How might the insurance industry more-effectively recruit topcollege graduates and post-grads into the business?

That's the challenge that confronts industry leaders assemblinglater this month for the Insurance Education andCareer Summit, initiated by the Griffith Insurance EducationFoundation. The Summit, to be held from Sept. 26-28 in Atlanta,will include insurance company and association executives,academics, service providers and other parties involved with theindustry.

For those who have read my columns these many years, you knowthat one of the recruitment barriers I see is the industry'sreputation among “civilians” (those outside the business). Incover stories, editorials and many public speeches, I've urgedthe industry to confront its image problem and proactively get themessage out about the essential role insurance plays in the economyand society.

Insurance is a terrific business in which to work, and that's afact that's lost on too many young people considering their careeroptions.

The Griffith initiative is designed to begin a dialogue totackle this issue head on. What impresses me is that this will bean interactive conference, not just a series of presentations topassive attendees, with an action plan expected at its conclusion.The Summit is merely a first step in what will be an ongoing marchto change the status quo.

“Over the next three days you will be asked to help set a newcourse for the insurance industry,” Griffith says in its letter toattendees. “The Summit is a working session where leaders willengage in dialogue and brainstorming to identify the obstacles andcreate initiatives with actionable items forexecution.”

Griffith knows the stakes are high, and the goal is to energizeattendees with the same sense of purpose and mission.

“The health and vitality of your company, and indeed thevibrancy of the entire insurance sector, depends on our ability towork toward the shared goal of attracting a new generation to aprofession that has given us so much,” says Griffith. “A great dealdepends on our ability to attract the great minds graduating todayfrom our colleges and universities.”

The Foundation goes on to say that “this collaboration toattract the next generation will help this group of thought leaderstranscend differences and focus on what is of mutual benefit tothem. We ask that you set aside your competitive nature andany impulse to push a personal agenda. Instead, we hope thatyou look toward the common good of the industry by sharing yourperspectives, thoughts and ideas. Remember, each one of youis a vital part of this collaboration.”

Of course, Griffith isn't the first or only group within theindustry to address this challenge. In fact, one of the points Iintend to raise at the event is that we need to identify the workthat's already being done to win the war for talent, so we don'tduplicate effort, waste time reinventing the wheel or miss out onan opportunity to work in concert with others dedicated to the samegoals.

However, my hope is that the Griffith Summit (which is beingsponsored by Deloitte, among others) will help focus the industry'sattention and galvanize players from across the business to worktogether to bring top talent into insurance. The time is certainlyripe for such an effort, with job opportunities for young peoplescarce in our struggling economy.

If you'd like more information, go to the Griffith website tocheck out the agenda and sign up to attend. For those who can'tmake it, I'll report on the event in this space next month andprovide updates on our progress. I hope to see you in Atlanta!

Sam J. Friedman joined Deloitte Research as InsuranceLeader last October after 29 years at National Underwriter, wherehe was Group Editor In Chief of the P&C Media Division. He maybe reached at [email protected].