Kona celebrates Insurance Business Australia’s top insurance employers for 2022

In a press release, Kona founder and director James Toth (pictured) said: “We’re so incredibly proud to be this year’s sponsor for this report. It’s great to see both friends of the business and companies we haven’t necessarily engaged with in the past, but who we know have an excellent reputation, be recognised for their outstanding work in fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion, employee empowerment, and purpose.”

Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on attracting and retaining talent in the Australian insurance industry, Toth noted countless insurance companies are becoming more malleable in how they employ, remunerate, and recognise their staff.

“I think for many of us sitting at home working all day, work really did just feel like work. All you were doing was working, reflecting on your job and employer, and asking yourself: ‘Is this where I want to be?’ I believe these statistics are a result of that self-reflective period,” he said.

Read more: Recruiter Kona rebrands to focus on insurance industry only

The IB report identified four employee benefits that stood out among the factors that attract and retain talent:

Flexible working arrangements

Toth said flexible working arrangements ranking first among the top factors in attracting and retaining talent in the industry is unsurprising, especially when the COVID-19 lockdowns were in place.

“The challenges we all face when implementing hybrid or working-from-home arrangements aren’t an excuse to force people back into the office,” he said. “There’s an opportunity here as a leader to ask ourselves: Are we a close-knit team because we sit next to each other for 8 hours a day, or do we have a tight bond because when we do see each other, we have such a great time that it reminds us why we love our workplace?”

Bonus/incentive programs

With companies and their employees facing some of the most challenging economic circumstances of the century, employees need to feel empowered to work autonomously and be remunerated for their work, Toth said.

Employee recognition programs

Toth said these programs are crucial in building passionate workforces.

“I believe that in a world driven by flexibility and autonomy, where you don’t necessarily get the shine from your leader on a day-to-day basis, employee recognition is even more important than we’re making it out to be,” he said.

Performance reviews

Toth explained that performance reviews are about testing the temperature and working towards an end game.

“It’s great to see professionals looking for accountability and growth. I think there’s an old-school mentality or misconception that performance reviews are either (A) ‘you’re not doing well enough’ or (B) ‘you’re getting fired,’ so there’s definitely some scarcity around them,” he said. “As a society, we must destigmatise performance reviews as negative and ensure we’re harnessing them into a positive assessment.”

See the complete list of this year’s top insurance employers and what made them stand out by reading the IB Top Insurance Employers 2022 report.