How can the insurance industry learn from Generation Z?

How can the insurance industry learn from Generation Z? | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

How can the insurance industry learn from Generation Z?

Wednesday’s Women’s Summit to lift lid on generational differences

Insurance News

By
Daniel Wood

Insurance firms are implementing more digital capabilities and looking to leverage them to improve customer interactions. One advantage of actively employing more younger people is their natural comfort with all things digital. This comfort is also informing how insurers and brokers train these new recruits – and learn from them.

Pegah Vaghaye (pictured above) is executive manager of broker relationships for CGU, the intermediary-focused insurer that’s part of Insurance Australia Group (IAG). Her role involves helping train the firm’s new recruits.

She said the younger generation – the under 30s who include Generation Z and some Gen Ys – are very competent at finding educational resources online. Unlike older generations, when they’re training, they often look online first for answers.

“That’s quite an interesting way that the younger generation learn,” said Sydney-based Vaghaye.

In fact, thanks to a new hire, she’s found good educational resources on YouTube dealing with relationship management.

“That wouldn’t be my first port of call,” said Vaghaye, who has more than 20 years of industry experience. “I would go and talk to someone or ask them how they would do it, but I’ve learned this from the younger generation.”

The panel: Addressing the generational divide – creating inclusive cultures will look at how, for the first time, five generations are interacting within the workforce, each with different perspectives on work, values, communication and expectations.

However, rather than a divide, Vaghaye suggested to Insurance Business that these are differences that each generation can learn from.

“I think it can be perceived as a divide because we might make assumptions or hold biases around how each generation operates,” she said. “In my experience, I don’t feel that I’ve had issues or disadvantages working with many different generations – personally, I love it.”

Vaghaye said when she was in her early 20s and making a start in the industry, many of her trainers were from the baby boomer generation. Much of what she’s learned came from this generation, through formal or situational mentors.

“I’ve found people from that generation [baby boomers] to be very generous sharing experientially,” said Vaghaye. “They’re more the, ‘I’ll show you’, rather than ‘I’ll tell you what to do’.”

The CGU leader has found this older generation generally very responsive to helping train younger colleagues.

“If you show interest they are happy to take you under their wing and give you on-the-job training,” said Vaghaye. “They’ve got that confidence.”

Are confidence boosters needed?

She suggested that younger colleagues, either because of generational differences or just being new to the industry, are probably less confident than a typical boomer. 

“The younger generation can learn that way as well, but sometimes they don’t quite know how to position themselves for those opportunities and need encouragement to do so,” said Vaghaye.

She gave the example of a colleague who was hired with no prior insurance experience. Vaghaye said this new recruit was somewhat shocked by the sheer variety of different industry roles that were possible.

In response, Vaghaye makes sure part of this colleague’s development includes confidence building.

“They’re really enjoying it but they shouldn’t be afraid to be bold and interact with different people,” said Vaghaye.

Hybrid work’s hindrances

The other factor playing into relationships and training across the generations is a hybrid work environment.

“I do think it’s more challenging for new staff coming in, whatever generation they’re from,” said Vaghaye.

She said only a few years ago CGU employees would all come into the office.

“It was much easier to form friendships at work and get the benefit of listening to people and seeing how they deal with different situations,” said Vaghaye.

This puts younger generations at a disadvantage because they don’t have as many opportunities to learn as their older colleagues did.

Does social media make you less proactive in the physical world?

“These days you have to make more of an effort to seek interaction, rather than wait for interaction to come to you,” said the CGU leader.

This can be an issue for some younger employees, she said, because social media has accustomed them to waiting for interaction to come to them.

“They will send you a chat message first – if they want to talk – whereas more mature generations will tend to just make the phone call or do it over a coffee,” said Vaghaye.

She suggested that successful industry training and education needs to take into account how the different generations prefer to interact and communicate.

Vaghaye likes to keep a close eye on new recruits who are going through CGU’s structured training modules. Their most recent hire has never worked in insurance before. Vaghaye asked her how she was dealing with all the new policy related words?

“They said, ‘I just go to ChatGPT if I don’t understand a word and pop it in there,’” said Vaghaye.

That was even though CGU has a dedicated training person. This “self-serving,” said Vaghaye, is what the younger generation often do first.

“If they can’t figure it out, then they ask someone,” she said. “I think that self-driven approach is a positive.”

However, some differences in new staff are less to do with the age gap and more to do with just being a new employee. 

“When you’re coming into a new workforce you’re trying to find your feet and you’re not really sure about how to put yourself out there,” said Vaghaye.

Team meetings are a good place to encourage newbies to show what they can do. She preps her new employees before these meetings and tells them she’d really like to get their perspective.

“I find that a lot of the time younger employees and those new to their roles will give such a different answer,” said Vaghaye.  

Younger employees and new staff can all have a different way of problem solving, she said.

According to IAG data shared with IB, 13% of the firm’s total staff are under 30. Most employees – 63% – are between 30 and 50 years old. Twenty four per cent (24%) are over 50.

The insurance industry is not the only sector where the majority of employees are middle-aged.

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