Not all brokers join the insurance space content in the knowledge the industry was their first choice of career.
Such was the case with Denise Hall, senior vice president and national broking director at Aon. Hall become a broker for Aon after two four-month co-op work terms with the company while she was completing her degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. And although she did not initially plan to become a broker, she “really liked working with various underwriters and account executives” while learning about Aon’s clients. Now nearly 20 years since she began, Hall continues to enjoy her broking role.
Insurance Business spoke with Hall to learn more about how Aon is nurturing new talent, to gain insights on the current state of Canadian brokers, and to understand why broking is “the business of better decisions.”
Can you tell me about your role – and its key responsibilities?
My current role is a new role for me. After spending my entire career focused on financial lines exposures and risk transfer, I now report into our Canadian chief broking officer Russ Quilley. I am responsible for executing on our national broking strategies such as how we go to market, wordings and innovation.
I share this role with another colleague, Marie-Frederique Senecal, and we work alongside other broking leadership who are responsible for global clients, delivering Aon United, technical, claims, go to market strategies, data and analytics and operations. Additionally, I have specific specialty broking teams who report into me – some focus on a specific sector while others on a specific line of business across many client sectors. Every day brings a different challenge but it is so rewarding.
What are the biggest challenges facing brokers this year?
The biggest challenges facing brokers this year are our clients’ challenges. There is an unmet client need for risk transfer which will require a new level of innovation and working with all our partners. There is unprecedented global volatility, caused by things such as the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber attacks, natural catastrophes, climate change and financial markets, which have brought new risks. More recently, [there is also] the horrific conflict in Ukraine and its impact on colleagues and clients.
What are some common challenges you are seeing being faced by your clients?
Our 2021 Aon Global Risk Management survey of company leaders shows cyber risk is now number one, which is not surprising. Other challenges we hear from clients are attracting and retaining talent, business interruption, economic headwinds and supply chain. The growing focus on ESG has also brought about new questions and challenges, especially for certain sectors in Canada.
What are some of the key ways that you are able to support your clients right now?
Aon is in the business of better decisions. We support our clients through our data and analytics as well as global connectivity of 50,000 employees through our delivering Aon United philosophy. What that actually means is that for any challenge, we work to find information and provide fact-based insight. This allows clients to have clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.
With talent attraction and retention a top concern for many bsuinesses - what has Aon done to attract and retain great talent in recent years?
This is a great question and one that is top of mind for all brokers, insurers and clients. Aon has done several things but honestly, there is not one solution. The key is retaining and growing our talent – making sure each colleague feels more relevant, more connected and more valued. Then colleagues have the ability to achieve their full professional potential.
I love seeing internal transfers or relocations and there is lots of opportunity within our company globally. We also started a graduate program with 20 recent grads who will rotate across different departments for the next 18 months and then find a permanent home. It has been a great success so far and we are recruiting for our second cohort.
In terms of attracting talent, the pandemic has shown that we all don’t need to be in the office every day to be seen and be productive. Aon will continue to provide a hybrid, flexible working model for most employees guided by client needs.
Lastly, diversity in recruiting is critical. Attracting talent from different industries, different ways of thinking and various backgrounds will continue to strengthen the value we provide to clients.
