Billy Towner is our Client Services Manager, who resources and delivers growth to our clients, shares a glimpse of his indispensable market knowledge in the following questions he answered for us below.
1. What are the current challenges facing the insurance market?
The biggest challenge across the insurance market right now is IR35 and this isn’t something which is specific to the insurance industry but is a challenge across the whole private sector. The reform has put most businesses in very challenging positions as a number of projects and programmes are staffed with specialist skillsets which are in extremely high demand and usually warrant the use of contract resource. We are now 2 months away from the reform going live and a number of large insurers we work with are still going through consultation leaving a large number of projects and programmes at high risk of losing some of their most critical skillsets to deliver.
2. Where do you see the market demands for roles in insurance?
The market demands in the insurance industry have sat across the following areas for a number of years; M&A activity (Post-merger integration and migration workstreams), Regulatory Change (IFRS17, GDPR, Solvency II, SMCR etc.), Finance Transformation, Process Improvement and legacy system modernisation/ digitalisation. We are seeing a large emphasis on IFRS17 linked with Finance Transformation Programmes, Continued M&A activity and the Lloyd’s market continued attempt to modernise.
3. Where do you see the greatest benefit in working with a recruiter?
Recruiters can be tarnished with a slightly negative reputation but as per any profession, you will come across the good and bad. The greatest benefit clients and candidates can gain, through working in partnership with recruiters is market knowledge and key hiring trends. Recruiters will quite often work multiple vacancies across a number of different clients, we will be able to advise you on the pattern and trends we can see amongst our client pool.
Working with a recruiter should also offer you a partnership built from trust and transparency, this offers candidates a better understanding of the likelihood of being successful in the recruitment process, rather than just sending an application to never hear anything back. This also offers hiring managers peace of mind when recruiting as they can be fully consulted on their requirements based on the impact of the market trends and expect quality responses from their chosen recruiters when coming out to market.
4. How would you suggest using Social Media such as LinkedIn as a tool for job searching?
The world of employment has changed significantly over the last 10-20 years, we have gone from knowing someone working for a company getting you an interview or knocking at the door of a potential employer with a paper copy of a CV, into a new digital age of employment with emails, online portals/applications and Social Media.
Social Media such as LinkedIn has been, and will continue to be the future of finding opportunities or being headhunted for opportunities. I would advise everyone to ensure your online presence is clear and easily accessible, to allow you the best opportunity in finding that dream position or opportunity that suits all of your needs. The great thing about LinkedIn is the jobs tab will always notify you if a company is looking for someone with a similar background to you, and guide you in the steps you can take to make an application.
Recruiters also use LinkedIn as one of our key tools in sourcing candidates or advertising opportunities. To bolster your chances in finding your next move get connected with the industry-specific recruiters for regular updates within your field.