The insurance broking community is an intricately intertwined tapestry, as proven by the story of how Finch’s MD Paul Goodman (pictured) first met former Finch MD Vince Gardener. In a strange twist of fate, on his first day at secondary school, the two boys found themselves seated beside each other as a result of the alphabetisation of the room’s seating plan. Now, it’s some years later but once more Goodman follows Gardener, and, one year into his leadership role, he is continuing to drive forward the growth strategy of this Ethos Broking partner.
“When I became aware of Finch, I then met up with Niamh Durkan, HR business partner at Ethos and Rich Tuplin and it was lovely,” he said. “Their culture and how they set out what they want Finch to become really resonated with me, and the fact that it was a community broker was key. And by that, we don’t mean that we include CSR in our annual report but that we actually support our community as well.
“And I was looking forward to having ownership of a brokerage and feeling that I can really make a difference. After meeting with the team who were so lovely, with great personalities, I knew they were the people I wanted to be working with. I was just fortunate enough at that time that Vince had moved on to another role within the wider group and there was a vacancy.”
Alongside pursuing an active strategic trajectory that spotlights organic growth while allowing Finch to seize the right acquisition opportunities, Goodman’s focus is on evolving the culture at the heart of the brokerage. He believes that several key values create a healthy culture within a business, and the first of these is teamwork. No one person can do it all, he said, and anybody working in a team will understand that it doesn’t matter how big or small that is as long as that philosophy is firmly in place.
Another item on the agenda of building a strong culture centres around adaptability, Goodman said. The pandemic has proven that when the worst happens and it looks like there is potential for everything to fail, there is the capacity to adapt, to change and to evolve into a business that is stronger than ever. Adaptability is crucial, and to harness all the lessons learnt from the COVID crisis, it will be essential to look back and explore what was done and how that new knowledge can be applied in the future.
The other core value, when it comes both to business and to life, he said, is the need to have the right attitude. Working in insurance essentially boils down to always putting the customer first - that’s the reality of what keeps an insurance business in business. When speaking to leaders himself, Goodman noted that, no matter how senior, they all agree the best part of their job is the chance to speak to their customers. Even if they’re having a challenge with a customer at that time, it remains the most elemental part of the job.
“People are a key element because, thankfully, insurance still remains a people business in 2021,” he said. “I appreciate there’s a number of entities out there that might be looking to change that a little bit, but I believe it is a people business and I think it’s essential that that remains. We’ve got to look after our people and everybody that we work with, and that flips over to the customers as well.”
While attracting and retaining great talent so instrumental to the continued growth of a business, Goodman said, more brokers should be questioning how they can bring more good local college and university students into the industry. There’s not quite enough work being done around that yet and it’s up to every insurance professional to convince young people that insurance isn’t a ‘grey suit’ industry, but rather is all about people. He would relish the opportunity to spend more time with graduates just explaining what he’s learnt from carrying out his role and revealing some of the stories behind why people start their uniquely inspiring businesses.
“When you go through a prospect’s door, anything can happen,” he said. “And so much of insurance is about thinking on your feet. Some of the individuals I have met have ended up being my long-term friends, which is something I’ve really enjoyed. In addition, it’s amazing what I’ve learned about the world, purely from talking to people - and some of the best advice I’ve had from has been from colleagues and clients alike.”
Goodman’s offering to young people looking to explore insurance opportunities is a sincere one – rather than exploring unpaid internships, he would rather they knock at his door for the chance for paid experience learning about the industry, and the fascinating individuals that form its foundations.
