ITIC Americas: Attracting and retaining staff in insurance and assistance
Lauren Gumport and Daniel Durazo discuss the current best practices on attracting talent, retaining staff and employee wellbeing
Lauren Gumport, Vice President of Communications and Brand, Faye
Gumport started by saying traditional workplace expectations are not great: being in an office five days a week with limited flexibility to working from home, having to commute, lack of separation of work and personal life, and pointed out that employees are tied to cities with opportunities.
In insurance, she said: “We’ve got to work even harder to earn top talent, because many associate insurance with boring offices and dull positions.” Gumport said that in a post-Covid world, employees expect more than ever before.
Her workplace truths include the fact that Wi-Fi means employees can work from anywhere; that trust is an expectation; that culture isn’t built only on IRL face time; and that recruiting and retaining employees in insurance is tough. At Faye, they fundamentally view hiring differently than others, and that, ‘if we’re going to talk the talk, we must walk the walk’.
Faye’s values mean that they are person-first; transparent and adventurous; are doers; and trustworthy. Gumport said the Faye DNA meant that staff are travel-obsessed, performance-oriented, keen to do things differently, tech-driven, and that people are the priority.
Faye’s hiring tactics included:
- Hand-picking experts
- Showing that ownership and rewards go beyond salary
- Genuinely wanting to help others
- Entrepreneurial spirits, global mentality
- Diversity, inclusivity and empathy.
Gumport gave tips on how to hire differently, saying that although expertise is key, don’t always go for the expected. She said peer interviews pre-hiring were essential, that personality matters, and that candidates value coupling superior service with top-notch tech.
Cameron asked about trust and expectation. He said things have changed so much, how can we adapt our traditional attitude? Gumpott said it is very sad to see that some companies are regressing back to pre-Covid ways and that people must embrace new technology. Durazo said he is from a very traditional company, but that they see the world is changing – and their culture has changed with it.
Daniel Durazo, Director, External Communications, Allianz Partners USA
Durazo spoke about the work environment at Allianz, which ishybrid – two days in the office and three days out. He said all call-centre staff are completely remote and that they revamp office space as needed. They offer comprehensive, competitive benefits, tech and tools for remote working, and that there is a strong learning and development culture. There is also an increased focus on DEI and sustainability. They hired more than 500 people in 2022.
Durazo went on to say that their cultural environment is entrepreneurial, where high performers thrive. He added that as a company they are solutions-oriented, with global opportunities. They focus on success, not bureaucracy, and try to have a strong presence in the community.
Durazo talked about sourcing candidates and said you must win the hearts and minds of employees and candidates, speak to them about coaching and career development, provide feedback and discuss performance and progression, show recognition and appreciation, and create opportunities and give guidance. Most importantly, honour your pledges as a role model and ensure that employees are supported to be their best and thrive, no matter where they choose to work or how they get their work done. “Seventy seven per cent of candidates would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there, and 79 per cent would consider a company’s mission and purpose before applying,” he added.
Durazo’s tactics for recruiting include making sure all employees are ambassadors by adopting an ‘everyone’s a recruiter mindset’, and making a conscious effort to be more active on social media. He said you must actively search your own LinkedIn network for potential candidates for job vacancies in your team, and that for all new roles, encourage your team to reach out to their networks and/or make referrals. As part of the interview preparation, always have at least two personal RTB stories ready to tell. He went on to say that the employee experience is important, and to make sure you think about three critical environments: technological, physical and cultural environment.
To finish, Durazo advised that to boost hiring, you must understand your organisation‘s needs, standardise your hiring process, create realistic job descriptions, look for internal candidates, ask associates for referrals, seek candidates with drive and potential, and understand that candidates are evaluating you too.
Durazo said that to boost retention, you must incentivise loyalty, provide opportunities to grow, elevate your purpose, prioritise culture and connection, invest in associations and their families and embrace flexibility.