What can re/insurance do to attract more talent?

What can re/insurance do to attract more talent? | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

What can re/insurance do to attract more talent?

Swiss Re HR head on bringing in and retaining more skilled professionals to secure the industry’s future

Insurance News

By
Kenneth Araullo

Cathy Desquesses, group chief human resources officer and head of corporate services at Swiss Re, recently addressed the insurance industry’s strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals and initiatives to foster an inclusive work culture in an interview with AM Best.

When asked about the ranking of recruitment among industry challenges, Desquesses noted that while factors like climate change and technological advancements are beyond control, anticipating current and future capability needs is within their control.

“One example of what we do at Swiss Re is strategic people planning. We’ve introduced this program or strategic approach to capability and competencies for today and the future about three years ago, and looking by line of business or functions. What do we have today? Fast forwarding two, three years, and then looking at the gaps and how we organize for recruitment,” she said.

Desquesses emphasized the high competition for talent within the industry and the importance of effectively communicating career opportunities and purposes.

“I think we should do a better job at explaining what we do, our careers, and also our purposes. Indeed, that’s something that we put a lot of time and energy on,” she said.

In discussing the industry’s ability to attract talent compared to areas like banking, Desquesses pointed out that insurance and reinsurance serve as a shock absorber, providing significant impact on communities.

“Second point, it’s very innovative. Why? Because we are data-based, because we are technology-based,” she said. “Besides all the jobs that we offer such as claims or underwriting or, client facing positions, you also have now flurries of jobs in technology, data governance, data management, and all of this, which is bringing us a different level of challenge attracting those people because we may have strong brands in the core activities and jobs that we have historically, but we’re not so known and attractive compared to the big technology companies.”

Desquesses said that today’s workforce seeks meaningful jobs, career advancement, and learning opportunities, all of which the insurance industry offers.

Swiss Re on attracting and retaining talent

“There’s attraction and there’s retention,” Desquesses said. “Attraction is very much about, again, explaining, being out there. There is actually an insurance career month happening in February in the US where we actually come all together and face the talent market, but we should go beyond one month per year.”

Regarding retention, Desquesses stressed the need for a competitive value proposition and a positive work culture.

“What’s the culture, and at Swiss Re, it’s very much a focus area because people will join a brand, maybe and a reputation of the company. They will stay because they feel good. They can bring their whole self at work. They can bring their ideas. It’s a safe space to exchange, bring concerns, ideas to challenge each other,” she said.

When asked about the impact of the talent shortage on Swiss Re’s business, Desquesses remarked that it is a challenge shared by the entire industry.

“People may actually be here in Zurich, they may actually cross the street from Swiss Re to Zurich Insurance. We’re in the same neighborhood, Swiss Life, or vice versa. So yeah, we all face those same challenges. But again, I think by promoting our purpose, what we do well, the performance, and growing our people, making an experience here in the walls of the company different and better, we definitely managed to retain,” she said.

On the topic of attracting talent, Desquesses said that Swiss Re receives an average of 45 applicants per job opening, indicating that the brand is attractive to insurance and reinsurance professionals.

“So that tells me, and it’s an average, now there’s a grain of salt, but that tells me that, yes, the brand is attractive for the talent of insurance and reinsurance. That’s very true in a career path like claims, underwriting, client facing, positions, and all of this,” she said.

Desquesses advised recent college graduates to consider a career in insurance, emphasizing the industry’s significant impact on communities and its reliance on cutting-edge technology and data.

“The people are our assets, our business model is around data, and the knowledge of the data and the trends and the modelling and the underwriting and the actuaries and all we do is absolutely data-based. It has this reputation of, is it exciting as an industry? It is, it is cutting-edge technology. It’s cutting edge on sustainability. It’s cutting edge on all the trends that we see, whether it’s life and health or P/C or any sort of specialties we have,” she said.

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