Insurers and intermediaries struggling to attract suitable personnel may find the situation growing even tougher unless they become more creative in their approach to employment.

A Suncorp Commercial Insurance report finds Australia’s ageing population will lead to greater talent renewal challenges and skills shortages, and new ways of thinking are needed to fill the gaps.

Meanwhile, employees are seeking more options when it comes to their work lives, technological advances mean it is no longer necessary to commute, there is a rise in freelance and contract arrangements and location is no longer a barrier.

Flexibility is the key, as people increasingly favour workplaces that offer opportunities to adjust hours, work from home and pursue career paths outside traditional patterns.

“Insurers and intermediaries must adapt to these changes to secure and retain the most talented people and deliver positive outcomes for their business,” report author and Suncorp Commercial Insurance EGM Human Resources Naomi White says.

“If they do not, they will be left behind.”

The insurance industry already faces skills shortages in some areas as it competes for staff in specialised professions such as underwriting, claims and actuarial.

“As the workforce ages the domestic markets for these key professions will become even more contested,” Suncorp says.

The report – called Tomorrow’s Insurance Workforce: The Future Trends Impacting the Insurance Industry – says 46% of Australian employers feel the departure of older personnel has led to the loss of key skills.

“While there is a consensus that older team members are worth retaining, 65% of businesses admit they do not have a strategy to achieve this,” it says.

“Offering these employees the flexibility they desire will help ensure they stay employed.”

Employers have also been slow to provide the flexibility that is particularly valued by many women and is increasingly expected by younger staff.

Demand for flexibility will eventually spread through all workplace demographics and become the status quo, the report says.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of its 180,000 employees worldwide shows 71% of those born between 1980 and 1995 say work interferes with their personal lives, and 64% want to occasionally work from home.

Other studies have found that, across all industries, 83% of Australian women consider their work/life balance very important but more than one-quarter are dissatisfied with it, and 45% believe their employers do not genuinely support it.

Alternative options include teleworking, which allows people to work anywhere with an internet connection; co-working arrangements, where personnel from different organisations share an office space at a convenient location; part-time arrangements; and flexible hours.

Suncorp says it is addressing the trend through systems that allow many staff to work from home with their own computers, visit the office when needed or use their own devices anywhere.

The company’s renovated office in Collins Street, Melbourne, featured in the April/May edition of Insurance News (the magazine), and the Commonwealth Bank’s Darling Quarter complex in Sydney are part of a “hot-desking” trend in which people are not assigned specific workspaces.

Suncorp has also set up a Work@Home hub at the Fountain Gate shopping centre in Melbourne’s southeast.

The report also identifies the potential for more diverse career path options, compared with the traditional model that rewards good performances with management roles.

It says the qualities that make people excellent at their jobs often do not translate into management skills, while some staff do not want to manage people but feel it is the only way to advance.

Another potential answer to skills shortages could lie in the rapid increase in university graduates from developing countries, where there may be insufficient jobs.

“There are significant opportunities for insurers and intermediaries in Australia to tap into this surplus talent,” the report says.

Despite the changing landscape, the report notes many people prefer traditional arrangements and are “at their happiest and most productive when they are working around other people”.

But a key message from Suncorp’s report is that the days of a one-size-fits-all approach are numbered and insurers must keep pace with changes to secure the workforce they need.

“Ultimately, people will shape their careers around their lives,” Ms White says.

“Insurers and intermediaries must be able to offer flexible work arrangements to their employees to give them more options in the way they work.”