Finding, and keeping, the best talent in the insurance industry is often highlighted as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry.
So with recent graduates looking to other industries before insurance, could Airtasker-style employment be the key to securing the future of the industry?
Airtasker, and similar online groups, allow skilled people to advertise themselves online to find jobs that range from tech support to flat-pack furniture assembly.
While these are a far cry from the rigors of a career in insurance, a recent survey from
Accenture found that a surge of on-demand labour platforms are “up-ending workplace dynamics and traditional corporate structures.” By replacing these structures with open talent marketplaces, the insurance industry could be positioned to bring in talented staff for short-term roles.
Ravi Malhotra, managing director of Accenture’s insurance practice in Asia Pacific, said that the industry plans to increase its use of more independent or non-traditional work sources by 25% in the next year.
“We are seeing companies look to those types of platforms more and more,” Malhotra told Insurance Business. “I think we are still in the transition to using it.”
Malhotra noted that, with so few graduates choosing a career in insurance, flexible working arrangements and more innovative platforms that bring workers to the industry could offer a way to fill job gaps and get people interested.
The Accenture study found that 47% of Australian respondents plan to grow their freelance workforce over the next year by anywhere from 25% to 100%. While this flexible model may not work for all roles in the industry, Malhotra said that he has seen a growing interest in these platforms for project based roles.
“The big challenge is how to build an organisation that uses a flexible workforce as an ongoing part of it,” Malhotra concluded.
Related stories:
Lloyd's of London confirms redundancy plan
Will robots replace brokers?
.jpg)
