Will hire for food: Finding -- and keeping -- new recruits is the Number 1 challenge facing the brokerage channel in 2024, Canadian Underwriter's National Broker Survey reveals. Here's what brokers are doing about it...

According to Canadian Underwriter's National Broker Survey, the biggest challenge facing the brokerage channel in 2024 is finding and retaining new recruits. This challenge is not unique to Canada, but is a global issue. The survey revealed that 69% of brokers identified talent acquisition and retention as their top challenge, surpassing other challenges such as economic issues and the growth of the direct-to-consumer market. Brokerages are struggling to find qualified talent and are experiencing a decrease in employee loyalty. Training programs, such as the Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB) designation, are available but take time to complete. The demand for commercial lines brokers is particularly high, and brokerages are advised to invest in mentorship and job shadowing to develop true competency. The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario suggests recruiting talent from industries that offer customer service training. The use of AI and other automated technologies can also help alleviate the challenge of finding and retaining talent. [Extracted from the article]

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