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Attracting and retaining top talent

By Ben Power

The economy is recovering and the battle for top talent has been reignited. That means it is vital that insurers and brokerages get their strategies to attract and retain staff right. “There is a war for the best talent,” says Jane Neale of executive talent consultancy Hattonneale. “The skills shortages experienced before the GFC are rapidly coming back.”

But many insurers and brokerages are still facing budgetary constraints, crimping their ability to afford big pay rises. So what can companies do to retain and attract staff without blowing their budgets? Increasingly the key is offering non-monetary rewards that staff and potential hires want.

Below are four cost-effective strategies to help attract the best talent and keep existing employees happy.

1. Flexibility
Top talent know they have bargaining power and they want job flexibility. Many are demanding four-day weeks, reduced hours or remote working. Others just want to be able to stay home with their sick kids and not feel guilty.

They also don’t want to be tied to a desk. Employers looking to attract talent are focusing more on what gets done by staff, and developing key performance indicators (KPIs), rather than how long they’re at work.

“Rather than being clocked in and out at the end of the day, it’s having flexibility, providing they’re delivering on their targets,” says Jane McNeill, Regional Director for recruiter Hays in Perth and head of their insurance and banking business in Australia.

2. Mentoring and personal development
Staff also want to know they’re going somewhere and developing. “Personal and professional development is one of the most sought-after things people are looking for,” Neale says.

But training and developing staff doesn’t have to mean sending them to expensive Harvard management courses. Neale says there are also informal, cost-effective ways to develop people and make them feel valued. That could include internal mentoring and internal development, or simply management taking an interest in their careers. NIBA offers a range of courses that can be completed online that will help brokers to improve their skills and career prospects.

3. Salary Packaging
Staff don’t only want work flexibility, but pay flexibility. Salary packaging provides that. “The benefit of salary packaging is it allows you to take certain benefits, instead of salary benefits, paid for from pre-tax income, which reduces income tax you pay,” says Tony Ghosn, General Manager of Business Development at outsourced salary packaging company Smartsalary.

Common benefits employees get include cars, laptops and superannuation.

Ghosn says it is a key attraction and retention tool. “The benefit to an employer is that it allows them to bring somebody on and provide them with a certain level of benefits they don’t have to pay for.”

4. Communicating vision and values
Many employees got burnt during the GFC when companies cut staff or treated them poorly. When looking at joining a company, or staying on, they now want to know where the company is going and its commitment to integrity.

“People are asking questions around what the vision and direction of the company is,” Neale sys. But she says they don’t just want words, they want action, and smart companies are now communicating and illustrating their values and principles clearly to future and current staff.