real Challenges for VET Students’’ project (RC4VETs). The main objective is to create challenges based on real-life issues to prepare and facilitate the transition of students into the labor market. The challenge that took place 28 November to 2 December 2022 was implemented by the Greek partner, DIEK Glyfadas’, in cooperation with the multinational insurance company Fenchurch Faris Ltd. All three challenges were based on the company’s needs and were resolved by trainees from departments such as Commerce, Business, Administration, Digital Marketing, Culinary or Tourism at ISCED 3, 4, and 5 levels, of the Vocational Training Institutes, Vocational upper secondary schools and other organizations in partner countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain.
- “Real Challenges for VET Students” — DIEK Glyfadas’
DIEK Glyfadas’ wished to introduce RC4VETS challenges that incorporate basic marketing principles, human resources management, IT fundamentals and culinary knowledge about the corporate culture and demands.
A meeting between DIEK Glyfadas’, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Operating Officer of Fenchurch Faris was set in 17/11/2022 where the project integration and the three challenges were defined.
During the transnational teachers’ meeting in Izola, Slovenia from 20 to 21 October, DIEK Glyfadas’ coordinators presented the three challenges to the partners and what is expected in regards to the task division among all participants and the anticipated results.
On November 21st, 2022, an online meeting was scheduled with the Chief Executive Officer of Fenchurch Faris Ltd and all partners to officially headstart the challenge and provide further information on the company’s history, core values, culture, and services while presenting the tasks.
2. Brief company presentation
Fenchurch Faris Ltd. is a registered Lloyd’s Broker with 40 years under its belt providing insurance and reinsurance risk management services across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The Company was launched as a joint venture between Basim R. Faris, who is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute in the U.K., and Fenchurch PLC, an English insurance brokerage.
The Company consists of 11 regional offices in 8 cities across the region and their clients include insurance companies, corporate entities, small and medium-sized enterprises, and individuals.
- 1984: First branch office in Athens, Greece
- 1985: First associate office in Kuwait City, Kuwait
- 2006: Branch office in Abu Dhabi, UAE
- 2007: Faris Insurance Services in Amman, Jordan & Fenchurch Faris Hellas in Athens, Greece
- 2010: Fenchurch Faris (Saudi Arabia) Ltd. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 2014: Representative office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in Business Bay, Dubai, UAE
- 2015: Fenchurch Faris Insurance Services in Muscat, Oman
- 2016: Fenchurch Faris (Saudi Arabia) Ltd branch office in Al Khobar
3. Main company needs identified
The company is growing day by day, gradually increasing its clientele and requirements. Finding competent people for Fenchurch Faris’ staff is considered crucial while selecting the right person to meet the specific requirements is characterized as the most difficult process. The continuous company growth in recent years and the desire to approach new markets demand the need to create a carefully considered marketing plan.
More and more employees nowadays are aiming to improve their work-life balance as well as their wellness. Our company aims to actively promote individual health, growth and productivity by taking care of the employees’ physical health and creating a wellness program.
4. Main goal
The tasks carried out by the participants are divided into 3 sub-categories:
- social media
- website
- partners & promotion.
In the first sub-category, all groups worked together to create social media pages, generate appropriate posts, and customize posts for each department.
The second one focused on developing new sections and subsections for the company’s website, while the third task was researching competitors & strategic partners and promoting the provided amenities.
5. Activities to develop
- Develop social media pages with appropriate posts, customized for each department.
- Optimization of the website, including new sections and incorporating accessibility features.
6. Expected results: Marketing Plan
- Creation of a Marketing Plan.
- Supervising and promoting interpersonal communication between participants.
- Engaging trainees in all aspects of the challenge.
- Provide participants with an experience based on the current labor market.
- Encourage trainees to be independent and develop soft skills such as decision-making.
- Accentuate necessary skills important to the labor market.
7. Criteria for selected participants
Our main goals set the following criteria for our challenges:
- Number of participants — 2 or 3 per partner
- Academic qualifications — trainees from professional courses in the field of Culinary, IT, Business, International Trade, Economics, E-Marketing, and Healthcare (level 3/4/5 EQF)
- Gender of participants — different for each entity
- English level — participants should be able to carry a dialogue in English; basic knowledge of English — concepts and grammar
The participants should be motivated and inspired to work and collaborate with different fields of study to complete their tasks.
8. Selected participants
“The Enhancing Marketing Strategies for Fen Church Faris” challenge group consists of 11 participants, 2 from the Bulgarian organization BRCCI, 2 from Italy, 1 from the Spanish CIFP Cesar Manrique, 5 from DIEK Glyfadas’, and 1 coordinator from DIEK Glyfada’s. Gender wise there was a balance within the team with 54.5% male and 45.5% female participants and the ages ranged from 17 to 50 years old (figure 08.1).
The fields of study vary between Digital Marketing, Commerce, Public Relations, Finance/ Economics, and IT (figure 08.2).
9. Period to implement the activities
The challenge duration is 3 months, from the first meeting on November 21st, 2022 until February 21st, 2023.
10. Performed tasks
A series of customized posts and videos were created to be uploaded to the company’s website and social media pages by the Greek, Bulgarian and Italian participants.
Greek and Spanish participants teamed up to optimize the existing webpage by making it more accessible.
11. Contributions from partners
Through the dissemination of previous LTTA meetings, we were able to prioritize the challenge objectives and identify practices that promote collaboration between participants from different countries, allowing more time for networking and working sessions to exchange new practices.
As seen at the table below the partners either partially or — in the majority — fully benefited from their participation to the challenge:
12. Recognition of this challenge
All the participants received a Europass Mobility document. In addition, the Greek team received extra credit on their mid-term exams and the Spanish team was exempted from exams on a relative subject.
The Slovenian and Portuguese team presented their work in their schools’ relative subjects.
No specific recognition was provided for the Italian team.
13. Used tools/resources
The communication was done using the following digital tools:
- Zoom
- Google drive and docs
- Constitutional Email
For the creation of the requested material, the following tools were used:
- Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Word)
- Canva or Similar
13. Difficulties experienced in the course of this challenge
There were no difficulties with the implementation of the challenges.
14. Main conclusions
The 4th LTTA in Athens for RC4VETS, 28 November to 2 December 2022, was successfully carried out by DIEK Glyfadas’ under the supervision of Mrs. Victoria Apostolou the deputy director of the VET institute and the facilitating staff who ensured the smooth flow of the program.
The participants were given the unique opportunity to develop a marketing plan for a worldwide company with more than 500 employees, in 11 regional offices, for a week and present their work to Fenchurch Faris CEO and the HR manager from who they received immediate feedback.
The collaboration between the participants was excellent and managed to circulate among the teams to communicate their ideas, and innovative practices and provide feedback to one another to improve their work.
Team coordinators were placed for every challenge to allow the teachers/ instructors to network and exchange information regarding their organizations, current work, and Erasmus projects.
Moreover, both the participants and the teachers/ instructors unlocked the feeling of Greece through their accommodation by the Aegean Sea, the cultural visits to downtown Athens with a guided tour by the facilitators of DIEK Glyfadas’ in the historic center, and a complimentary day trip to Nafplion accompanied by traditional food and local delicacies.
In addition, Fenchurch Faris Ltd. offered the participants and teachers/ instructors Middle eastern finger food to present their own culture.
