Are Insurance Professionals Still Driven By Salary?
If you were to look at the professional world 20 years ago, it would look completely different to the one we’re in today. And this isn’t just down to how businesses are evolving, but how employees are too – and this is just as (or even more) obvious in the insurance industry than others.
Each month the insurance recruitment team here at enable gather both internal and external data to get a better understanding of the market and how we can support our clients. In our most recent findings, we are seeing that insurance candidates currently in the job market are less motivated by salary and financial benefits.
IS A GOOD SALARY NO LONGER IMPORTANT?
No – it still very much is.
One of the biggest (and easiest) ways to show employees their value and your commitment to them long-term is by offering them a market-rate salary. Salaries will always be important and they will always be a motivation, but right now in the world we’re living in, it’s not the motivation.
In the majority of our conversations with candidates looking to leave their current employer, salary was not the top reason. And aside from general ambitions to achieve more, a lot of the reasons came down to one thing: having a more holistic approach to their career.
Keep reading for 5 other reasons insurance professionals are looking to leave their current position:
THERE’S NO MORE PROGRESSION
Around 50% of the candidates we spoke to this month feel as though they’ve hit a ceiling in their current role. And no – not just in salary. Candidates are looking for a job that can provide them with:
Opportunities for further qualifications
Professional development
Specialisation in niche claims
And many also have a bigger desire to join rapidly growing companies with more established departments, better processes, and exciting opportunities.
You may be thinking that the desire to progress would naturally mean a progression in salary too – but the opposite. Many professionals we’ve spoken to are more than willing to take a step back in both their job title and salary to build a foundation in an avenue they wish to progress in.
THEY LACK WORK-LIFE BALANCE
30% of professionals have said they’re looking to leave to find somewhere with a better work-life balance.
Contrary to popular belief, work-life balance is more than flexibility (although we’ll go into that) it includes a range of factors and for insurance professionals, it includes:
Heavy caseloads
Working into evenings and even weekends
Not enough staff to delegate
Not only does too much workload cause stress, dissatisfaction and unproductivity – but it also takes employees away from their personal lives, especially if they’re regularly working out of hours. We’re in an era where people are less likely to view work as an isolated area of their lives, but instead, a section that should fit neatly around their other responsibilities and pastimes.
THEY FEEL UNDERAPPRECIATED
25% of candidates stated this was the reason they were looking to leave.
Many employers assume that employees are satisfied by simple pay increases but there are a variety of ways to showcase appreciation through recognition and reward incentives.
THERE’S A LACK OF FLEXIBILITY
15% of candidates are seeking employers offering increased flexibility.
Whilst remote or hybrid working was once seen as a luxury pre-COVID, it’s now the standard and candidates are more likely than ever to decline an offer based on minimal flexibility.
THERE’S A LACK OF STABILITY
The final 10% of candidates aren’t particularly motivated to leave but are instead concerned about restructures in their company due to staff loss, lack of hires and increased workload.
NEED SOME FRIENDLY ADVICE OR MORE TIPS?
If you are looking for more advice or help finding your next job, we can help, please give us a call on: 0117 301 8495 or take a look at our jobs page. Alternatively, if you’re an employer in the UK looking to recruit and need someone with real recruiting expertise then we can help – let’s chat.