The Importance of Employer Branding in the Insurance Industry
Employer branding is critical at the best of times, but even more so in skill-short markets such as insurance. It defines the perception of your organisation as a great place to work, and subsequently influences not only who applies for roles, but also who stays, who thrives, and who remains a brand advocate long after their time with the organisation has ended.
The Role of Employer Branding in the Insurance Industry
Only a handful of firms have truly mastered the art of employer branding in the insurance industry, which is critical when we consider how many are facing challenges in recruiting the required talent for the future. It’s not only skills shortages that have heightened the stakes; a huge portion of the insurance industry is collectively approaching a retirement cliff, with Deloitte estimating that close to half of the sector’s workforce will leave in the next five years.
That loss of institutional knowledge is significant in itself, but it also creates a pressing need to attract new talent with the skills and adaptability to lead firms into a digital-first, data-rich future.
But whilst many firms have historically relied on their reputations and networks to plug gaps in their workforces, they will soon have to recruit in significant numbers, and will be competing with others across the market for the same talent, from the same pools. In particular, we expect that marketing, communication and digital skills will become increasingly highly sort after. This means differentiation, and standing out from the masses – in the right ways – is going to become more critical for insurance firms.
Delivered effectively, employer branding can enable employers to achieve these goals. However, equally, when neglected, it can have negative consequences, and the gap between perception and reality can erode both reputation and retention.
Using Employer Branding to Attract Emerging Marketing Talent
One of the issues facing firms is that insurance is not always seen as an attractive career path by younger workers. The perception is often that it is traditional, slow-moving or lacking purpose, which puts insurers at a disadvantage when competing with fintech firms, tech giants and start-ups for creative marketing expertise for roles that now underpin modern insurance. However, as anyone who has worked in the industry will recognise, the reality is that insurance offers meaningful, secure, and increasingly innovative career opportunities, suggesting there is a clear perception gap amongst marketing professionals.
Effective employer branding can help to shift that trend, perhaps not at a sector-wide level, but certainly for individual organisations that do focus on optimising their brand. In fact, according to LinkedIn, companies with strong employer brands see up to 50% lower cost per hire and 28% better retention, representing a clear financial return on investment.
Organisational Benefits of a Strong Employer Brand
In addition, a coherent and attractive employer brand benefits organisations by reducing time and cost per hire, as candidates are naturally more likely to engage with an organisation they know and trust, and supports diversity and inclusion goals by broadening the pool of applicants. Internally, it also offers benefits; namely, by building pride among existing staff, making them more likely to advocate for the organisation, and to stay with the company longer-term. In short, employer branding turns recruitment from a reactive process into a magnet for high-potential people.
What Does an Effective Insurance Employer Brand Look Like?
As VMA GROUP's Senior Consultant Gabriel Charles explains, several firms clearly lead the way when it comes to employer branding in the insurance market, and are therefore more competitive when it comes to sourcing the marketing, communications and digital specialists they require:
“In insurance we have brands such as Aviva, which put a major focus on wellbeing, flexibility and inclusion, and AXA UK, which promotes its purpose, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and tech transformation focus widely. They position themselves not only as great, ethical and caring employers, but also as forward-thinking, socially aware, and digitally evolving organisations, which is key in today’s market. Equally, Zurich and Allianz also receive regular praise for their progressive policies and sustainability-focused brands, respectively.”
“However, there’s more to an effective employer brand than simply talking about your organisational purpose, and the element that separates these firms from the rest is that their branding is built on clarity, consistency, and authenticity. They also integrate clear employee value propositions, utilise real employee voices and, crucially, promote their leadership alignment and their executives who embody and champion the employer brand.”
Other factors that also contribute to a strong brand include a demonstrable commitment to inclusion, community, and sustainability and the adoption of modern messaging and designs which offer visually compelling and tone-appropriate materials that reflect the modern workplace, all of which are particularly valuable when targeting younger groups. Finally, there must also be consistency across all touchpoints, and platforms such as careers-sites, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and indeed all channels must reflect the same values and promises.
Why an Employer Brand Should Be Grounded in Reality
It should always be remembered that the most effective employer brands are authentic and grounded in reality. Insurance is different to many other comparable fields; this is an industry built on trust, security and longevity, and the same qualities that clients seek in a partner, align with employee demands too, and this should be factored into any branding efforts.
In an already tight labour market, which will see competition ramp up further as we move closer to the aforementioned retirement cliff, employer branding is not optional. In fact, it’s a core method of overcoming outdated perceptions, and creating a genuine sense of belonging and opportunity, which can have a major impact in sourcing marketing and communications expertise.
However, this isn’t just a one-off campaign and when delivered effectively, it can transform the way candidates perceive the organisation, the way employees engage with their work, and the way the wider industry talks about the business.
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