October 12, 2023
Through a steadfast commitment to innovation and fostering organic growth, Admiral has transformed from its humble beginnings as a startup into one of the United Kingdom’s leading insurance and financial service providers, with help from the invaluable contributions of a highly-skilled team from Nova Scotia.
Admiral is an international finance service group with 14 brands across eight countries, over nine million global customers and close to 11,000 employees. In 2007, it launched its Canadian office in Halifax with a small group of 20 staff. Today, Admiral employs roughly 500 people throughout Nova Scotia who work in remote and hybrid Halifax-based roles, and who support over 6.5 million customers across the UK with home and motor insurance policies.
“When COVID-19 hit, we quickly pivoted our business, establishing a work-from-home infrastructure for the first time. The results of this shift enabled us to expand our operations beyond Halifax to include work-from-home options across Nova Scotia,” said Jennifer Porter, Marketing and Attraction Coordinator of Admiral Canada.
The success of the remote-workplace models allowed Admiral to expand the tech roles within the corporation and in Nova Scotia, and last Fall, the insurance provider officially began recruiting for Admiral Tech in Canada.
“In our first year, expanding our Cyber Security division in Nova Scotia has been a resounding success—with eight full-time employees working remotely for UK Teams,” said Porter, adding the roles range from Penetration Tester to Senior Vulnerability Management Consultant, with two new Security Automation Engineer starting in October.
“We aim to continue poising Canada as a viable option for cybersecurity roles and, more broadly, across Admiral Tech. With the reputation of Nova Scotia’s Tech boom, our sights are set high as we etch our own tech portfolio.”
As Admiral grows its Nova Scotian workforce, its commitment to its people and its workplace culture is clear. Admiral has been recognized by the Great Place to Work® Institute as one of Canada’s Great Places to Work every year since 2010—and was named the Second Best Workplace in Canada this year—and was also named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top Employers for 2023.
“Our culture is critical to our continued success—and it’s why our people stay,” said Porter.
Admiral continues to evolve its employee proposition and policies to meet employees’ needs and empower colleagues to share views to inform its approach.
“It’s fundamental that everyone in the company feels involved, informed and part of a collective endeavour,” said Porter. “We encourage transparent communication at every level; people can approach any management level with openness and encouragement to share feedback.”
Recognizing their colleagues’ dedication to its customers is also crucial, and Admiral’s share ownership scheme is just one of the ways they thank their people, offering employees the opportunity to own a part of the Admiral Group and to benefit financially from their hard work throughout the year.
“A big part of working at Admiral Group—and one of the reasons we are a great place to work—is having fun. We want our people to feel proud to be part of the Group and look forward to working within a team where they can celebrate who they are and the value they bring daily.”
Looking ahead, Admiral is striving towards ‘Admiral 2.0’, which focuses on building a customer-centric, sustainable business for the long term. Additionally, Admiral continues to innovate and push boundaries, such as the acceleration of service delivery through Cloud-based applications to create a better customer experience.
“With the industry’s forward momentum and a vibrant, homegrown talent pool of up-and-coming professionals, we’re quickly becoming a formidable tech option within Admiral. We look forward to bringing more of Admiral Group’s high-profile tech opportunities to Nova Scotia.”