Foosball Table or Practical Benefits - What Do Millennials Want in Insurance?

Insurance Business Canada
Bethan Moorcraft

What do millennials want from insurance?

Do they want an office foosball table for ‘competitive team building,’ or the promise of after-work beers on a Friday?

Placing the ‘fun’ to one side, millennials – just like workers of all generations – are concerned with workplace practicalities. They’re looking for interesting benefits packages, workplace flexibility, learning opportunities and mentorship.

While the desire for purpose and success in the workplace spans generations, the way millennials want to go about it is different. Millennial workers have grown up with the internet and most of them are fluent in the fast-evolving language of technology. They expect digital gratification from their workplace in the same way they get it in the rest of their lives.

“We have to recognize that the technology-minded millennial workforce has different needs and communicates in different ways than previous generations,” said Katie Clifford, director of Human Resources at Berkley Canada, and speaker at the upcoming Millennials in Insurance Toronto Masterclass event.

“Recruiters should take advantage of social media, video, and innovative messages that appeal to millennials,” Clifford added. “It’s also important to show that your company can provide benefits, career development opportunities and a vibrant company culture.”

Across the border, member-owned US property and casualty insurer The PURE Group recently added a student loan assistance program to its benefits package to help “people entering the workforce with student debt” and to reduce that financial burden upon its employees. That’s just one example of how to attract and retain millennial attention.

One of the most important elements – and arguably one of the most significant failures leading up to the so-called ‘millennial crisis’ – is effective communication. Attracting and recruiting millennials to the workforce must start with the younger generation having awareness of the insurance industry’s potential. This is one of the biggest roadblocks to millennial recruitment, according to Thomas Wright, marketing coordinator at Tredd Insurance Brokers.