Skimming the cream

The question of how to attract and retain talent in the insurance industry is not new, but the issue has come to the fore following the CII's announcement at its September conference of a new recruitment taskforce.

The CII is calling on industry big hitters to spend more time talking to students in order to sell the insurance industry to them. Unfortunately, wheeling out big-hitters from the ranks of the industry's predominantly male senior executives may do little to dispel the 'men in grey suits' image. Many students will relate better to young, professional people who can speak to students on their own level.

Professions such as the legal and accounting industries are renowned for attracting young talent, and there are lessons to be learned from them. A number of these firms specialise in insurance and involving them in the CII's taskforce should shed light on their successful recruitment practices. A recent article in The Times revealed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the graduate employer of choice, having six graduate entry programmes across its practices.

The best graduates do not necessarily seek out the highest salaries.

The same research in The Times found accounting firms, such as PwC, offer some of the lowest starting salaries. But recruits are looking for the full package, training and development as well as competitive salary.

The insurance industry must do more to identify the career pathways it can offer and to promote the ongoing training available through the CII.

Financial services are at the forefront of graduate recruitment, frequently sighted at university milk rounds. Attending such events is an obvious and easy way of attracting the students' attention, yet the insurance industry is conspicuously absent at such events despite providing an opportunity to educate students about what the insurance industry can offer and dispel some of the myths students have concerning it.

Fund management and investment banking are complicated businesses too, but graduates have a better idea of what they entail than they do insurance, in part because these industries bother to spend more time explaining themselves. According to new research compiled by the CII and Cass Business School on student attitudes to insurance, 90% would not spend any time considering it as a career.

It is fair to assume this figure is driven largely by a lack of knowledge of what the industry actually does. Research found the majority of students think insurance lacks intellectual stimulation, a perception no doubt propagated by the nature of insurance advertising on television featuring dogs, mice, chickens and red telephones.

The fact that a degree is not required to enter insurance could be used to the industry's advantage. While strict professional standards largely limit the hunting grounds for law and accounting firms to graduates, the insurance industry could target secondary schools for bright students who want a career but do not want to spend four years at university before beginning to earn money.

By getting in early, the insurance industry could offer students work experience to get practical knowledge of the industry. Higher education is becoming more prized in the insurance industry and through the CII the industry has an excellent, if ill-promoted, further education system allowing its students to gain qualifications while continuing in full time work.

With multinational companies, niche innovators and fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses, the insurance industry has a variety of business cultures and environments to suit all candidates. In addition, the international nature of the business means that opportunities to work abroad are in abundance, with Bermuda, New York, Zurich and Munich all major insurance centres.

We may know of the virtues of the industry but, without doubt, much more needs to be done in order to ensure the industry attracts its fair share of the cream of the UK's young talent.

- Terri Grainger is executive consultant at Mansion House Executive.