What younger job candidates want from P&C insurance jobs

Canada’s P&C insurance industry needs to adapt in three key areas to better recruit and retain prospects among Millennials and Gen Z.

First, it should teach recruits tech skills specific to the P&C industry. Second, it should use digital technology to enable and enhance a hybrid workplace environment. Third, it can retain recruits by offering ongoing professional education and growth opportunities.

Recruiting and retaining young talent

Industry demographics research from the Insurance Institute of Canada 16 years ago sounded the alarm that one-quarter of the property and casualty insurance workforce might retire by 2017. The findings pointed to an urgent need to recruit younger generations of P&C insurance professionals.

Since then, not much has changed. The Institute’s recent Demographic Analysis of the P&C Insurance Industry in Canada 2022 to 2026 identified a lack of qualified external candidates and ‘The Great Resignation’ during the pandemic as key barriers to recruitment.

On the plus side, that report found workers with less than two years’ experience make up a greater proportion of the P&C industry workforce. However, it also found fewer workers in the P&C industry with two-to-five years of experience; an indication of greater career fluidity among newer industry entrants.

While recruitment may be linked in part to the industry’s reputation, retaining new young employees might actually be a work environment issue.

Driving digital transformation  

Gen Z and Millennials, by and large, haven’t known a world without the internet. They are engrossed in tech and expect speedy, effortless digital experiences – whether as customers or employees.

Ivans, a subsidiary of Applied Systems, recently surveyed 225 people who are either Millennials (born 1981-96) or Gen Z (born 1997-2012). Ninety-six per cent said technology made a positive impact on insurance workflows. Humber College graduate Nicolás Gonzalez agreed, “The resource that will help me is always technology.”

Specifically technology made for the insurance industry. John McNeil, program coordinator of Humber College’s Insurance Management post-grad certificate program, explains the distinction. “The Humber Insurance program used to be a Microsoft Office course which we found wasn’t really serving students. It’s really important that students learn industry technology to be prepared for their roles as brokers.”

When Humber incorporated insurance-specific technology into its program, students began to feel confident and well-equipped to search for broker roles. “Being on the forefront of technology used by every major brokerage has positioned me well in entering the job market,” said Humber graduate Blaine Tattersall.

Adopting technology future-proofs businesses by equipping younger employees with the digital experiences they expect, and can entice them to stay in the industry longer.

Prioritizing work-life balance

Odds of retaining Millennials and Gen Zs improve when employers promise work-life balance. Seventy-six per cent of survey respondents said work-life balance topped what they wanted from their next job. This was a landslide ahead of other options, including business mission or values (9.3%), access to provided technology (8.8%), reputation (3.8%) and digital access to information/paperless office (1.9%).

For Millennials and Gen Zs, gone are the days of regular nine-to-five jobs. Younger people are looking for ways to optimize their time so they can undertake multiple pursuits. Tattersall confirmed, “I decided to work at my current brokerage because they offered me a part-time job that fits with my schedule.”

Technology isn’t the only way brokerages should modernize in their businesses. The Institute’s 2023 report found 64% of the workforce is expected to be hybrid in two years. So, evaluate how flexible your office environment feels to younger hires.

Long-term thinking

Millennials and Gen Zs want their workplaces to provide continuing education and opportunities to advance in their careers. “I like insurance because you are always learning new things and you can grow professionally in different ways,” Gonzalez said.

Fellow insurance professionals can relate: This is an important reason why many people stay in an insurance career.

“To attract talent, provide students with a great first impression, get them to understand why it’s exciting to work for you, and how you intend to develop them. That might include inviting them onsite, getting them to meet their team, and talking to them not just about starting but how to develop with them,” McNeil advised.

And communicate the benefits of long-term growth opportunities effectively. Because “if you’re not talking about how they are going to develop with you long-term,” he cautions, “someone else will.”

Steve Whitelaw is an SVP and general manager at Applied Systems Canada. This story is excerpted from one that appeared in the December 2023 -January 2024 print edition of Canadian Underwriter. Feature image by iStock.com/Antonio_Diaz