A framework to hold onto staff, and for staff to hold onto

A framework to hold onto staff, and for staff to hold onto | Insurance Business Australia

Cyber

A framework to hold onto staff, and for staff to hold onto

Solution Underwriting’s Anita Lane recently spoke with Insurance Business on what it takes to keep staff happy and reduce turnover, the benefits of collaborative engagement, and what not to do

Cyber

By
Bennett Richardson

If a company had a 97% staff retention rate in the current labour market, you would want to know what their secret was right?

While there is no single elixir that encourages staff to remain with the same company for years, one thing that has worked magic at Solution Underwriting Agency is making sure people are invested in the firm’s core values.

“We are inclusive with our staff, integrating them into our culture and values,” says director Anita Lane.

This integration extends even to the creation of company values in Solution’s case. Last year, the independent Melbourne-headquartered agency engaged an outside consultant to refresh and revive its corporate mission in an exercise that included interviewing and consulting many Solution staff members as well as external stakeholders.

“We believe when employees are involved in creating company values it promotes consistent positive workplace behaviour as staff members are aware of what is expected from them,” says Lane.

Some of the toughest customers when it comes to long-term commitment to a company are the younger staff members, who need to be engaged, challenged and stimulated in a language they understand.

Solution provides a commitment-free social club with regular meets, an external volunteer program where the company arranges and pays for the event on behalf of all those who wish to be involved, and a day for staff to undertake an activity that “makes them happy and gives them joy” – on the condition that the staff member shares their experience with the group.

The bad old days

All these activities help give staff the bravery to bring their genuine selves to work, be open, and engaged, a goal that hasn’t always been a priority in the insurance industry.

The converse of such engagement would be a playbook from the past where values are imposed from above and the firm runs the risk of dysfunctional activities amongst staff members. 

“Twenty years ago, we just did what we were told by our bosses, we didn’t question anything,” says Lane.

Common tactics to deal with authoritative, top-down, management-knows-best culture include being closed and private, perhaps with a work persona that has little relation to the underlying person. The starting point is a defensive posture.

“I come from a generation that feared feedback because we always thought it would be negative or critical.  We were too scared to put our hand up and contribute to the conversation.”

Alienation from the workplace is almost inevitable under such a scenario, and Lane says she still sees fear as a problem in the insurance industry today.

“I would like to see companies create braver cultures within their teams, challenge the way we have worked for decades and bring in innovation and collaborative culture.” 

Creating a vested interest in future success

Traditionally, management sets the direction of the ship as it ploughs the waves of business. But Solution makes sure that the younger crew members are involved.

“We create internal committees for business issues that involve junior staff so that they can contribute to the direction of the business,” says Lane.

“We believe strongly in lifting the lid on the business to our staff so that they can see how it is run and help us achieve success.”

The trap of inertia can often be avoided with younger voices involved in the process.

“Newer people can challenge the status quo and offer a fresh perspective when told by [establishment that] this is how we have always done things. Their skill sets are varied, and they can offer insights and new ideas.”

Solution also makes sure that a broad range of views are part of the default setting for its business by employing people with experience from outside the insurance field. One of Solution’s strategies is to look for key transferrable skills.

Current staff include former travel agents, engineers, bookkeepers, and retailers.

“We have found skills that complement the insurance industry, and our 100% retention rate of these staff members suggests it’s a mutually beneficial strategy,” says Lane.

“The value comes from their skill set, and varied experience and attributes that people bring from other industries.” 

The benefit of keeping people on board

Research at Solution shows that staff turnover can cost up to a third of an employee’s annual salary to hire a replacement when an employee leaves, and that is just the cost of the recruitment and hiring process. 

Additionally, knowledge is lost when an employee leaves, productivity falls as their work piles up, other staff often face inconvenient workarounds, and training new staff is costly to the business.

“Furthermore, depending on their duties, employees [may] need five to nine months to reach their full productivity.”

The loss can also include intangibles such as depletion of overall staff morale, sowing the seeds of further departures down the track.

Lane says having common core values helps provide a framework for its 50 employees dotted around Australia to hold onto when the outlook is uncertain, reinforcing behaviour, culture, and defining how employees do their jobs.

“[They] are the moral structure of a business,” she explains.

“Our company’s core values [are] created, lived and breathed by everyone within the business.” 

Solution Underwriting is a thriving and innovative agency committed to fostering a positive and diverse culture, service-driven attitude, and genuine relationships within the insurance industry. Solution prides itself on its flexibility and pace, tailored quality coverage and first-class local and London security. It provides a range of financial lines, general liability and accident and health products to brokers nationally, and with offices in Melbourne and Sydney, and over 40 employees, Solution has positioned itself as a leader in the SME space.

www.solutionunderwriting.com.au/

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