Meet Them Where They Are

May 31, 2021

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Do you think that the insurance industry is experiencing a talent crisis? Well, this has beleaguered the industry for quite some time now. And, if you look at the figures, there is reason to sound the alarm.

According to the Pew Research Center, on a daily basis, almost 10,000 baby boomers retire in the U.S. And, approximately, 25% of these retirees are leaving positions in the insurance and financial services sector. Additionally, in the report “The Future of Insurance: Bye-Bye Baby Boomers, Hello Digital Natives,” from Applied Systems and InVEST, in 2020 an estimated 400,000 unfilled industry positions opened up.

How can we address this talent gap? By hiring for diversity.

There is one misconception that we should dispel immediately. While diversification certainly entails hiring more female employees or members of underrepresented minority groups, it also involves age, life experiences, and organization level. This builds up the existing millennial workforce and exposing Gen Z to the insurance industry.

But, how can you recruit and build a more diverse team? To start, meet them where they are by taking the three following steps.

Develop a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), you should first implement DE&I initiative. This is described as “an organization’s formal strategic plan for addressing diversity and inclusion” and often consists of:

Aligning this initiative with the organization’s key business objectives.
Focusing “on implementing specific changes to the workforce and workplace that will help achieve needed business results.”
Identifying “the organization’s level of intercultural competence and capacity to accept cultural change.”
Using “a strategic and ongoing approach to employee communication.”

It’s also recommended that you use your HRIS or CRM data to find ideal candidates by;

Finding out where you’re running short on the diversity spectrum by running applicant reports. At the minimum, you should be able to filter results by age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
Establishing goals that encourage you to take action in increasing diversity recruits through factors like position, location, and discipline.
Comparing your data to local, state, and federal reports in order to remain competitive.

And, you might also want to consider embracing AI. This technology has made it possible to automatically scan job boards or LinkedIn, screen resumes, and improve communication between you and the applicant.

Moreover, AI can be used for exploration-based algorithms that can help identify candidates who stand out and are more diverse.

“Static supervised learning approaches may push firms to replicate what has been successful in the past, and that may reduce opportunities for people with non-traditional backgrounds,” said MIT Sloan associate professor Danielle Li, who conducted research for the working paper, “Hiring as Exploration,” with Ph.D. candidate Lindsey R. Raymond and Columbia University associate professor Peter Bergman. “You need to treat hiring as a dynamic learning problem in order to learn more about the quality of candidates you know less about, in order to make better hiring decisions in the future.”

Partner up

“The insurance industry has got a diversity issue. Can university insurance programs help solve that problem? I think the answer is yes,” Michael Angelina, executive director of the Maguire Academy of Insurance and Risk Management at Saint Joseph’s University Haub School of Business in Philadelphia told Carrier Management.

“We’re a supplier of talent at the end of the day. The industry is coming to us and hiring our students. That’s the product we sell,” he said, noting that his phrasing of that idea might be viewed as heresy within the walls of Saint Joseph’s. “But that’s what we do. We’re here to educate,” he said.

Saint Joseph’s is trying to solve this issue by teaming up with major insurance players in order to offer scholarships.

This is currently taking place in Chicago where multinational British broker Aon has been offering college scholarship programs, internships, apprenticeships and professional certifications. Since 2017, Aon has partnered with Zurich and Accenture to found the Chicago Apprenticeship Network.

The program recruits from Chicago area community colleges to better reach underrepresented populations.

“Our apprenticeship program gives a much greater opportunity for an earn-while-you-learn progression,” says Lori Goltermann, CEO for commercial risk and health at Aon. “The program comes with more than a job: it comes with tuition support while you’re in school and a commitment for a full-time job with Aon when you graduate. It’s a two-year program through community colleges that includes mentorship and sponsorship at an industry firm. We require them to do eight to 12 hours of classwork and 28 to 32 hours of Aon work. We’re paying the students as if it’s a 40-hour-a-week job.”

Additionally, The Council Foundation’s scholarship program also provides internship and scholarship opportunities. While sufficient scholarships are an effective way to attract students of all backgrounds, internships are a unique opportunity for seasoned industry veterans to become mentors.

But, your work isn’t just done after you’ve hired new team members. You also have to retain them by helping them grow.

“Recruiting the talent is one thing. But if we can’t give these new people the skills they need, the seed isn’t going to grow,” says Elizabeth McDaid, senior vice president for leadership and management resources at The Council. “We also need to provide a culture that allows them to thrive.”

Find out what areas your team wishes to strengthen via feedback, surveys, or spending one-on-one team with them. For example, if a team member believes that they need to work on their communication skills, coach them or pay for them to attend a course.

Representation and promotion are key.

Did you know that there are just seven female CEOs in the U.S. insurance industry? As an industry, we can, and should, can do better than that.

“Historically, you’ll look across industries and see that women have been underrepresented for a long time,” Anita Fox, director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, told S&P Global Market Intelligence. “We’ve talked about the glass ceiling for a long time.”

How can we change this? The consensus is through representation and promotion by;

During interviews, put your agency’s culture front and center. You can also invite applicants to spend the day on-site where they can interact with your diverse team.
Share your Diversity & Inclusion policy with potential hires and current team members and seek their feedback on how they can be a part of future initiatives.
Be upfront and transparent on employee retention and career advancement.
Display your community activism, joint partnerships, and Diversity & Inclusion pledge across all relevant social channels.