The insurance industry simply isn't attracting millennials.

There's a real and palpable talent crisis in the industry that is causing tension between the old guard of the insurance industry and the fastest-growing consumer base and workforce who are existential about their employment. While some are quick to blame millennials for a lack of work ethic or motivation, it's important to recognize that what moves one generation isn't necessarily what moves the next. If the recent tech industry boom has taught us anything, it's that young people will work long hours at high-pressure jobs—but they must be passionate about what it is they do and receive mentorship that helps keep them engaged.

There are initiatives, like Tomorrow's Talent Challenge, that are helping to bridge the talent gap in an industry that will see an enormous change happening soon: almost half of the insurance industry workforce is over the age of 45, with a quarter of the industry expected to retire by 2018. If the industry so far has failed to make strides with the millennial generation, what can they do to fill 400,000 positions by the year 2020 if they cannot recruit or retain an entire generation? In addition to the mass exodus of insurance professionals, technology disruption and data analytics are becoming more important than ever to staying competitive, and the millennial generation is becoming the face of those increasingly important skills.

[Related: How millennials are changing the workforce, and what to do abut it]

The challenge is in attracting the right talent to be successful in a data-driven world, especially when insurance is competing with hot industries like social media and tech start-ups. What's needed is engagement, mentorship, clear visions and the ability to open up and learn from each other without feeding into negative stereotypes.

At this year's Valen Analytics Summit, presenters including Rob Darby, president of Berkshire Hathaway and Martin Welch, CEO of Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company, discussed how to attract millennials and utilize their skills along with industry veterans to create a more modern and competitive insurance company. Here are a few things they mentioned that help them when screening potential candidates:

1. Look for analytic aptitude: Candidates need to demonstrate an ability to solve hypothetical business problems and have a core knowledge base of analytic tools and methods, especially as the use of predictive analytics becomes more widespread for insurers. Analytic aptitude is soon going to be high on the list of in-demand skills to have for new insurance employees, as much of their day-to-day work will revolve around analytics. This is especially important as many current employees may not have that skill set, so making sure each group can learn from one another will be important in creating a balanced dynamic.

Work, Life, Balance roadsign

(Image: Shutterstock)

2. The issues that matter: Millennials value certain things about company culture, including work-life balance and flexibility. For instance, a survey from The Institutes found that millennials are interested in jobs with an opportunity to make a difference in people's lives (19%), compared with only 12% of older generations. More than half of millennials also highly value workplace flexibility, saying they were interested in work that they could do on their own schedule, meaning that they see less value in the traditional 9-5 jobs and prefer working when it's most efficient.

Also included in the survey is the fact that more than 30% of millennials value working in teams, signifying that cooperation and mentorship is extremely important to them. Insurers already have built-in mentors in their organization in the form of their current employees and need to embrace this new responsibility. With years of hands-on and practical experience, encouraging mentorship programs will help the two groups click and learn from each other, benefiting both sides and creating a culture of cooperation and learning.

3. Highlight opportunities for growth: Millennials want to know that there is a potential for growth wherever they will be working. However, millennials are more keenly interested in career advancement possibilities (25%), compared with that of older generations (only 16%). In other words, they are interested in knowing not only where they are going, but where the future of the company is going.

It is imperative to not only show how your company plans to innovate and evolve as the industry changes, but highlight the competitive salaries and the balance between professional and personal lives. Additionally, employers should give a clear idea that there will be regular reviews and feedback, as well as encouraging horizontal opportunities at the company. In highlighting opportunities for growth, insurers can hope to combat job-hopping that is apparent with Gen-Y.

4. Let millennials have a voice: Allocate time within your company for two different kinds of meetings—those run by millennials in your organization and those run by tenured insurance professionals to exchange information in their respective areas of expertise. Meetings hosted by experienced staff should share industry knowledge and insights, and help newbies understand the insurance ecosystem. Meetings run by the younger talent in the organization can focus on strategies to help improve the company's engagement of customers through online and social platforms, as well as share insights or discuss initiatives into how to recruit more millennial talent.

The current growth of innovation within insurance can only be maintained and expanded upon by an influx of talent that grew up with data and naturally possesses the ability to think with a data-driven mindset. By paying attention to the needs of the millennial worker and employing some of the strategies mentioned above, your company can begin to create a symbiotic relationship between insurance veterans and new talent.

Dax Craig is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Valen Analytics. Based in Denver, Valen is a provider of proprietary data, analytics and predictive modeling to help all insurance carriers manage and drive underwriting profitability. Learn more at www.valen.com.

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