New Study Finds the Independent-Agency Generation Gap is a Chasm

How to manage the millennial generation in the workplace is stumping both baby boomers and Gen-Xers. But the generation gap is especially acute in the independent agent-broker (IAB) universe, where 84 percent of employees say there are real generational differences regarding work, and 72 percent agree that these differences pose challenges in their workplace.

That's the finding of a “Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers: The Generation Gap,” new study commissioned by Assurex Global and produced by LifeCourse Assocs., Great Falls, Va.

This could be attributed to the fact that millennials are also significantly underrepresented among the agencies surveyed, comprising only about 15 percent of the workforce, compared with the 22 percent national average, says F. Warren Wright, executive vice president of LifeCourse.

LifeCourse surveyed 47 agencies and brokerages, all affiliated with Assurex, representing all sizes and geographic regions. There were 4,986 individual respondents from all three generational bracket, Wright adds.

Much of the misunderstanding revolves around the different ways in which the three generational segments approach work, Wright says: “Millennials prefer frequent and exhaustive feedback on their performance, as well as lots of coaching, guidance and mentorship— more than their managers ever received when they started out in the business. A typical response we received from boomer and GenX managers was, 'I never had a lot of handholding and training when I was their age, so why should they?'”

Perceived Generational Differences in the Workplace

“In my organization, there are real differences between older and younger generations and how they approach work.”

IAB employees' favorable perceptions by generation as a place to work.

Millennials give the industry low marks as a place to work.

Only 24 percent have a favorable perspective on the independent agency system, compared with 31 percent for Gen X and 43 for baby boomers. This is a problem because millennials are heavily networked, and spreading this negative perception through bad word-of-mouth could thwart industry efforts to recruit and retain, says Wright.

Millennials Respect Their Elders, but the Feeling isn't Mutual.

Millennials have the most favorable view of other generations in the workforce, with 19 percent ranking Xers “very favorably” and 20 percent ranking boomers “very favorably.” In comparison, only 9 percent of Xers rated millennials very favorably, and only 5 percent of boomers ranked millennials very favorably.

“We had no idea there would be such an imbalance in perceptions, but it is consistent with our understanding of generations,” Wright says. “Millennials are bonded to their parents and have a strong comfort level, if not familiarity with authority… We've had managers tell us that millennials will march into the CEO's office and start asking questions and telling the CEO how things could be improved. This is not hubris as much as it is an informal comfort level with authority, like they do with their parents.”

Unfortunately, this respect is not reciprocated. “'Kids today' are always looked at with somewhat of a jaundiced eye, but certainly the spread in numbers was larger than we would have thought,” Wright said. “One company senior manager told me that every time a new young 'kid' was hired, the less he would take out in profit sharing. So maybe there is some resentment, plus there might be a feeling that they are not worth all the work you have to put into them. This is cynical and not productive, of course, but explains the numbers.”

PRODUCERS' OWNERSHIP ASPIRATIONS/MECHANISMS

More than 40 percent of Xers and millennials currently in an agency sales role say they are “extremely interested” in agency ownership—yet only about one-quarter strongly agreed that the mechanisms are in place for them to achieve this.

Producer performance is linked to engagement—and for the reasons below (and more), millennials are not engaged.

IAB ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCER PERFORMANCE

The most engaged quartile has more top producers than the least engaged quartiles. By moving the dial on generational alignment, agency partners can expect to improve not only working relationships among the generations, but also see results in the bottom line, says Wright.

Millennials Desperately want Feedback and Mentoring in the Workplace.

Millennial job satisfaction is driven by continual improvement and feedback. The LifeCourse survey concludes that coaching  millennial employees will yield increased engagement engagement, leading to increased productivity, profit and perpetuation.

In conjunction with the survey, LifeCourse was commissioned by Chubb to develop a new training program for its agents on “Coaching the High Potential Millennial Producer,” which launches at Chubb's Warren, N.J. headquarters last month.

“It's important for managers to realize that a generation is not just an age bracket,” says Wright. “Every generation is shaped in different ways by their experiences and is unique from any other generation. So millennials are different, and will always be different than boomers and Xers. So as much as they may not like it, boomers and Xers need to 'get with the program' if they want to shape the industry for success in the future.”