Winning the war for talent through diversity and inclusion

A war is taking place in the insurance industry for the best talent, and this dynamic is underpinned by a very real emphasis on the importance of diversity and inclusion (D&I).
Many companies, including Markel, increasingly understand that getting these things right is vital to success.

That is according to Sue Davies, chief human resources (HR) officer at Markel, who says that the challenge to secure talent is not necessarily between individual re/insurers—it is an industry-wide issue that starts at the recruitment stage and has implications for many aspects of HR.

“Attracting, developing and retaining talent is a big challenge for the whole of the insurance industry,” Davies says. “Insurance carriers and brokers have an increasingly diverse client base. That means we need a diverse workforce to operate in all those different spaces.

“Diversity and inclusion is completely integrated with who we are as a business and achieving our priorities.” Sue Davies, Markel

“But we also need an inclusive culture to ensure we work collaboratively and creatively to drive those innovative solutions. For us, leveraging diversity and developing stronger cross-cultural capability enables us to better understand our clients’ needs and then more effectively provide the solutions they need in this ever-changing environment we’re operating in.

“On that basis, talent and D&I are absolutely central to business success. For us at Markel, it’s a core part of what we consider one of our top three strategic priorities: driving a distinctive talent advantage. It complements our aims to be a market leader and bring consistent financial results.

“Diversity and inclusion is completely integrated with who we are as a business and achieving our priorities. It lines up with ‘the Markel Style’—the documented values and beliefs that are at the core of Markel’s culture—and how we think about our inclusive culture.”

The broadening nature of D&I

Davies says the way business and society define the concept of D&I is broadening and changing. That trend, which is also a global one, is forcing companies not only to collaborate in new and different ways, both internally and externally, but also to innovate.

“We must address those global challenges in a very integrated way, which ties in with the way we run the business. You need to respect local differences, but this is a global challenge for most companies.”

In the seven years she has been at Markel, Davies has seen a shift in focus in both the company and the wider industry. She notes the importance and growth of organisations like the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation and events such as Dive In, the international festival of diversity and inclusion in insurance, which Markel has been involved with since its inception—“they are good for the whole industry,” she says.

“Events like Dive In help cross-company sharing. There’s a recognition that collaboration in this area is a good thing and that we as an industry need to do a better job of explaining the kind of careers that insurance can provide—and the importance of the industry empowering the economy and its future,” Davies explains.

“As we continue to reach out to broader sources of talent, that message is important, so people who maybe traditionally wouldn’t have thought about insurance as a career can become more aware of the opportunities.”

She believes these messages are sinking into the wider industry, which is becoming more innovative in the way it thinks about attracting and retaining people. She notes that in what is an ageing workforce, retirement rates are high, and this makes the creation of a strong talent pipeline more important than ever.

“That means inclusively identifying talent across a range of sources. When we think about development planning within the organisation we are trying to create a better internal talent marketplace where employees can develop their careers.

“That is important from a retention perspective, but also to create space for people to move through the organisation. Certainly in Markel, we view D&I as an important focus for the entire organisation, and it is embedded in all our talent processes.”

From the top down

Davies says Markel’s D&I steering committee takes a holistic approach to the issue and moves to embed it in every step of its talent management process, and that there is clear evidence this has worked.

“In the realm of talent acquisition, we have definitely opened up to a broader pool of talent, looking for more nontraditional candidates using new and diverse sources of talent. We look beyond traditional college risk management programmes to look at candidates with diverse backgrounds and perspectives,” she says.

“We have various scholarship and internship programmes and opportunities, including our Markel Specialty Scholarships. That is all helping to build awareness around opportunities in the insurance industry.”

Davies highlights various partnerships Markel has with colleges and universities and a comprehensive early careers programme including a US underwriter training programme and graduate and apprentice programmes on the international side of the business.

“Once people join it is very important to train, develop and promote them.”

“We’ve expanded those over the last few years and find them to be a great way of bringing diverse talent to Markel. Once people join it is very important to train, develop and promote them.”

Another scheme that has been successful is a veterans’ programme that offers insurance industry training to people who are leaving the military.

Once talent enters Markel, however, their journey is only starting. Davies highlights the benefits the company offers, including a flexible working programme. It does a lot in the space of community and promotes a very inclusive culture, based on the Markel Style.

Markel has a range of different employee resource groups, as well as an inclusion network within the international business.

“All those are focused on the mission of making sure that we connect people across the organisation and that we are attracting and retaining the right talent by creating a sense of community. That encourages all our employees to reach their full potential,” she concludes.

Sue Davies is the chief human resources officer of Markel. She can be contacted at: sue.davies@markel.com.

Click here to read our special report on Talent and DEI.