Out for new blood

While the risk dimension of gambling can set the heart racing, the insurance industry - which, essentially, acts as 'the house' for UK public limited companies in taking on its risk - is continually ridiculed for being seen as dull and colourless. The brokers that arrange for these 'bets' that safeguard the country's lives, businesses, possessions and travels are also tainted with the perceived dullness of insurance and yet, as an industry, nothing has been accomplished with any good effect to change this mistaken perception.

The issue is not new but still the basic reaction of many market practitioners when referring to the difficulties of attracting young recruits to the industry is simply to say that insurance is not a 'sexy' subject, hence the problems. In the same breath, these people talk of the inherent struggle of competing with professions such as accountancy and law for the pick of the graduates on offer. This seems to ignore the fact that never has accountancy been seen as the most exciting, or indeed sexy, of careers and solicitors certainly do not live up to the manner in which they are portrayed in television shows that many have come to mistakenly accept for reality.

If this, however, is the perception that the insurance industry has of itself, then it is no surprise it is struggling to attract the right type of people in the right sort of numbers to its ranks. Luke Everall, central services manager at Westinsure Anada, sums up the problems in his own area of the market when he says: "With insurance companies largely retracting from the South West, there is a lack of new blood and the old blood is looking to retire. Recruitment is an issue for the South West and the image of insurance as an industry leaves a lot to be desired. You only have to look at our local insurance institute and see the same old faces year after year, and there are not many young faces there, which is disappointing." It is not that he wants the stalwarts of these local institutes to move on, but simply that he would love to see young members being encouraged into the fold.

In trying to recruit and retain staff, there has been an increased focus placed on the training that is offered and the career paths that are now being put in place by some firms. Although not entirely down to the Financial Services Authority taking over regulation of the sector, its presence in the market has certainly helped to focus minds and actions.

As Peter Staddon, senior technical manager at the British Insurance Brokers' Association, says: "I think the FSA has focused people's minds. There has always been a certain sector of the insurance community that has been a great advocate of bodies like The Chartered Insurance Institute, but what the FSA has done has meant that everyone needs to be offering training and, if we want to turn this industry into a profession, this is the direction we need to be taking."

However, before looking at the training on offer and the needs that it must meet, it is essential to consider how to actually get the recruits through the door. In looking to target school leavers and graduates, the insurance industry is trying to get onside the very same people who are struggling to insure their cars as newly qualified drivers or find contents insurance for the shared student accommodation in which they live. Neither exercise is likely to leave the possible recruits with a particularly positive impression of the industry and it must be questioned how many firms take advantage of the fact that these are youngsters knocking on their doors not only to do business, but also as individuals about to enter the job market.

One firm that has striven to establish its profile and generate interest in this market is Aon. Rob Dominic, development manager at Aon, explains: "We attend a lot of the career fairs at the universities, trying to ensure our name is known and we have done a lot of work around the branding of the Aon name." He adds: "We are also doing online recruitment. It is one of the ways that graduates are looking for roles and we want to attract those that are not 100% sure of what they want to do when they leave university and so we try to capture them that way."

A firm of Aon's size clearly has the resources to invest in such operations, but there is no reason why smaller brokers cannot be in touch with local schools, colleges and universities, offering work placements or conducting presentations as to what a job in the broking sector entails to help generate interest and dispel current perceptions.

Indeed, enlightening students as to exactly what brokers do has to be an important part of any recruitment drive, as Dominic says: "I think the more that you can define the role for people, the more they can see themselves doing it and we often invite people from the business to come to the fairs to talk about what they do and what it is like. When we take graduates on, they are given a number of talks and presentations from different parts of the business by senior managers explaining some of the challenges and approaches and the roles that exist for graduates."

Broking

Insurance broking as a job description covers a huge array of disciplines and potential recruits need to be given as much exposure as is possible for them to find an area in which they will be interested and able to excel. Staddon explains: "How do you know whether people are good at claims, property damage, business interruption or liability unless you bounce them around. Suddenly, you will notice this flair and this change of attitude and that is when you need to home in on it, but you need to be able to see it first."

While huge amounts of effort have to be made by the industry to attract people in the first place, there then has to be an emphasis on the training that is in place for them when they start.

Everall says: "It is fundamental to our recruiting strategy that we have a complete training programme in place and it is something we felt was intrinsic to our management system."

Dianne Walker, head of faculty, risk and insurance management at the Institute of Financial Services, adds: "Graduates who choose our industry as their career expect to have high-quality development and so it certainly helps to offer them a range of programmes."

In looking at the types of training that are on offer, there has in the past been a leaning towards technical qualifications. This is no bad thing and new recruits have to gain an understanding of the industry if they are to drive themselves and their firms forward. However, there also needs to be more emphasis on managerial and 'soft skills' training if firms are to be able to put effective succession strategies into place and create brokerages that become part of the fabric instead of lasting solely for the duration of the founder's career.

Walker says: "What we concentrate on is more at management level and there is a gap in the market for good, high-quality distance-learning qualifications for managers in financial services." She adds: "People tend to be promoted by virtue of their experience. It is assumed they have the skills to take on the job, which is often not the case, and this is exactly the premise behind what we are offering." She says it is about ensuring that those promoted into management can shine in their new-found responsibility as much as they did in the job from which they were promoted.

In terms of continuous professional development this is exactly the type of advancement the FSA is looking for, as Everall explains: "My belief is that brokers have not paid as much attention to managerial and supervisory skills as is going to be required under the auspices of the FSA and it is an area that needs to be addressed.

Most of the problem lies in not recording what goes on. Every broker does its best to ensure that its staff are trained and competent and the greatest problem is not recording it properly and not doing it in such a formal way as the regulator wants us to."

As for any commercial business, cost is an important factor when introducing new strategies and training and retention proposals are no different. Indeed, when considering the return on its investment in graduates, Dominic says Aon has to wait a number of years to see the fruits of its labour. He comments: "It is not something in terms of return on investment that we benefit from straight away but we do start to see the benefits two or three years down the line because they have built networks for different parts of the company. For a firm the size of Aon, that is very important and helps to create a cohesiveness."

Training costs

However, the costs involved can be tempered and tailored to the size and ambition of each firm. Staddon explains: "It is not a huge sum and I think it is a greater sum if they do not have a training strategy. If they do not get their people ably equipped to perform the job in today's environment, then they potentially leave themselves open to an errors and omissions claim. We have a very successful training course." He says many insurers are actively looking to help brokers in this area and they should be taking advantage of this.

It is not only important in physical terms to be offering staff the training they need but, in trying to retain them for the future, having the right offering in place sends out very positive signals according to Walker: "If human resources departments are offering further development to their staff, it encourages them not only to stay but also conveys that they are valued and that the firm wants them to stay."

At a time when unemployment is low and there is not a huge pool of talent from which to select, ensuring the right people are happy where they are is incredibly important and will also help generate a profile in the market of a company that staff like working for and want to move to. This is invaluable.

The insurance industry offers a huge wealth of opportunities and disciplines for its workers, with the possibility of travel, professional qualification and well-remunerated positions and yet, somehow, it has allowed these advantages to slip through its fingers over the years when competing against other professions and industries for the best recruits. It is high time that the house put the odds back in its favour.