Insurance Careers Month: Extending the ladder down through mentorship
The inaugural IICF Mentoring Alliance illustrates how mentoring benefits both longtime and rising professionals.
Every February, Insurance Careers Month gives us an excellent opportunity to spread the word about how this industry enhances people’s lives and builds stronger communities. This year, sharing the “why” behind what we do is more important than ever.
Insurance has long had a reputation for career stability, despite recent layoffs in the industry making headlines. But some companies continue to face difficulties recruiting diverse and younger talent to replace workers who are nearing retirement age.
While there’s a clear need for innovative recruitment strategies, we also cannot lose sight of the importance of employee retention. There are thousands of talented mid-career insurance professionals that the industry simply cannot afford to lose. Those mid-career professionals represent the future leaders of our industry and should be supported and given opportunities to succeed and advance. That is where strategies like mentoring programs can make an enormous impact.
Perception is reality
Historically, insurance has always offered multiple avenues for younger and mid-career professionals to expand into new and different roles. That is still true today, but many factors are creating mixed perceptions among potential job seekers.
First, total industry turnover is rising, reaching 15%, according to an insurance labor market study released by The Jacobson Group early in 2023. Additionally, 25% of companies surveyed in that same study said it had become harder to recruit and hire talent compared to the prior year.
At the same time, the number of people expected to leave our industry is even more dramatic than previously estimated. Over the next 15 years, 50% of our current workforce will retire. That will leave more than 400,000 positions unfilled, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
This trend, coupled with headlines about industry layoffs, could send current and potential future employees mixed messages and create negative perceptions. That fact is that insurance-industry layoffs are quite minimal when put into perspective. Consider that in January, the industry added 4,800 jobs, the third consecutive month above the 4,000 mark, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The negative perception around the industry’s current hiring landscape can make it even harder to recruit and maintain a younger and more diverse workforce, even if the messaging is inaccurate.
Mentoring programs can help change these perceptions in two powerful ways. For one, mentors help inspire, prepare and empower emerging leaders to achieve their full potential, which enhances employee retention. For another, providing mentoring opportunities can potentially accelerate the recruitment of younger talent. Both Millennial and Generation Z job seekers have expressed a strong desire for mentors in the workplace. In fact, 83% of Gen Z professionals say a mentor is crucial for their career, according to the 2023 Adobe Future Workplace Study.
The proven impact of mentoring
At the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), we recognize that it can be challenging for mid-career professionals to find a relatable mentor within their current company. This is especially true for professionals from underrepresented groups. That’s why our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Council’s Talent Pipeline Committee launched its inaugural Mentoring Alliance in 2022-23.
We intentionally paired 10 emerging leaders from underrepresented communities at a critical career juncture — taking on leadership roles for the first time — with diverse role models from across the industry. Together, the mentors and mentees spent eight months fully engaged in individual discussions, group conversations, and career development coaching.
I’m proud to say that the inaugural Mentoring Alliance was extraordinarily successful. Six companies participated, representing insurers, reinsurers, traditional brokers, wholesale brokers and producers. Nine of our 10 mentor-mentee pairings participated in a post-program survey. Here are some of the survey results:
- All of mentors said they would participate again.
- All of mentees said their mentors were engaged.
- All of mentees said the length of the program was satisfactory.
- More than 80% of mentees expect to maintain their relationships with their mentors.
Beyond the numbers, mentees told us they received valuable career insights and guidance. They also said they felt freer to discuss their career challenges candidly with mentors from other companies. Mentoring helped mentees from all backgrounds feel seen and valued.
Mentors, meanwhile, said that the Mentoring Alliance helped them reflect on their own career aspirations. The experience challenged them to explore management development from another organization’s perspective, and it brought a sense of personal fulfillment. “It was very rewarding to offer advice and bring perspective,” one mentor said. “I learned as much as my mentee.”
Taking the next step
After a successful pilot, we are now excited to kick off the 2024 Mentoring Alliance. It’s nearly double the size of our pilot, with 19 pairings of 38 individual participants across 12 companies.
While these types of innovative mentoring programs boost employee retention, the IICF also is dedicated to enhancing industry-wide recruitment. This year, we are continuing to build out the IICF Talent Hub. It is an online resource center where non-traditional job seekers can learn more about career opportunities in our industry, post their resumes and find current opportunities.
All of this comes at an important milestone: the 30th anniversary of IICF. We strongly believe that creating a culture of philanthropy — and communicating it to prospective employees — enhances our industry. During this 30th anniversary celebration, IICF will surpass $50 million in total grants awarded. We remain committed to growing this support and providing volunteer service and leadership in communities where we live and work. We invite and encourage both new and existing professionals to get involved by sharing their time and talents with others.
Share your pride
An insurance career remains vibrant and enriching for employees of all backgrounds. The best way to ensure others are aware of this is to share the reasons why you are proud to be an insurance professional. By telling our stories to prospective employees and giving our current colleagues meaningful opportunities to grow and give back, we can create a better and more diverse industry.
Betsy Myatt is vice president and chief program officer for the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, as well as executive director for the IICF Northeast Division. Myatt has led IICF’s Women in Insurance Conference Series, and the current IICF Regional Forums, since inception in 2013.
Any opinions expressed here are the author’s own.
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