Attracting the next generation of digital age rock stars

At the recent Ontario Economic Summit Ben Isotta-Riches, CIO at Aviva Canada, featured on a panel to discuss the country’s challenging business environment

Technology

By Joe Rosengarten

Remaining competitive
 
In order to remain competitive in Canada’s challenging business environment, organizations across all industries are being forced to embrace innovation, change their internal cultures, and find creative ways of attracting the next generation of talent. Nowhere is this pressure more evident than in the insurance and financial sectors. It was with this in mind that Ben Isotta-Riches, CIO at Aviva Canada, agreed to join a panel at the Ontario Economic Summit 2016, which took place in Niagara-On-The-Lake on November 3.
 
Partnerships
 
During the panel, Isotta-Riches was asked about the rising prevalence of partnerships between incubators and institutions and whether the trend could signal the end of traditional financial services. “There is a shift in the mindset of big financial services organizations around partnerships; exploring partnerships with disruptive organizations is a key priority for our company,” Isotta-Riches said.
 
“I think it’s important to combine competition and cooperation into this equation – when it comes to the innovation space it is still competitive but cooperation is also needed. If you take a look at the different pieces from the value chain that FinTech and InsurTech organizations have picked upon to develop, they are not necessarily a threat on their own to the established companies in this space, but could make a breakthrough in partnership with a forward thinking existing player.”
 
Talent pool
 
Isotta-Riches described the Canadian talent pool as ‘fantastic’ and said that many transformative financial services and insurance companies’ biggest challenge is attracting these talented individuals. 
 
“What is our compelling story that we can tell those young rock stars to come and work for an insurance company? Fintech seems more immediately interesting to them,” he said. “At Aviva, we’re spending quite a bit time trying to change the way we do/run our business to attract the right talent. That’s why we’re focused on our product propositions and wrapped around the work environment that feels more like Google or eBay, rather than stepping into a traditional financial services environment.”
 
The competition for attracting top talent has never been hotter and Isotta-Riches believes that organizations need to be prepared to evolve in order to be appealing to the millennial generation. “It’s just about re-orienting the way that we work; transforming from a stable place to work to an exciting dynamic environment that’s making a contribution to society,” he said.  “As a global company, we have picked out three hubs for digital innovation capabilities across the globe - London, Singapore and Toronto…that’s where the talent pool is available.”
 
Insurance is on the cusp of several disruptive technologies that will make significant changes. To remain competitive, now is the time to find creative ways of attracting the next generation of talent.
 
Related stories:
Aviva nominated for four insurance awards
Giving Canada’s entrepreneurs much-needed opportunities

Keep up with the latest news and events

Join our mailing list, it’s free!