1. InsuranceTimes | 25/02/2015 | 29
Read more online at insurancetimes.co.uk
careers in insurance
What is the main focus of
your business?
We are a specialist insurance recruitment
consultancy. We work in partnership with our
clients, which can be small independent providers through
to huge global organisations, to attract the highest calibre
of talent from within the insurance industry. We have
been dedicated to working with the UK insurance industry
for the past 10 years, with 2014 our best year yet,
breaking all of our previous records. We have worked with
some truly excellent businesses in both the London and
national market. I have been proud to see some of our
clients, who we have worked very closely with, go from
strength to strength knowing that we had a part to play in
helping them secure great talent for their businesses.
What sort of career progression can you
expect in the insurance industry?
The world is your oyster. The insurance industry is
so diverse it can literally offer you anything and
everything that any individual could wish for in their
career. Leadership roles, development roles, service roles,
technical roles, analytical roles, IT roles and many more.
If you have the desire and the passion to push yourself, the
insurance industry will reward you. I have seen individuals
who started out on their careers just 10 years ago now
running, or even owning, multi-million pound
organisations; individuals who have grown to be known
leaders in their field of expertise. Progression within the
insurance industry is 100% limitless.
What type of roles are attracting the
highest calibre candidates?
The insurance industry is a very competitive market.
With that comes a desire to constantly try to
improve and raise the bar in terms of the standards and
quality of individuals each organisation can attract to
their business. What excites me is the desire and the will
to attract the industry’s next leaders. Companies that
don’t just look for a bum on a seat, but who assess
individuals on their potential, developing them into
leaders. And I have to say the calibre of candidate for
these future leadership roles is exceptional.
How important is the prospect of
training and advancing skills to
candidates when they apply for roles?
Very. Competition among candidates for new roles is
as high as ever, so you need to place yourself in the
best possible position you can. Educating yourself is vital.
Things such as how to write a CV, a covering letter,
interview techniques, examples of interview questions, the
do’s and the do not’s. Being prepared is something we take
very seriously to give each individual the best chance of
landing that perfect role. This year we will launch Lawes
TV, an interactive online service providing every last detail
you will ever need when applying for a new position.
If you have drive, the
industry has rewards
Steven lawes,
Managing Director,
Lawes consulting
group
Q&A
‘safe but dull image’ with young
recruits – both graduate and
school-leaver – is to promote
the opportunities it
is increasingly offering in
areas such as data sciences,
digital technology and social
media, argues BGL capability
director Jo Moxon, which
offers both graduate and
apprentice programmes.
“The talk about there being a
‘war for talent’ feels like it’s
been on a loop for some years
now. So let’s stop complaining
about scarce skills and let’s get
creative about filling some of
those gaps,” she says.
“One way for the industry to
refresh its image is to look at
how we can use data sciences
and digital technology better to
really make advances in how we
treat our customers and to make
products more tailored for
customers,” she adds.
Customer experience
Leathwaite recruitment firm
partner Richard Buckingham
agrees. “A lot of insurers are
becoming much more aware of
the customer data they have
and how they can use that to
create a better customer
experience, how they can sell to
customers better, how agents
can add value,” he says.
“A lot of CFOs are looking at
their business performance and
analytics teams, how they can
support the business better. I
think we will continue to see a
focus on newer digital and data
roles as well as on areas such as
cyber security,” he says, adding
that regulatory changes such as
Solvency II have also increased
demand for regulatory and
analytics specialists.
The need to attract
technologically savvy,
innovative graduates from other
industries was identified by
Deloitte in its ‘Recruiting
beyond the Risk Averse’
research. Deloitte head of
financial services insight
Margaret Doyle says the
industry could also be more
proactive on campus and work
harder to present itself as
attractive for women.
“To improve the image of
insurance careers, insurers
should consider building their
profile on school and university
campuses. In particular, they
should explain the vital purpose
of insurance and its societal
importance, the differences
between life and general
insurance and the large variety
of roles in insurance,” she says.
“Crucially, the industry
should modernise graduates’
perceptions of insurance. For
example, insurers should
address outdated perceptions
that insurance is male-
dominated by pointing to
women role models, including
those at the top of the industry,
but also women at mid-level
doing interesting and varied
jobs,” she adds.
Onboarding talent
Finally, while bespoke graduate
schemes will generally offer a
wide range of rotations and
training and development
opportunities, the industry
often falls short when it comes
to “onboarding” or nurturing
and integrating directly hired
new talent, argues Idex
Consulting managing director
David Carr.
“How companies onboard
people is quite a significant
factor. It is about setting
realistic expectations from day
one and looking after them
from a bonus perspective
too,” he says.
insurancetimes.co.uk
Insurance sheds ‘dull’ image to
lure young talent [21/10/14]
‘The talk about there
being a war for talent
feels like it’s been on a
loop for years. Let’s
stop complaining about
scarce skills and let’s
get creative about filling
some of those gaps’
Jo Moxon, BGL