People risk and keeping the insurance business relevant in the competition for talent has risen to become the top challenge for many insurers, according to industry experts.
This is the consensus among panellists preparing for a discussion on this topic at the Insurance Risk & Capital EMEA conference, on Thursday 1 December, at the Hilton Tower Bridge in London.
Several panellists said attracting talented new people to the insurance sector has become paramount in the post-Covid world, amid the Great Resignation trend. As one of the panellists said: “We are a service industry. We are serving people, and without the right talent we are nothing.”
One chief risk officer (CRO) noted the need for those in the risk function and across senior management to have strong empathy and listening skills in order to support and motivate staff. It was further stressed an effective diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy can help attract and retain talent.
Next Thursday’s conference session will explore the skillsets, such as in technology and analytics, that CROs will need in future to manage people risk, as well as support insurers’ business models.
“We are going to move from being specialists to becoming generalists,” said a panellist. And to best develop themselves, one expert said CROs “must have a growth mindset”.
Working practices in the insurance and financial services sector have significantly changed since the pandemic with hybrid working becoming highly popular. This issue will be explored at the in-person event by an interactive audience poll.