Talent attraction, retention and training are among the industry’s most promising opportunities and an influx of new professionals is paramount to the long-term success of our business. In this session at WCI’s 2016 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, executive leaders in the industry shared their perspectives on what they believe will be the necessary skill sets to fill this growing talent gap and what they are doing to recruit and train new hires to fill this need.
Speakers included:
- David A. North, President and CEO, Sedgwick
- Mark Wilhelm, CEO, Safety National
- Peter Miller, President and CEO, The Institutes
- Danielle Lisenbey, President and CEO, Broadspire
According to the U.S. Census bureau, over 70 million U.S. citizens are considered Millennials. By 2025, they will make up 75% of the workforce and will be the future of our industry.
This generation desires opportunities to make a difference and help people, work/life balance and job stability. Attractive job attributes are career opportunity for growth, competitive salary and benefits, flexible working arrangements and shared values with the organization.
According to a survey by The Institutes, only 12% of Millennials thought the insurance industry was innovative, 5% believe insurance is exciting and one-third said insurance was boring. Those surveyed did realize that there is opportunities and fair compensation, however, they believe they would work long, stressful hours and be performing boring day-to-day tasks. This is a perception that we, as an industry, must band together to change.
One way we can do this is to connect the idea that insurance helps people with this generation’s desire to make a difference. We are currently doing a bad job at telling this story, but since helping people is a strong value with this generation, it should resonate. We may have better success by starting with the generation younger than the Millennials, but it must be a collective effort as an industry.
Individually, companies must start with realizing that their employees are their most important asset. This is not just an HR project, it is an attitude that must be adopted company wide. Companies have to make it their mission to establish a work environment that offers opportunities that are enticing and important to the multiple generations within the workforce.
How do we get there? It’s important that CEOs put the people issue at the top of their agenda. It is the CEO’s job to position engaged people throughout the company that deliver on servicing the business. They are going to deliver on your message and help create that attractive culture.
Other strategies for recruiting and retaining Millennials include:
- Refining your internship programs.
- Boosting college recruitment efforts.
- Leveraging your website and social media.
- Examining your workplace and culture.
- Providing professional development opportunities.
