Research Report on Future Insurance Leaders

Research Report on Future Insurance Leaders How to Identify & Attract High-Potential Insurance Talent PART 2 OF A 3-PART SERIES

DGA CAREERS

RESEARCH REPORT: HOW TO IDENTIFY AND ATTRACT HIGH-POTENTIAL INSURANCE TALENT

Why You’ll Want to Read This!

I

s your insurance organization challenged with identifying, recruiting, grooming and retaining future leadership talent? You’re not alone. Our extensive research with 964 insurance industry employees in Canada—332 of whom identify as high-potential—provides perspective on what is unique about insurance from the point of view of those who work in the industry.

In Part 1, we revealed what unique elements attract talent to insurance, and what areas interest them most.

In Part 2, we develop a profile for high-potential candidates based on insights gained from the research and provide guidance on how to identify, attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders.

In Part 3, you’ll hear from high-potential talent as they express where they see their careers headed over the next five years.

dgacareers.com

2


Background

I

n June 2017, DGA Careers, a boutique, national insurance search firm, set out to find answers to the following three questions:

What (unique) factors attract talented people to work in the insurance industry?

What do top insurance performers—both current and future—look like?

How do we find, train and motivate tomorrow’s insurance leaders today?

964 respondents gave their perspective in a survey DGA conducted with insurance industry candidates.

INTRODUCTION 41% of respondents to our survey describe themselves as “High-potential (early to mid-stage of their career), learned and grown tremendously in recent years and ambitious to continue success.” It’s important for the insurance industry to understand what attracts high-potential talent to the sector, and how to retain, train and motivate them. In Part 1 of this series, we looked at what uniquely attracts talent to insurance. In Part 2, we’ll focus on establishing a profile for high-potential insurance talent based on our research. At the end of this article, we’ll summarize our findings on this self-identified group of respondents, along with our recommendations on how to attract these future insurance leaders to your organization.

dgacareers.com

3


Attitudes Toward Career Development WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF WHEN IT Q1HOW COMES TO DEVELOPING YOUR CAREER?

OPEN TO OPPORTUNITIES

75% 69%

CONFIDENT

EAGER TO LEARN

68% 65%

AMBITIOUS

57%

FOCUSED

56%

DRIVEN

42%

PASSIONATE

SEEKING DIRECTION

16%

CONTENT WITH CURRENT ROLE

15%

APPREHENSIVE

3%

OTHER

3%

T

he most substantial difference between the total respondent and high-potential groups was highlighted in Q7. A greater percentage of high-potential candidates are:

• Confident (78% vs 69%) +9% • Ambitious (77% vs 65%) +12% • Eager to learn (74% vs 68%) +6% • Driven (67% vs 56%) +11%

dgacareers.com

4


Attitudes Toward Career Development Cont’d If we remove the high-potential group from total respondents, the difference is even more significant. • Confident (78% vs 64%) +14% • Ambitious (77% vs 58%) +19% • Eager to learn (74% vs 63%) +11% • Driven (67% vs 48%) +19% These findings are quite meaningful as they clearly indicate that a greater percentage of those who self-identify as high-potential view themselves as confident, ambitious, eager to learn and driven. Testing for these characteristics in the interviewing and assessment processes will help to identify potential future insurance leaders. SOME COMMENTS Resourceful: finding new ways to contribute within an existing role by championing innovations I can lead. Enthusiastic about change and growth. Always learning to advance knowledge and skills.

dgacareers.com

5


Searching For New Career Opportunities METHODS HAVE YOU EMPLOYED TO MANAGE YOUR Q2 WHAT CAREER, GROW, AND SEARCH FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES?

64%

LINKEDIN

60%

NETWORKING

COMPANY WEBSITES

52%

TAKING COURSES TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

50%

ONLINE JOB BOARDS/ CAREER WEBSITES

48% 47%

REFERRALS

RECRUITING FIRM SPECIALIZING IN INSURANCE

45%

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

32% 18%

HAVING A MENTOR

GENERALIST RECRUITING FIRM

11% 7%

CAREER FAIRS

OTHER

3%

H

igh-potential respondents search for new opportunities using several different approaches. Trends are similar between this group and total respondents, except a greater percentage of high-potential respondents does every one of these things (with the one exception - career fairs). Of particular note, when compared to total respondents, 7% more high-potential respondents spend time networking and 6% more belong to professional associations. We can conclude that this confident, ambitious and driven group of future insurance leaders realizes that industry connections are invaluable in growing their careers and that networking provides ongoing opportunities for learning.

dgacareers.com

6


Job Search Experience INTERVIEWING FOR A NEW POSITION, WHAT Q3WHEN MAKES FOR A GREAT CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE? CLEAR, HONEST COMMUNICATION AT EVERY STEP OF THE PROCESS

75%

CLEAR DESCRIPTION OF JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

53%

SALARY AND BENEFITS DETAILS

51% 45%

TIMELY REPLIES

FEEDBACK ON WHY PASSED OVER

39% 36%

STATUS UPDATES

CLEAR TIMELINE FOR HIRING PROCESS

32%

ABILITY TO MAKE HUMAN CONTACT TO FOLLOW UP ON APPLICATION

29%

HUMAN CONTACT AFTER APPLICATION SUBMITTED

29%

NOTIFICATION IF PASSED OVER

27%

APPLICATION CONFIRMATION EMAIL

OTHER

16% 4%

R

esoundingly, 78% of high-potential respondents think that clear, open communication at every step of the process is key in creating a great candidate experience, and that is far more important than a clear job description or salary and benefits. All survey respondents feel this is most important, followed by clear job description and salary and benefits. SOME COMMENTS Need clear details as to job responsibilities, expectations. Not just what the recruiter / HR / future senior person wants you to hear. No communication if passed over for a job, no information why applicant was passed over for job, no feedback regarding interview, etc.

dgacareers.com

7


Job Search Experience Cont’d INTERVIEWING FOR A NEW POSITION, WHAT Q4WHEN CONTRIBUTES TO A POOR CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE?

NO NOTIFICATION WHEN POSITION FILLED

50%

LONG OR UNCLEAR TIMELINE FOR HIRING PROCESS

50%

INABILITY TO SPEAK TO RECRUITER

46% 44%

NO SALARY DETAILS

INCOMPLETE JOB DESCRIPTION

39%

NO INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

39%

VERY LONG APPLICATION

27%

ONLINE APPLICATION FORM THAT DOESN’T WORK

25%

UNCLEAR APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

23%

NO BENEFITS INFO

23%

NO CONFIRMATION EMAIL WHEN APPLICATION SUBMITTED

OTHER

W

19% 8%

hat factors most contribute to a poor candidate experience? We’ve displayed the high-potential respondent results above, but the total group follows the same trend:

• Long or unclear timeline for hiring process 54% • No notification when position filled 54% • No salary details 44% • Inability to speak to the recruiter or department head 44%

dgacareers.com

8

How to Spot a Future Insurance Leader KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HIGH-POTENTIAL TALENT & TOTAL RESPONDENTS % % 66% 66 65 64% % HIGH-POTENTIAL % % % 59 59 59

58

TALENT

TOTAL RESPONDENTS

29%

24%

VALUE STABILITY OF INSURANCE

PLAN TO BUILD INSURANCE CAREER

5-10 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE

SUCCESSFUL BUILDING INSURANCE CAREER

INTERESTED IN RISK MANAGEMENT

THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE: HOW HIGH-POTENTIAL TALENT DESCRIBE THEMSELVES CAREER-WISE

78%

77%

74%

67%

ARE AMBITIOUS

ARE DRIVEN

ARE CONFIDENT

ARE EAGER TO LEARN

+12% MORE THAN ALL RESPONDENTS




HOW FUTURE LEADERS SEARCH FOR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF HIGHPOTENTIAL RESPONDENTS DO ALL THESE THINGS

% MORE

LINKEDIN NETWORKING

FURTHER WEBSITES REFERRALS EDUCATION

SPEND TIME NETWORKING

% MORE

INSURANCE RECRUITER

JOB BOARDS

ASSOCIATIONS MENTOR

GENERALIST RECRUITER

PURSUE FURTHER EDUCATION

% MORE

HAVE A MENTOR

% MORE

BELONG TO ASSOCIATIONS


Profile For High-Potential Insurance Talent

T

o summarize, here’s what we’ve learned about self-identified high-potential insurance respondents from our research, as highlighted in Parts 1 and 2 of this series.

• There are more high-potential respondents with 5-10 years’ experience in insurance than total respondents (29% vs. 24%). • A greater percentage of high-potential respondents plan to build/maintain their career in insurance than the total respondent population. (66% vs 59%) • In general, respondents are attracted to the insurance industry because of the stability it offers and the fact that they’ve been successful building their career in the industry. A greater percentage of high-potential respondents value these qualities as compared to the total respondent group. (Stability: 66% vs. 59%, successful building career 65% vs. 59%). • As compared to total survey respondents, a higher percentage are interested in risk management (64% vs 58%), international risk (44% vs 40%) and cyber risk (42% vs 38%). • The most significant difference between high-potential respondents and the total group is in how they describe themselves when it comes to their career. +12% more are ambitious, +11% more are driven, +9% more are confident, and +6% more are eager to learn. • High-potential respondents search for new career opportunities using several different approaches and a greater percentage of high-potential respondents employs every one of the tactics we listed (with the one exception of career fairs). When compared to total respondents, 7% more high-potential respondents spend time networking and 6% more belong to professional associations. • All respondents—not just the high-potential group—believe that clear, open communication at every step of the job application process is the key to creating a great candidate experience, followed by a clear job description and clarity on salary and benefit details. • All respondents—not just the high-potential group—feel that a long or unclear timeline for the hiring process, lack of communication when a position has been filled, lack of salary details and inability to speak with a recruiter or department head, all contribute to a poor candidate experience.

dgacareers.com

10


How To Attract (and Retain) Future Leaders EXAMINE YOUR HIRING PROCESS Whether internal or external: Are you treating candidates (and employees) with respect? What does your communication and follow-up process with candidates look like? Make an honest assessment of kind of experience candidates have with your organization, and make a plan to change what needs fixing. BE CLEAR ON POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES There’s no doubt that job responsibilities and accountabilities must evolve and change in fluid, adaptable organizations. However, when conducting a search for a new role, be sure to have a well-defined outline of responsibilities of, and clearly stated expectations for, the position you’re looking to fill. PROVIDE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES Make sure your team members have the opportunity to attend association and industry networking events on an ongoing basis, as well as internal company and team events. Encourage and promote networking activities and mentorship programs. CONTINUOUS LEARNING Consider a program to support employee accreditation, as well as internal training workshops and seminars. Open dialogue with employees can help them determine their career paths and what their training and education needs are. PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH Even if there are currently no opportunities for advancement in your organization, keep high-potential talent challenged and motivated. Consider special projects or assignments, committee membership, cross-training, job-sharing and departmental rotations as ways to retain and further develop future potential leaders. USE THIS HIGH-POTENTIAL TALENT PROFILE TO CREATE YOUR OWN Not only is it important to have a description of responsibilities and accountabilities when searching to fill a position, but to also have a clear picture of the type of individual you are looking for. Just as your organization may have established customer profiles, it’s a great idea to have defined employee profiles to ensure cultural fit and leadership potential when hiring. WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO INSURANCE TALENT ✓ STABILITY OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY ✓ CAREER BUILDING AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES ✓ OPPORTUNITIES IN NEWER, EVOLVING AREAS OF RISK INSURANCE ✓ NETWORKING

dgacareers.com

✓ OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND GROW ✓ CLEAR, OPEN, TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION. ALWAYS. ✓ NO HIDDEN DETAILS ✓ RESPECT

11


Stay Tuned For part 3 of this series, as we reveal more results from our survey of 964 insurance industry candidates.

PART 3 FUTURE INSURANCE LEADERS SHARE THEIR VISION Hear from high-potential talent as they express where they see their careers headed over the next five years.

dgacareers.com

12

THIS RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED BY DGA CAREERS, CANADA’S ONLY NATIONAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH AND RECRUITMENT FIRM FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY, SINCE 1986.

With offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal, DGA Careers is well positioned to conduct searches with a national scope. Our unrivalled professional network cross Canada provides the ability to reach vital key influencers and passive candidates nationally.

To learn more, visit www.dgacareers.com, email us at [email protected] or call us at 1-877-868-6711. TORONTO

VANCOUVER

EDMONTON

150 King Street West, Suite 805

1111 W. Hastings Street, Suite 501

10665 Jasper Avenue, Suite 1414

416-868-6711

778-383-9790

587-525-5536

CALGARY

MONTREAL

144 4 Avenue SW, Suite 1600

2001 Boulevard. Robert Bourassa, Suite 17076

587-702-5830

514-587-2508

th

ALL RESEARCH AND CONTENT PROPERTY OF DGA CAREERS. © DGA CAREERS 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.