Young Agents Talk About Generational Differences and Technology Needs

Discussion highlights what younger generations seek as agency employees.

Last fall, the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) sponsored a technology forum during the Big “I” Young Agents Leadership Institute to discuss generational differences and technology preferences from the perspective of young agents. The group of more than 70 young people was predominately comprised of generation X (under age 46) and millennials (under age 28).

Young agents suggested the best way to describe the difference in generations was to look at how they greet their friends: baby boomers will usually ask, “How’s your job?” Gen X’ers will ask, “How’s your family?” And millennials will ask, “What did you do this weekend?” While everyone in the room smiled this generational distinction, there was no dispute that the different generations need to understand each other and work together effectively.

The young agents encouraged agency principals to foster a discussion of generational differences within the agency and adopt flexible employee policies that are results-driven and reflect the needs of the different generations. After all, generations are evolutionary and each will change its perspectives based on the life cycle of graduating from college, getting a job, getting married, starting a family, buying a home, furthering a career and beginning preparations for retirement.
Young people are well-suited for the insurance industry because they enjoy working in teams and working with people. They also have a keen insight into how other young people think and are more adept at soliciting young people as clients. With the profound changes in marketing from the emergence of social networking on the Web (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), younger generations can teach established agencies how to be visible in cyberspace where the young and young-at-heart do their research, purchase products and network. Agents have a wonderful opportunity to begin to use these tools not only to learn about new ways to communicate and network but to establish a marketing presence to attract new clients.

The young agents also pointed out that social media enables them to do virtual networking in a similar way to the in-person networking baby boomers have excelled at in their communities. In fact, social networking is putting a personal touch back into the Internet, which promises to put relationship-oriented agents into a stronger position than when the Internet was dominated by large corporate direct-writing companies.

This article is part one of a two-part series exploring the technology needs of young agents and customers.

Angelyn Treutel (Angelyn@treutel.com) is treasurer, vice president and chief information officer of Treutel Insurance Agency and chair of the Agents Council for Technology (ACT).

For more information about ACT, contact Jeff Yates, ACT executive director, at jeff.yates@iiaba.net.

This article reflects the views of the author and should not be construed as an official statement by ACT.