It has been one of the best-kept secrets in the motoring and insurance fraternity over the past 20 months.



The Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM), Malaysia’s oldest emergency and breakdown assistance service provider, has been quietly going through a major re-branding to upgrade its services and increase its membership among road users.



Established on Jan 26, 1932, the AAM is recognised as the national motoring authority, acting as the official voice for Malaysian motor vehicle owners, and championing their rights to the safe and adequate use of roads. The AAM is also the national motorsports’ governing body.














The association provides an extensive range of services to members, from round-the-clock breakdown and technical assistance, to motor insurance, road tax and driving licence renewals.



The brand, now in its 80th year, however failed to retain its members as new players entered the market and competitors carried out strong marketing campaigns.



According to AAM chief executive officer Melinda Ngew, the non-governmental organisation lost almost 35% of its members between 2005 and 2010.



“The organisation was going through a slump and drastic action had to be taken. We had to change mindsets, both internally and externally. Over the years, AAM had lost its way and the priority for customer service excellence was lost,” she explained.



Ngew was hired by AAM in September 2010 because of her strong background in the service industry and membership recruitment programmes.



The 56-year-old Perak native started her career as an air stewardess straight after high school with Malaysia Airlines, and quickly moved up the travel industry chain by joining Boustead Thomas Co as a travel consultant.



After a five-year stint as a travel consultant, Ngew became part of the pioneer team that started the Bankers Club,

Kuala Lumpur, where she had to recruit members. She then moved into the hospitality industry.



“The image of AAM had to be changed and it had to be done from within,” Ngew said.



“Most of our staff have been with us for between 10 and 35 years. As much as we value their loyalty, the mindset that we are a NGO had to be changed. We had to build our organisational image and we started by investing in a RM6mil office complex in Shah Alam.

Ngew

“Prior to this, AAM only rented office space and we were scattered. It was important to have all departments under one roof to streamline positive change,” she added.



The office complex located at the Laman Seri Business Park in Section 13 Shah Alam, houses AAM’s insurance, travel and motorsport division and road side assistance call centre.



Ngew said housing all divisions under one roof, brought about a significant drop in complaints from members, and within 20 months AAM managed to recapture its lost market share.



AAM currently has 300,000 members and aims to have one million members by the end of 2013.



AAM is also investing heavily to upgrade its fleet.



It has invested RM2mil to upgrade its current fleet of vehicles. By the end of 2012, AAM will have 15 new motorcycles, six new Proton Arenas (for road side assistance), five new flat bed carriers and 20 vans.













Ngew further explained that the organisation would continue to carry out vehicle replacement next year as it would receive 15 vans, five motorcycles and five flat bed carriers in the first quarter of 2013.



AAM also upgraded its call centre by investing RM150,000 in a computerised telephone system that will enable customer relation officers to manage distress calls at a more efficient rate.



Response times are kept to the minimum of between 10 and 50 minutes — depending on breakdown location and traffic situation.

 

The use of global positioning systems (GPS) in all vehicles also enables the nearest response team to be dispatched to the location of a breakdown.



Customer experience was also taken into account as the organisation was going through its overhaul.



“As part of our KPIs, we will try to solve any complaint within three days and immediately after we receive a complaint, we will send a letter to the customer acknowledging their queries.



“If the complaint is major, we will rectify it within seven days,” Ngew said.



In terms of changing the culture of the workplace and overcoming long-held beliefs and misconceptions, workplace diversity also plays a major role.



This was quickly recognised by Ngewwho began recruiting managers from diverse backgrounds to build a vibrant workplace.











“When I first joined, there was only the human resource manager and the rest were either assistant managers or acting managers. I immediately hired a marketing communications manager from the hospitality line and an e-business manager who had worked for a system’s solutions organisation in India to help manage the organisation,” Ngew said.



AAM’s e-business unit was established to support online membership applications and renewals, motor and non-motor insurance policy renewals, e-commerce, and the booking of hotels and tour package deals, all in real time.



Besides hiring from outside, Ngew also provided opportunities for assistant managers and acting managers to prove themselves worthy of their positions so they could be promoted.



Currently, AAM has more than a 350-strong team, a 10% increase from two years ago.



Apart from expanding its insurance division, AAM will also focus on expanding its travel division.



AAM Travel Planners Sdn Bhd (ATP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAM that provides information and travel-arrangement services for members and non-members.



Incorporated in 1978, ATP is a fully licensed travel agency registered with the Tourism Ministry and Finance Ministry.



“Despite having all the necessary licensing from the relevant authorities, we were not fully capitalising on this. We were focused on serving members and securing sales from the government sector.



"Through our restructuring and streamlining, we brought in a director of business operations to manage the travel division and to increase its profitability,” Ngew explained.



Moving forward, AAM plans to get more members by approaching corporations, financial institutions, property developers and car-park management companies to sell bulk memberships instead of the conventional retail sales.

 

AAM is also currently working on a comprehensive plan to approach motoring colleges to provide students with hands-on training and industrial training.