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TOP TALENT IN THE INSURANCE SECTOR 

Dr. Ben Kajwang PhD. 



European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.5, Issue 2 pp 33 - 39, 2021                                                            www.ajpojournals.org                                          

 

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CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TOP TALENT IN THE 

INSURANCE SECTOR 

Dr. Ben Kajwang PhD, ACII(UK), AIRM(UK), FIIU, FIIK, CPT, Chartered Insurer 

Chief Executive Officer, College of Insurance, Nairobi, Kenya 

Corresponding Author Email: bkajwang@coi.ac.ke 

ABSTRACT 

Purpose: The insurance industry encompasses being able to provide superior service while 

selling products, which means employees should have the skills and abilities to interact 

professionally with people. Finding this combination in potential employees can be difficult. The 

goal of this study was   identify and discuss the critical elements of attracting and retaining top 

talent in the insurance sector. The purpose of this work is to enhance the readers’ understanding 

of the domain of talent attraction and talent retention, and how the former culminates in the 

latter, specifically as a tool for retention of employees.  

Methodology: A desktop literature review was used for this purpose. Relevant seminal 

references and journal articles for the study were identified using Google Scholar. The inclusion 

criteria entailed papers that were not over five years old. 

Findings: It was found that researchers have advocated for the use of the new technologies in the 

recruitment process and training programmes in generally all organizations. It is therefore 

necessary that HR leaders equip their HR practices (recruitment process, training and mentoring 

programmes and company culture) with the modern technologies that will help them reduce the 

recruitment and training cost, save time and keep the company’s image at the top.  

Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that insurance 

firms Review their company’s job description at least every two years is necessary to boost the 

company’s image and attract top talent employees. The firms should also use of recruitment 

softwares that catch the eye of promising candidates is necessary so as to make the hiring process 

more convenient and efficient for both the HR leaders and promising candidates. 

Keywords: Critical Elements, Attracting and Retaining, Top Talent, Insurance Sector 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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mailto:bkajwang@coi.ac.ke


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.5, Issue 2 pp 33 - 39, 2021                                                            www.ajpojournals.org                                          

 

34 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Today’s organizations seem to change much more rapidly than in the past because of increased 

competition and the ever-changing business environment. This explains why organizations 

require attracting and retaining top talent in order to improve their performance and remain 

competitive. Employers face extreme obstacles related to managing talented employees because 

of the shortage of critical skills and potential employees’ reluctance to affiliate themselves with 

particular employers (Selivanovskikh, 2018).  A study by Muia (2017) indicated that found that 

over 60% of   insurance executives in Kenya stated that identifying and attracting new talent is 

becoming increasingly difficult.  The   Kenyan insurance industry is affected by employee 

turnover, which results in the loss of profit and productivity for the business. The specific 

business problem is that some insurance managers lack strategies to retain talented employees 

(Martin, 2016).  The problem of having non-professional employees in the insurance sector has 

led to the resulted to low employee productivity and subsequent customer dissatisfaction 

(Nzyoka & Orwa, 2016). It is therefore important that HR professionals in the insurance 

company adopt efficient strategies that will attract top talent employees and retain them in their 

organizations.  

Talent management is the HR practice that addresses competition for highly skilled, high value 

labor in global markets (Nginyo, 2019). Talent management encompasses all organizational 

activities with the intention of attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining the best employees 

in strategic roles (Johannsdottir, Olafsson & Davidsdottir, 2017). Human resource managers 

must reposition the HR function to inform and support decision-making by organizational 

leaders. 

According to Nakhata (2018), a well detailed job description is one of the key strategies of talent 

management.  Potential and well skilled employees look out for job descriptions of the various 

job posting before they consider applying for the job. As organizations transform and grow 

through the modern technology,   job descriptions can become outdated. Departmental structures 

may be improved and updated and the various employment roles change hence the need to 

oftenly review the job description of the various positions in an organization. Schlechter, Hung 

and  Bussin  (2018) studied the effect of  job description review on talent attraction in Nigerian 

auditing firms and found that companies that  review their job descriptions at least every two 

years are able to attract top talents into their work place. 

Some of the key details that need to be included when coming up with a job description include 

job title and location, clear duties and responsibilities, specific skills required, reporting lines, 

tools and equipment used and actual salaries and benefits. HR professionals who miss out on this 

may end up with a pool of unqualified candidates since the potential talents look elsewhere for 

better opportunities. It’s therefore necessary for HR professionals in the insurance sector to apply 

these key details in their job descriptions. This will transform the dull job postings into dream 

job promotions and attract qualified and skilled employees in their organizations (Dordan, 2017).  

Banerjee and Gupta (2019) asserted that talent attraction through online recruitment websites 

showed that investment in job description softwares that consistently update the job descriptions 

maximize the efficiency and success of the hiring process. One of the biggest category of 

recruitment software is the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). An ATS is basically focused on 

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European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.5, Issue 2 pp 33 - 39, 2021                                                            www.ajpojournals.org                                          

 

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tracking and managing candidates within an organized database. According to Barber (2019), 

94% of recruiting professionals who use ATS have an effective   hiring process and assists in the 

battle of recruiting long-term talent. The most common ATS systems that employers migrated to 

in 2020 are SAP, SuccessFactors, Workday, ICIMS and Taleo which have had a positive effect 

on talent attraction  (Dineen  and  Soltis, 2020).. Research has also shown that use of Job 

Aggregators such as Indeed, LinkedIn, Google for jobs and ZipRecruiter play a central part in 

the talent attraction since direct applicants make up 48% of all hires (Anderson, 2016, Van Esch, 

Black & Ferolie, 2019). Similarly, a meta-analysis by Mohamud (2020) on the influence of 

online recruitment on talent attraction found that that use of Human Capital Management 

Software (HCM) such as Ceridian, SAP, SuccessFactors, Workday, Oracle Cloud HCM and 

ADP provides core administrative support and attraction of top talented personell. 

Moreover, study by Tnande (2017) showed that Candidate Relationship Management Softwares 

(CRMs) such as Yello, Beamery and Avature assist in attracting, engaging and nurturing 

candidates. Talent Intelligence Systems such as Ideal also helps HR leaders in making of fair 

talent decisions by providing support with resume screening, employment lifecycle and increased 

productivity. A study by Ahmed and Chang (2019) also showed that Video Interviewing tools 

such as HireVue, VidCruiter and Interview Stream simplify the online interview process.  

Delayed recruitment process is one of the factors that contribute to promising candidates looking 

for opportunities elsewhere. It also leads to top talents slipping away to the hands of competitors. 

According to a survey by   Half (2018), potential job candidates may opt for another offer after 

waiting too long about a preferred role. Most HRs have preferred to use recruitment softwares 

such as ATS to hasten the hiring process, this is through automatically ranking applicants based 

on a set of predetermined criteria (Chan and Wang, 2018). 

Feedback is also a crucial part of the talent attraction process. A high percentage of job seekers 

have reported being ghosted after applying for certain jobs. According to the CareerArc survey 

(2017), 72% of job seekers who have had a bad candidate experience have told others about it 

either in person or online. Other job seekers have given poor online reviews about some 

companies and this has affected the customers buying decision of such companies. To alleviate 

such problems, companies have opted to use Candidate Relationship Management softwares and 

the ATS software that  help them attract, engage and nurture candidates during the recruitment 

process. 

According to Cai and Klyushina (2019), promising candidates in the today competitive 

recruitment process look out for organizations where employers have attached innovative 

benefits for the employees as well as creating favorable workplace relationships. Such innovative 

benefits according to include; favorable healthcare options, fair remuneration, convenient 

retirement benefits, personal development programs, child and day care support, maternity and 

pertanity leaves and recreation and social interaction activities.  

Falola (2016) found that employees in an organization can only be retained as long-term 

investment if the company has a strong and positive culture which mainly relies on leadership, 

effective communication and premier benefits. Employees need a work environment where they 

can freely express their opinions and have employers that are willing to listen to them. Such a 

work environment will enable employees to work as team hence promote cooperation and 

making of better decisions in the company. Hence HR leaders should focus on gathering 

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European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.5, Issue 2 pp 33 - 39, 2021                                                            www.ajpojournals.org                                          

 

36 

 

employees’ feedback to ensure that the working environment reinforces a strong and positive 

company culture. 

Neupane  (2017) studied the influence of training, coaching and mentoring programmes on talent 

retention in UK insurance sector  and found that it enhances skills, capabilities and knowledge of 

employees for a particular job. The training process is usually continuous throughout the lifetime 

of the business. Training in the insurance sector involves everything from the product sold, 

customer relations and understanding the regulations set by external bodies and how they change 

or when updated. It is necessary that employees in such a sector have full- knowledge about their 

organizations in order to meet the industry’s changing needs and remain efficient in the 

competitive market. In the insurance company the most modern approach of training is 

eLearning since it offers relevant and up to date information and will help the employees meet 

the industry’s changing needs and remain efficient.  

A literature review study by Nguyan (2020) showed that every employee in any working 

environment that is happy and feels valued will be motivated to work hard, deliver results and 

bring in new ideas to help grow the business.  Employee engagement model is a blueprint which 

helps us understand how employees can be made productive, feel empowered and valued in the 

workplace. It involves making and implementing of policies that are aimed at generally 

improving the quality of life of an employee at work from their well-being to career 

opportunities (Anitha, 2019). Application of these models may help companies develop their 

own systems aiming at improving the work environment, maximizing employees experience, 

ensuring job satisfaction and eventually retaining top talents. These models include: 

Maslow’s model 

Maslow’s model outlines the Maslow’s hierarchy needs which has had a significant influence on 

most business courses in the management of the employees needs. Abraham Maslow in his paper 

“A Theory of Human Motivation” identifies five basic needs that when employers attempt to 

fulfil will motivate their employees. (Maslow, 2000).  These needs include, physiological needs, 

safety, sense of belonging, esteem and self- actualization. According to this theory, these needs 

have to be satisfied for an employee to be motivated to perform at his/her best. Physiological 

needs which are basically the biological needs( food, shelter and clothing) for human survival are 

the primary needs that need to first be satisfied then the rest of the needs come later. Safety needs 

like security at work and home can be provided by the company and society. Employees need to 

feel a sense of belonging through acceptance, friendship and trust at the workplace. Esteem need 

is meet through the desire of reputation and respect in the workplace. Lastly, self –actualization 

involves displaying of full potential by employees, self fulfilment and personal growth. It is 

therefore important that insurance sector aim to satisfy these needs according to their order of 

importance leaving out none of them in order to retain top talent employees. 

The Kahn Model 

The Kahn model by William Kahn (1996) is considered one of the oldest models on employee 

engagement. It emphasizes on three psychological conditions that are associated with personal 

engagement and disengagement of work. These conditions are meaningfulness, safety and 

availability. Meaningfulness in that they feel valued about their work by both themselves and 

others, emotionally and psychologically available to perform the work and good relationship 

between employees, co-workers and supervisors (Kahn, 2013).) According to Kahn engagement 

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European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.5, Issue 2 pp 33 - 39, 2021                                                            www.ajpojournals.org                                          

 

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concept, employees illustrate engagement by making choices of how much of their personality 

they would reveal and express at their work. The disengagement concept is when employees are 

doing just enough to remain employed and not offering the emotional and physiological energy 

to the job. 

The AON- Hewitt model 

This model examines individual engagement as well as organizational records. Individual 

engagement is the emotional and intellectual involvement that motivates employees to do their 

best work and behavior of engaged employees to demonstrate positive outcomes in the business 

like customer satisfaction and increased sales. According to the model, there are six engagement 

drivers and three outcomes attached to these drivers that lead to individual engagement in an 

organization. These drivers include quality of life, work, people, opportunities, company practice 

and rewards which influence talent retention (Gustomo, 2015).  

CONCLUSIONS 

Attracting and retaining of top talents in the insurance sector is a big challenge due to small size 

staff and failure to use efficient recruitment software that help HR leaders identify and retain top 

talent employees. It is evident from this review that researchers have advocated for the use of the 

new technologies in the recruitment process and training programmes in generally all 

organizations. It is therefore necessary that HR leaders equip their HR practices (recruitment 

process, training and mentoring programmes and company culture) with the modern technologies 

that will help them reduce the recruitment and training cost, save time and keep the company’s 

image at the top. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Based on the above findings, the HR managers in insurance firms should: Review their 

company’s job description at least every two years is necessary to boost the company’s image 

and attract top talent employees. Use of recruitment softwares that catch the eye of promising 

candidates is necessary so as to make the hiring process more convenient and efficient for both 

the HR leaders and promising candidates. Appreciate, motivate and recognize their employees 

oftenly and consistently. Conduct surveys to measure the level of satisfaction of the employees 

in the organizations and identify the areas that need improvement in order to enhance employee 

engagement. Use the most modern training approaches   available since they save time, reduce 

the training cost and equip employees with relevant and up to date information that they need to 

meet the industry’s changing needs. Enhance equality and fairness in the working environment 

which will enable employees have a sense of belonging, feel valued, appreciated and recognized 

at work. 

REFERENCES  

Anderson, N. (2016). Applicant and recruiter reactions to new technology in selection: A critical 

review and agenda for future research. International Journal of Selection and 

Assessment, 11(2‐3), 121-136. 

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European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

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Vol.5, Issue 2 pp 33 - 39, 2021                                                            www.ajpojournals.org                                          

 

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Anitha, J. (2019). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee 

performance. International journal of productivity and performance management. 

Banerjee, P., & Gupta, R. (2019). Talent attraction through online recruitment websites: 

Application of web 2.0 technologies. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 23. 

Barber, L. (2019). E-recruitment Developments. Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies. 

Cai, W., & Klyushina, U. (2019). Talent retention and development within multinational 

company in China. 

Chan, J., & Wang, J. (2018). Hiring preferences in online labor markets: Evidence of a female 

hiring bias. Management Science, 64(7), 2973-2994. 

Dineen, B. R., & Soltis, S. M. (2020). Recruitment: A review of research and emerging 

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Dordan, J. P. (2017 ). Talent Attraction and Management of Competencies in Challenging Oil 

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Falola, H. (2016). Talent retention and organizational performance: A competitive positioning in 

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European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

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Nginyo, E. W. (2019). Employee performance management practices among insurance 

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