The Connection Magazine A.I.M. Mutual Fall 2016 | Page 6

ATTRACTING TALENT

Teri Bowman
Teri Bowman is Director of Human Resources at A.I.M. Mutual. Teri
has 10 years of HR experience, including recruitment, employee
relations, training, compensation, benefit administration,
workers compensation and areas of compliance.

THE CHALLENGE
OF ATTRACTING
TALENT TO THE
INSURANCE
INDUSTRY
Catching Their Attention

IT’S possible that we’re just
misunderstood.
Millennials (18- to 34-year-olds) just
don’t view the insurance industry as
innovative and exciting, according to one
recent study. Even worse, one-third of
respondents declared us boring.
But when you consider that over the
next ten years, 50 percent of insurance
industry professionals are going to
retire, recruiting has to take on a whole
new urgency. Not only does that mean
a large chunk of the current workforce
will be gone, but valuable institutional
knowledge will be lost with it. With that
in mind, it is clear we need to attract,
foster, and mentor the next generation of
insurance professionals. But it’s proving
more challenging than anyone thought.
While agency perpetuation is an
option for some, most carriers and
agencies find they need to overcome
that image problem. A recent Providence
College grad now working in the area of
workers compensation claims admitted
she’d never seriously thought about
an insurance career and was genuinely
surprised at the opportunities in the
industry.

FALL 2016

That thinking is really no different from
how today’s insurance professionals
joined the business. More than 60
percent of individuals currently working
in the insurance industry are over the
age of 45, and they say they did not go to
school with an insurance career in mind. It
just happened. On a positive note, most of
them also say they have no regrets.
So how do we catch the attention of
new job seekers? It’s all about raising
awareness, and since few college
programs focus on insurance, it’s up
to us to get the word out. Online job
boards at colleges are a key recruitment
tool. Students and graduates can log
in with their smartphones, see a job’s
qualifications and requirements, and find
new opportunities for themselves in our
industry. Also, those with career paths
in criminal justice, risk management, and
safety are especially good candidates
for an insurance career. Industry-specific
staffing agencies are another option for
filling insurance jobs, depending on the
applicant pool.
Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re
ready to hit the ground running. When
new employees enter the industry, it is

essential they get the training that they
need to succeed. The most effective way
is a “hands-on” approach with a mentor
within their company. Supplement this
practical training with specialized training
through The Insurance Library and The
Insurance Institute of America, both of
which offer instruction online and in a
classroom setting. Ultimately, of course,
employees new to the business need to
learn your core values and philosophies
directly from you.
Providing
the
right
working
environment for millennials is just as
critical as training. Their priorities are
often dramatically different than those
of their predecessors. Many will value
vacation time, for instance, over salary
increases. As an industry, we need to learn
what’s important to today’s new hires and
make adjustments, if possible, to attract
and retain a quality staff.

Visit us at
www.aimmutual.com

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