Silver lining forecast

of Working scheme, aimed at “empowering employees with flexibility, autonomy and the tools for efficient collaboration in the hybrid workplace”.

“This approach is designed to enhance employee engagement, productivity and innovation, and as a result, we are already seeing an increased sense of unity and trust across our organisation,” Mr De Villiers says.

Suncorp says that many people are now seeking “employment with purpose”.

“We have found that Suncorp’s strong purpose of ‘Building Futures and Protecting What Matters’ really resonates well with candidates,” Matthew Leslie, Executive General Manager, People & Culture Strategy, says.

IAG agrees – saying people are attracted to its stated purpose of making the world a safer place.

“We have a clear strategy and vision for the future – and we are investing in our people through training and development programs,” Ms Stasi said.

“We’ve had a long-term focus on being a flexible workplace because we understand how important flexibility is for creating a truly diverse, inclusive, and agile workforce with a healthy work/life balance.”

Global broker Marsh is under no illusions about the size of the challenge.

Talent Acquisition Leader Ben Whitfield tells Insurance News the current employment market is “perhaps the tightest we have ever seen or experienced”.

Mr Whitfield says with unemployment falling below 4% and predicted to fall even lower this year and next, there is “significant strain” on organisations looking to attract talent.

“This, coupled with record job ad numbers, and a negative net migration trend has meant there is less talent available to fill the record job vacancies on offer.

“Candidate availability has decreased to the lowest levels in memory – put simply, there are more job ads being promoted and advertised than there are candidates to fill these positions. This creates a vacuum of available and qualified talent in the market place.”

Mr Whitfield says the insurance industry will need to manage its employees carefully, especially as the shift back to office working continues.

“How we manage and communicate such changes, and how we promote and continue to adopt an agile and flexible workforce will likely impact any effects and resignations we see at a local level.

“This of course, will also impact our ability to attract and retain candidates in an already (very) tight labour market.”

Marsh itself has changed the way it approaches recruitment, being more proactive in searching out potential candidates and encouraging referrals and recommendations.

It also promotes its “culture of belonging, and opportunity to make a difference every day in the work that we do”.

“As an organisation we have a strong lens on our internal talent looking at ways we can grow, develop and to promote from within,” Mr Whitfield says.

“Over recent years we have also expanded our graduate intakes and opportunities for early careers.”

ANZIIF has also been working hard on these issues, and says progress is being made.

Its surveys show that in 2017 77% of industry respondents said there was no visibility of insurance as a career. By last year that figure had dropped to 58%.

Its Corporate Supporter Program’s Careers in Insurance initiative aims to raise awareness of insurance as a career of choice, attending the largest careers fairs to promote the industry.

Ms Willsford says a partnership with Melbourne’s Deakin University has been launched enabling corporate supporters to assign problems to a group of senior final year or masters level students.

“The students get to experience the kind of fantastic problems that they can solve within insurance and they have exposure to insurance, which we hope translates to a broader awareness.

“We expect it to be a long-term partnership, and it’s very exciting.”

Explaining clearly to young people how their insurance careers could develop is crucial, she says.

“Research indicates that, for the younger cohort, being able to see a clearly defined career pathway with the training and support and investment that goes into them as individuals, is a critical part of their selection of a quality employer.

“There is always room to improve in terms of articulating that career development pathway, because the reality is that lots of industries do it quite well.” 0