Column provided by Fiona Temple, People, Culture and Academy Director of the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA)
Acquiring technical skills is one of the most important aspects of an early professional’s career. The good news is that there are many initiatives to help new talent in the insurance market learn the skills that they need to thrive and develop. These initiatives are run by a number of organisations, including the LMA Academy’s Early Talent offering.
While technical skills gained on these programmes are essential tools for success and progression in the market, it’s important to recognise that skills in isolation are no guarantee of a flourishing career. We can probably all think of colleagues over the years who were extremely technically proficient but hid their light under a bushel or regularly missed out on promotion. Why? Because insurance is – and has been since the inception of Lloyd’s more than 300 years ago – a relationship business. It is the personal development and the networks we build throughout our careers that often have the most impact on our progression up the corporate ladder.
Without diminishing the importance of technical learning, it is these relationships that are at the core of how we transact and interact, both between businesses and within them. Providing insurance is a skill that we learn not only through formal education but also through doing – by shadowing others as they negotiate at the box, by discussing the intricacies of a risk or policy with colleagues over a desk or by listening to others. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that so often our best resource is other people and our relationships with them. Humans are, without doubt, social animals.
The emergence of hybrid working has had a notable impact on how less experienced people acquire this specialised knowledge. Opportunities to network with peers and those at your level are fewer, and for that reason, it is so important that formal education within the Lloyd’s market takes place in person. This gives professionals at the beginning of their careers the opportunity to build informal connections outside their own businesses and learn and exchange knowledge in a more informal setting.
Time and again, we have heard from our members and their employees who attend programmes with the LMA Academy that they value the connections they make with attendees from other firms while on our programmes just as much as the technical education they receive.
And these are connections that may endure. After all, while they might be new to the sector today, they are the potential leaders of tomorrow, and the contacts they make today could last them through their whole careers. It’s the power of networking. We’ve read books on it, listened to podcasts on it and we may have even attended courses on it, but it’s critical that we practice it in the real world.
This connection is valuable at every stage in your insurance career, whether you join straight from education or after a stint in another industry. Insurance can be a daunting industry to start in, with its own language and idiosyncrasies that exist only within the bounds of the Square Mile. Being able to discuss that with your network can make it feel less daunting and provide a valuable sounding board in a new situation.
When I joined this sector after nearly 15 years in wider financial services, I knew nobody and needed to learn about the industry. I was lucky to work with some very talented people and I did all I could to learn by listening to conversations, getting out of my comfort zone and attending events to meet other people. I still see many of those connections today, nearly 17 years later. I love being at an event and seeing a familiar face.
For those early on in their insurance careers, the networks built through technical insurance education are valuable in both the short and long-term. They give people an immediate toehold in what is a very interconnected marketplace, and a budding network of business contacts to go on and work with as they each build their profile and experience.
The full value of these relationships, however, is not always immediately visible. Insurance is a ‘sticky’ industry. People who take jobs here tend to find it to be a rewarding workplace, and one that encourages good employee retention. Given the strongly network-focussed structure of the market, connections are incredibly important for those on their career journey to learn from one another and more importantly, to support one another when needed.
For those who choose to stay in the insurance industry for an extensive career and work in increasingly specialised areas, the relationships formed initially as an insurance professional often play an important role in shaping their careers. I know they have done so in mine.
