Talent management in culturally diverse Asia
Markel International, Asia
As the market for specialist insurance developed during the twentieth century, London became a pre-eminent centre for underwriting and broking expertise. Whilst history and a convenient time zone underpinned this development, the availability of capital and skilled labour were the perpetuating factors.
Not long ago, I was introduced to an insurance broker who first arrived in Singapore in the 1970s. He noted that, at the time, there was only one reinsurer in town. Talent was consequently extremely rare and, unsurprisingly, expatriates formed a significant proportion of the specialty insurance labour market.
The situation in 2021 is markedly different. Some 52 non-life insurers are now licensed in Singapore, with the city-state the de facto hub for Asian specialty insurance. Meanwhile, while the tide is shifting towards Asia, the London market is undergoing structural changes in response to Brexit and the need to modernise an ageing and costly transaction infrastructure.
Two factors link these respective geographic trends. The obvious point is capital and its rapid growth in Asia. The less well-versed point in insurance circles is the availability of local talent – and the relative abundance of it compared to our earlier reminiscence from the 1970s. Knowledge transfer has been admirably in motion ever since.
For me, it is this talent that will propel the Asia insurance markets in the long run. Why? Capital is more fungible – and therefore more fickle - than talent. Secondly, talent is what delivers an oft-cited insurance foundation: relationships. Developing relationships is often easier when you speak the same language, and even share the same culture and background. Consequently, once business is being sourced, serviced and intelligently supported locally, it is less likely to find itself back on a slip in London. No doubt Covid-19's travel reduction will weigh on this trend too.
As a consequence, nurturing the right talent is our most important goal as a business. Whilst many better minds than mine have written about how to win in talent development, there are three specific areas I'd like to highlight that have been important to Markel – in our experience – in the context of our specialist insurance business in Asia.
Firstly, on recruitment. This is the shop window – first impressions matter – and for Markel with a relatively low profile brand in the region, it becomes a critical insight for candidates. It's vitally important that they gain a clear understanding of the role, ambition and company culture in any approach. In Asia, much of our story focuses on the long-term ambition we have in the region: ensuring Markel becomes the best specialist insurer in Asia and how this has become a clear driver for our current expansion in the region.
As part of the recruitment process, I insist on two things:
1) In the first instance, we look to recruit candidates that speak the local languages in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. That's not always possible, but it should be our preference. It will serve us well in the long term as we cement those local relationships.
2) Where we use recruiters, we request a balanced shortlist between female and male candidates. It's unarguable that this is the right approach in 2021 as we strive for greater gender equality across the globe.
Secondly, a strong sense of team. At Markel Asia, we are 40 staff across 6 geographically diverse offices: Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. But critically we are one team – a team with a strong collective sense of identity and purpose.
Enabling that means twice-weekly whole team video conferences, a team WhatsApp group (light on insurance, heavy on birthdays, babies and memes), cross-office product teams, and regular travel. This team dynamic is not geographically limited by the Asia continent either. Indeed, being joined-up with our London and US colleagues is a critical component of our model and success in Asia. Leaning on their expertise and experience is important to ensuring we enhance our capability in Asia. We welcome their visits to the region and enjoy the knowledge we learn from time with them at HQ. In 2020, we also launched a secondment programme for junior underwriters in London to spend 3 months in one of our Asia offices. We look forward to continuing that in the post-Covid era.
Thirdly, no glass ceilings. The opportunity for our team in Asia is unbridled. Promotion, responsibility and management roles are not off-limits to anyone in our organisation. At Markel we are exclusively meritocratic, and all our team have the same opportunities and freedom to excel. Indeed, I'm incredibly excited about the potential career progression of a number of our current Asia team. Globally, we've also recently introduced an 'Underwriting of the Future' career framework, providing fantastic detail on skill development, competencies and training support at each stage of an underwriting career.
Whilst clearly there are many other important aspects to talent development in this diverse region, one thing is clear: local capability is here to stay. I'm certainly excited by the progress of talent at Markel in Asia and the team we're building. We're regularly adding to it – over the last twelve months, we have expanded our headcount in Asia by 25% and are actively recruiting further in 2021. It speaks to our commitment to the region and our excitement about the opportunity. In the long run, I've no doubt this will ensure clients of Markel have the freedom to achieve their potential. I hope, too, our local investment will be representative of our industry in Asia, ensuring a different insurance history is written in the twenty-first century.
Christian Stobbs
Managing Director - Asia
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ENDS
About Markel International:
Markel International is a division of Markel Corporation, a US-based holding company trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MKL). Markel International writes insurance and reinsurance business through six divisions and through offices across the UK, Europe, Canada, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Markel International’s insuring entities include Syndicate 3000, Markel International Insurance Company Limited, Markel Insurance SE., and Markel Resseguradora do Brasil S.A.
Its UK national markets business also provides legal and professional fees insurance cover as well as legal and tax consultancy services.