The Knowledge: People and talent - The people

The independent broker:
Vincent Wadsworth, chairman, FR Ball Insurance

“The problem we have is that finding skilled people in Monmouthshire is not easy. People are happy to drive to Newport or Cardiff, but there’s a psychological barrier to commuting from the cities to Abergavenny where we are. As a result, we’ve usually had to train staff from scratch, which can be difficult when you are few in number and have to divert the time to teaching somebody.

“We try to employ people who are likely to accept instruction, learn quickly, and will provide a good level of service. It’s important for our business because we’re high street brokers, people come in off the street, and the first impression they get is the one that stays with them.

“In the early days I offered to pay for staff who completed their CII exams, but nobody proceeded to do the full qualification. It would be nice to have chartered status on the letter heading, but I don’t think customers are concerned with that. The fact is, they look at the price and if it’s too much for them they’ll look elsewhere.”

We say …
Pressure to deliver lower prices makes finding the money to spend on qualifying staff much harder.

The national broker:
Wayne Lewis, managing director, general insurance, Capita Insurance Services

“The biggest challenge for insurance is its reputation. In recent years senior figures in the industry have been trying to do something about that.

“Insurance has become a multi-faceted industry. People are more aware of insurance, and an increased connection to technology has helped enormously in terms of making things more exciting. It means that when you’re attracting talent from school and university, candidates know about insurance. In the past,
it was something your mum and dad did.

“The industry’s seen more momentum in getting qualifications and there are more leaders in the industry who are pushing people to qualify properly. If you’re getting properly educated in the industry in which you are operating, you can understand what risk is about and the claims process, and you get that overview of the whole industry. We support all our employees wholeheartedly in obtaining CII qualifications.”

We say …
The banking crisis has put insurance in the spotlight as a viable alternative for talented graduates.

The Lloyd’s broker:
Jan Homewood, head of HR, Crispin Spears

“We’re very small and tend to take on people in the middle of their careers rather than graduates, for example. We find that if we’re recruiting and need specialist knowledge, perhaps in a certain classification, that can sometimes be a challenge. You can often find excellent candidates, but they may not have that specialist knowledge we require.

“Employers need to be flexible with the type of packages that they’re offering.

“A good account executive will be looking for a benefits package with motivational factors, so perhaps they’ll want the freedom to work from a different base, and a range of different incentives rather than just a normal salary package.

“We support our employees in obtaining qualifications and have a study package. We put a high value on the CII qualifications. If recruits don’t have them we’re always looking for a willingness to commence study, as it does show a dedication to the insurance industry and a genuine interest in becoming a professional.”

We say …
Remuneration isn’t a major headache for the industry, but specialist candidates expect a package.

The regional broker:
Vicki Beatens, director of HR and training, BeWiser Insurance

“We’re growing and already employ a significant number of the local population. We employ more than 380 staff in Andover, so we’re looking at ways of finding more people from the surrounding areas.

“We employ a mixed age range of people as it seems to be an industry that more people want to get into, partly because it seems like a safe bet and people want that job security.

“We regard industry qualifications very highly and when we interview our staff we make them aware that they will be required to obtain qualifications. We bring in external teaching providers and pay for candidates’ exams to put them through the insurance foundation certificate and get them up to CII level.

“We want the public to know that they’re speaking to experienced and qualified people, so we do invest in our staff and the recognised industry qualifications that gives us that credibility. We’ve had a couple of apprenticeship schemes before, and we’re launching one in October where we’re taking in A-level students for a three-year programme that gets them up to the ACII level.”

We say …
Providing training and paying for recruits’ qualifications gives confidence to the company and its clients.

The insurer:
Paul Smith, head of recruitment, LV=

“The biggest challenge to recruitment at the moment is the economic environment. People are reluctant to move jobs, though it does depend on the level of the role. If you’re looking at more technically qualified people, you have to really prise them out. We’ve also found that where we have identified really good talent, their companies have been working hard to retain them.

“We’ve done a lot of work on our recruitment websites and have developed a robust social media strategy. We’ve tried to create a following in areas where it’s hard to recruit, such as for actuaries, pricing people and claims specialists. Using Facebook and Twitter we’ve created chat rooms and follow groups, so that when roles become available we’ve got a kind of talent pool there that we’ve been nurturing.

“What is lacking generally are rudimentary skills like numeracy and literacy, but also commercial acumen. At senior level, we’re not just looking for someone who’s coming in as a technical expert, but a person who has the right attitude and is really going to add value from a commercial perspective.”

We say …
Social media can be used as a powerful recruitment tool for connecting with potential candidates.