Help Wanted: Ideas For Attracting The Next Generation Of Insurance Leaders

At insurance industry meetings across the country, one issue keeps working its way to the top of the agenda as perhaps our biggest collective challenge: How are we going to interest more young people in insurance and attract them to the profession?

Despite collegiate risk management and insurance (RMI) program-placement rates at close to 100 percent, the number of students coming into the workforce is only filling 10 to 15 percent of the industry's current need. In addition, many RMI graduates are taking jobs in other sectors, and the mobility of our younger generations appears to have stopped the age-old, insurance-sector tradition of passing an agency from one generation to the next.

A recent McKinsey and Co. report found that the number of insurance workers 55 or over has increased by 74 percent in the last 10 years—and this imbalance between supply and demand is creating a talent gap that seriously undercuts the long-term viability of the insurance industry.

We believe we can begin to narrow this gap with a unified industry approach. In my conversations with industry executives, business-school professors and leaders of professional associations, I've found a strong consensus that our industry must act now to ensure we attract a workforce that meets the demands of our profession.

To develop a persistent, unified approach to the problem, the Griffith Foundation later this year will host the first “Insurance Education & Career Summit: A Collaborative Effort to Engage the Next Generation.” The goal of the summit will be identifying the primary barriers to attracting talent—and brainstorming practical, creative solutions to them.

Not only do we believe such an approach will be able to create real industry change, but we've seen proof that concerted industry efforts do work. A similar effort by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants led to a 30 percent increase in the number of accounting majors over five years and an 83 percent increase in the number of direct-from-school new hires made by CPA firms.

One area of concern to be addressed by the career summit: the need to improve insurance literacy at all points along our K-12 educational spectrum. Another area that requires our attention is the public's perception of the insurance industry. Opinion surveys indicate a majority of the public gives us low marks for trust and confidence—and we should not expect people to aspire to a career they do not trust.

Some of these negative opinions are drawn from events in our distant past and misinformation about recent occurrences. We must step up to tell about our current work to ensure that the industry adheres to the highest professional and ethical standards. We need, that is, to do a better job of telling the real story—and I am convinced once we do so that we will draw more professionals to our field.

What about poaching from other professions to address the gap? Although anecdotal evidence suggests insurance companies were recently able to hire senior-level executives who lost their jobs as a result of cutbacks in the financial sectors, this is not a long-term solution.

What is a long-term solution is better addressing the workplace traits of Gen Y, or Millennials, the children of Baby Boomers who are now graduating from college. We know, for instance, they are looking for workplace challenges, and unlike their older brothers and sisters, they are looking to continue their careers within their chosen field—so long as they are offered learning opportunities and upward mobility. And true to everything you have heard about Gen Y, they are the most tech savvy of any generation.

Let's check that list a second time: challenges, learning opportunities, upward mobility and creative use of technology. These are traits that make this generation ideally suited for working in the demanding and challenging field of insurance.

For our industry to remain vibrant and competitive, we must identify our shortfalls and our opportunities, and we hope you can join us—and contribute your ideas—at our upcoming career summit.