I’ve partnered with an increasing number of organisations in the insurance industry over the last three years. It’s an industry that is visibly struggling with an image crisis among young graduates, and the importance of employer branding across the sector has never been more valuable.
The new millennials coming up through the talent pipeline are not reluctant to voice their feelings about a sector that they feel lacks dynamism, is old-fashioned, highly conservative and struggles with diversity.
But that means there are material opportunities for those who can buck that trend – they can achieve a big competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining the brightest talent.
The sector, by its own admission, is behind the curve when it comes to inclusion and gender diversity. I believe this enables those organisations taking it seriously to create some great opportunities for growth and become stand out employers of choice in the sector.
Taking it seriously means they’ve got policies, practices, and behaviours in place to back up the executive statements found in their annual reports and are showing truly inclusive behaviour from the top down.
Of course, the other clear driver is the customer or client scenario. More recently, the catalyst for one of our clients to take action was losing a major pitch to a Fortune 500 company with the key reason stating, that they had all white men representing them at pitch, in stark contrast to the competition.
It’s not all doom and gloom. As I mentioned, there are some that are already demonstrating truly inclusive behaviour and have been for years. Those just starting to engage with the idea of what inclusion and diversity looks like to their organisation are at a clear advantage here. Learn from others. Learn from the last 15 years’ experience of the wider financial services industries attempts to make progress. Learn from their mistakes, their achievements, and best practices.
And if the ‘lessons learned’ theory doesn’t sit well with you, I know that solid data you can rely on will. What I love about this sector is how our clients really embrace the data presented to them. No surprise given that they’re in the insurance market, but they love to be shown the analysis. Helping our clients collect the right quantitative and qualitative data points and analysing it effectively, creates a compelling case for change. It provides a clear direction on the initiatives that will bring the greatest impact and what to leave behind or stop doing.
I have no doubt by starting with good quality data, and in sharing anecdotes of the good alongside the bad, that Talking Talent will be able to make far faster systemic shifts for our clients in the future. This, alongside a broader socio, economic and political climate creates a fabulous opportunity to accelerate lasting change in an otherwise traditional market.
