2023 Executive Outlook | John Haas, NFP

John Haas, president, NFP, Canada

Attracting and retaining talent is not a new issue, but it continues to be a concern for the industry — particularly as veteran product specialists edge toward retirement. Many technical fields within P&C require expertise in broking and underwriting to ensure we adequately help and support clients in creating appropriate risk transfer and retention strategies.

Further compounding the issue, some important technical products have been merged into other product lines, resulting in coverage restrictions; also, certain technical fields are no longer considered an interesting career path for younger team members entering the industry.

We can pull many levers to address the talent issue.

In academia, we can further advance the promotion of insurance as a career at the university, college and high school levels. Employers can create internal training programs designed to grow and develop talent in-house, as well as design mentorship programs pairing veteran talent with new team members.

At the same time, we should identify individuals with several years of industry experience and insurance product knowledge to train and develop young professionals. We should encourage and reward team members who take an active role in advancing their professional careers, create a positive work-life-balanced environment, and, most importantly, have fun!

Ours is an exciting industry with global reach, providing tremendous opportunity for individuals to have a rewarding experience for themselves and their families.