Passing the Baton

As the average age of the broker begins to creep towards the ‘Golden Years,’ brokers have held panel discussions, seminars and meetings behind boardroom doors to try and drum up ways of bringing in fresh blood, so that when the day comes for the principal broker to pass the baton, there will be someone there to receive it.

So then, why not speak directly with the people you are trying to recruit and find out what it is that they are looking for in a career?

Pose the question, as Canadian Underwriter did to those representing young people just entering the broker community, and chances are you will hear from the upcoming generation that the insurance industry needs to improve its technology, reach out to younger people in the community and open the boardroom doors to young talent. Financial incentives are not the sole motivators of this new generation, according to the young people in the industry who spoke to Canadian Underwriter. The younger generation’s wish list is more likely to include a modern workplace that allows them to feel that they’re part of a team with constant challenges.

BRINGING THE BIZ ONLINE

The generation about to exit high school has quite literally grown up with a computer at its fingertips.

Roberta Giffin, chair of Ontario’s Young Brokers’ Council, thinks that the fact that many brokerages are still operating by the paper-and-pencil method may prove to be a deterrent for someone considering brokering. “Young people are so into computers, into technology, that I think if you don’t have technology they’re going to think, ‘Oh that place is archaic. Why would I want to go and work for them?'”

Giffin admits it is costly for a brokerage to give itself a technological overhaul. But, based on her own experience, Giffin believes that doing so would bring about a win-win situation for both the broker and the new recruit.

She recalls the following of her start in the industry. “The office I started in wasn’t computerized at all,” she said. “We did everything by manuals. I rated by a manual. I knew every page in that manual. I did nothing on a computer. I did it all by hand.”

Five years ago, she moved to a firm that was up-to-speed and fully computerized and she hasn’t looked back. “It’s such an asset to have a computer system,” she says. “It’s such an asset to know that when you have to do all of your paperwork, it’s limited now — you do one step.”

Rikki Wosnack, chair of the Alberta Professional Young Brokers’ Society, agrees with Giffin. She adds that by updating its technology, a brokerage might also address another glaring issue between the Baby Boomers and the new generation — a desire for a work-life balance, something that young talent is seeking.

“I think that [desire for work-life balance] is definitely a difference that we see [between the younger generation and] the older Baby Boomer generation that is hoping to retire soon,” Wosnak suggests. “I think they [the Baby Boomers] were much more focussed on work and work was their life.”

Through the use of updated technology, Wosnak sees a potential reduction in workload, and a speedier way of getting things done — which, in turn, allows for more personal time. “The young generation is used to a fast-paced environment; along with that comes being used to working on computers and with the Internet,” she says. “That’s going to be a part of how someone who’s coming into the industry chooses where they’re going to work. Those brokerages out there who are not working towards getting more technologically sound are going to have a tougher time attracting those younger people.”

EMPHASIZING THE POSITIVE

Steve Earle, chair of the Nova Scotia Young Broker Network, believes changes to the field need to extend beyond the degree to which it is technologically inclined if the independent channel is to survive. In Earle’s view, the independent broker profession is dogged by the negative perceptions of people who work from within the insurance industry itself. He tells of how he recently hired a junior underwriter who previously worked at a large insurance company. The general view of her former co-workers in the insurance company, he says, was that she was demoting herself by moving to a small brokerage.

“I don’t think this is an isolated incident,” he says. “I think there are a lot of young licensed brokers who are coming into the industry on the broker side, who, for whatever reason, see a position with an insurer in an ivory-tower downtown [office] versus a small office in suburbia as somehow better. We need to change that.”

Earle believes raising the bar on how the brokerage community is perceived, both within and outside of the industry, will attract more young people to the broker side. Wosnak and Giffin agree with Earle that more contact needs to be made with young people, so the profession will have a better chance of drawing them in. But they believe any difficulties in recruiting are not necessarily the result of a negative stigma associated with the industry, but rather unawareness on the part of the potential recruits of what the industry actually does.

“I don’t think you need to make the industry appear as sexier,” Giffin says. “I think you have to make them [the younger generation] understand that insurance has so many different components involved in its everyday business — from accounting, to marketing to sales. It’s not just selling insurance.”

When Wosnak contemplated her career options, she recalled looking for something fast-paced, challenging and that paid well. She believes that she’s found that. Now, she says, “I think it’s just a matter of going out there and letting everyone know just how great it is.”

Alberta’s Young Broker Society has tossed around the idea of a DVD to be circulated to high schools, she says. But everyone agrees that by having the younger brokers actually go out into the community and make their presence known, chances are that they’ll be able to relate to the young people better.

Giffin agrees, adding that by allowing young brokers to be visible and vocal within their communities, management is giving its young talent a sense of worth and allowing them to make connections that will benefit them professionally. “We have a lot of really great younger brokers today in the field,” she says. “The principals need to let those younger brokers get out and become more aware of what is actually going on in the industry. If that occurred, then [young brokers] would talk to more people to get involved.”

OPENING DOORS, LOOSENING REINS

Several young brokers discussed the need to cement relationships between management principals and young brokers within a brokerage firm. Some believe old-fashioned mentoring may do the trick.

Giffin notes that in a small brokerage, it’s likely the principal going to the functions and meetings with CEOs. “If you have a young ambitious broker in your business that’s keen and wants to learn, why not encourage them to get out? Take them with you. Take them under your wing. Introduce them to the CEOs of companies.”

Back at the office, Wosnak stresses the importance of principals working closely with young brokers. She encourages management principals to sit down with their young brokers and listen to what they would like to achieve. Perhaps the principals might offer opportunities to further a young broker’s education, or draft a plan to help young brokers get to where they want to be professionally. By doing so, the principal may feel comfortable enough one day to pass over the reins of the business to the young broker.

“If the young broker knows what’s going on, what the plan is, and [demonstrates] that they’re on board with that plan, they’re going to be able to hit all the stepping stones that they need to get to that place,” she suggests. “Instead of drafting the plan behind the board room doors, make them a part of the process.”

And while seminars and formal education are important, she sa ys, “I think it needs to be a lot of hands-on imparting of wisdom and experience [by the principal] directly to that person taking over from the principal.”

The benefits of mentoring work both ways, Giffin adds. An older principal can capitalize on a younger person’s expertise. Fresh from school, a young broker may have an innovative way of doing things that a person working in the field may not have considered. “It does work,” Giffin says, “If you’re open to it.”