Talent
Filling the voids in a niche industry
Recruitment issues continue to be a commonly heard theme at conferences and meetings of all kinds, as captive insurers, among others, deal with the Great Resignation. Captive International investigates
Recruitment issues continue to be a commonly heard theme at conferences and meetings of all kinds, as captive insurers, among others, deal with the Great Resignation. Captive International investigates
“Diversity of thought within teams leads to better business decisions.” Emma Sansom, Zurich
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it forced upon the world continue to reverberate. And if there’s one thing it sparked that was the Great Resignation.
People spent a lot of time thinking about their careers while in lockdown—and many decided to up sticks and leave their jobs. When this is combined with the ongoing Great Retirement, as people naturally reach the end of their careers and retire, many companies are getting worried about plugging the gaps in their ranks.
Filling the voids in the ranks of the captive insurance industry can be harder than in some other professions, as captives can be a specialised area of the market.
Emma Sansom, group head of captives at Zurich Insurance Group, told Captive International that when it came to the qualities she and others look for when recruiting, it very much depends on the role that you’re looking to fill.
As Sansom points out, the captive space is very niche, so generally when she’s recruiting, she’s not necessarily looking for someone with experience of the industry, but instead someone who can demonstrate transferable skills.
“I’m looking for someone who I think can bring their own perspective to the team, someone who may not know the answers but can challenge themselves to find them,” she said. “That’s much more important for people than technical skill although clearly there is a need for that in some more senior or specific roles.”
The skills required as jobs evolve over time will change, but this is a universal facet that remains constant—people can be trained on day-to-day tasks and build technical expertise on a subject, Sansom pointed out.
According to Sarah Viksjo, captive practice consultant at Gallagher, the key qualities for someone working in insurance and specifically the captives space are intelligence, passion, willingness and desire to collaborate, great communication skills and curiosity.
Viksjo agreed that working within the captive insurance space is a bit more technical, so Gallagher looks for a desire to go deeper into the data and develop a passion for finding alternative risk solutions.
She said that leaders in the captives space are very passionate about helping their clients and prospects understand their options and make confident decisions to join or form a captive that benefits their company, adding that the enthusiasm that Gallagher’s staff has, coupled with their deep expertise, is the key to success in its part of the business.
“We find that curiosity is a trait that is a strength in our most successful captive insurance specialists,” said Viksjo. “Consistently asking questions of clients about their goals and priorities uncovers insights into important drivers of whether captive solutions may be appropriate for that organisation and how to design their programme to find the most efficient structure.”
Erin Brosnihan, president of Kensington Management Group, told Captive International that at a very basic level she’s looking for the right fit from an educational and work experience perspective. That said, it’s been Kensington’s experience that a candidate with a desire and willingness to learn new skills and new industries can be a welcome complement to the team.
“We seek candidates who enjoy working in teams and interacting extensively with clients,” she said. “Most importantly, we’re looking for a good fit from a culture perspective and someone who is as excited about captive insurance as we are.”
As Brosnihan pointed out, a career in captive insurance requires dedication and patience to learn the nuances of the industry and in turn provide the best service to clients. To effectively service captive clients, due to the many facets of Kensington’s programmes, a solid team effort is key, so the ability to work effectively with a team is an essential quality.
“Leaders in the captives space are very passionate about helping their clients and prospects understand their options.” Sarah Viksjo, Gallagher
Important qualities
Sansom underlined this point, saying that the captives industry is a diverse and dynamic market with a wide breadth of roles available. These range from very technical roles focusing on data science/analytics, financial analysis, capital modelling, sales and relationship-focused roles, right through to creative roles in design and marketing, which people probably don’t associate with the insurance industry.
“Even within each of the role types I’ve mentioned, no one size fits all,” she stressed. “Different people bring different qualities and perspectives to the table, for example an introverted underwriter vs an extroverted one may well pick up different considerations when underwriting the same risk—and that’s a good thing. Diversity of thought within teams leads to better business decisions.”
Sansom explained that there are some things to consider when you’re looking at a role, for example if you like numbers and detail then an analytic role would probably suit you more than a role that is more focused on client relationships. However, as part of a longer-term career plan, it may be useful to be in a role that takes you out of your normal comfort zone; if nothing else, then you can establish what you don’t like.
From a leadership perspective having a team with diverse viewpoints is a great way to challenge your own views, and reverse mentoring is a welcome bonus, said Sansom. If there was one thing that she thinks is important, it is a willingness and drive to learn. The market is constantly changing and being able to challenge oneself and the status quo is critical to innovating and proactively anticipating changes in the external market.
“The ability to work effectively with a team is an essential quality.” Erin Brosnihan, Kensington Management Group
Challenging times
The importance of recruiting at the moment was underlined by Brosnihan. “The job market, post-pandemic, has been challenging across both industry and experience level,” she told Captive International. “It’s therefore essential to approach recruiting as a continual and ongoing process, even where an opening may not currently exist, but in the event a future opportunity may arise.”
Sansom agreed, saying that it’s a challenge for the insurance industry as a whole to attract new talent.
“In the captives world we often recruit from the wider industry, and I get enquiries from people who have had some dealings with captives and then want to pursue it as a career option because it’s an interesting place to be,” she said.
“My first port of call is to look within the organisation for talent already with us. This has the benefit of offering our employees a great way to ‘sidestep’ into other parts of the organisation, and build successions plans, etc, but this does mean that we miss out on potential talent outside our organisation and also outside the industry.”
Sansom added that while there is an onus on the industry to do more to attract talent, individual can do a host of things. She said that one of the most important things to make sure people can see your potential is intentional networking. There are now many organisations which offer opportunities within the insurance industry on a national and international basis, both in person and online.
She believes that more needs to be done, as an insurance industry as a whole, but in particular as the captives industry, to reach out to young people to promote insurance as an exciting career path.
“Often, when I was in the UK, I would ask the graduates on our grad scheme why they chose insurance, and more often than not the answer was that they did not: it was one of many schemes across many industries that they had applied to, and they happened to be successful and wanted to give it a go.
“Another common theme was that insurance companies weren’t present in the same way as other industries at student job fairs,” she said.
One common theme among young people Sansom has spoken to is that they don’t have a clear view of what they want, or want to tie themselves down. That’s why in her view this industry is so fantastic—you don’t have to be wedded to one option as there are so many interesting roles out there, once you get here. Often people stay in the industry for many years, and have long and rewarding careers.
Zurich now performs outreach with schools, colleges, universities, youth groups, organisations who support and promote the interests of minority groups, existing engagement networks, industry associations, etc.
Similarly Viksjo said that Gallagher has a world-class and robust internship programme focused on practical experience that allows us to develop young people into insurance professionals no matter what their passion. Gallagher interns have a chance to experience many different facets of the insurance industry in one summer, explore different industries they are interested in and the opportunity to apply to join Gallagher after they graduate.
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