The international brokerages have all appointed local leaders in recent months – and commentators believe this could lead to unprecedented staff movement as new CEOs look to deliver on promises and surround themselves with trusted people.

There’s also concern that an emphasis on recruiting experienced talent from rival businesses might indicate a worrying lack of new blood coming through, and growing use of AI could make this even worse in future.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au has reported, last month Marsh promoted Damian Schinck to Pacific president, Gallagher named Alex Lumby (currently of Marsh) its Australian CEO from next year, and Marcus Pearson (formerly of Marsh) started at Lockton.

In March, Aon promoted Kevan Johnston to Australia CEO, and in July last year James Baum (who held the Aon role from 2018 to 2021) was announced as WTW’s local leader.

This extraordinary amount of activity has got people talking, with many now expecting a surge in movement as the new chiefs aim to make their mark.

To some extent it’s already happening, with several people switching from Aon to WTW in August, and experienced Marsh executive James Harmer moving to Aon. Marsh is also losing its former head of commercial and corporate Johannes D Veldsman as he joins Mr Lumby at Gallagher, and insuranceNEWS.com.au understands several staff have moved from Lockton to Envest.

Fuse Recruitment national manager Madeleine Martin says further switches are to be expected.

“There’s often a lot of early recruitment activity, as these CEOs move to bring in trusted or known colleagues to strengthen their teams,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“We’ve seen over the years that the international brokerages do look to their direct competitors for talent. This isn’t anything new, but it may be heightened at the moment with the multiple changes in executive leadership.”

A senior broking industry source says that while much movement is driven by positive working relationships, some people want out because they don’t like the new boss.

“With so many new CEOs, it opens up opportunity,” he said. “It’s also about weakening the other organisation, by taking some of their good people.

“Most of the big brokers, they know people – they know who they like, and who they don't like.

“Some people will be looking to move, and will be more susceptible to moving, because of a view they have of a particular person.

“There’s probably a lot of coffee being drunk around Sydney and Melbourne, little meetings going on everywhere.”

It’s not always an easy process, with 12-month restraints common in contracts, preventing those leaving from approaching clients or staff, or sometimes from working for a competitor. insuranceNEWS.com.au understands there are more than a few lawyers’ letters flying between brokerages at the moment.

And there’s no doubt that heightened competition for talent can lead to wages spiralling.

Adam Higgins, managing consultant at recruitment company Talenza, says companies need to give people a reason to move.

“If you’re established in an organisation with a lot of trust and a lot of brownie points in the bank, you need some sort of incentive.

“There’s a lot of sign-on bonuses floating around, and a lot of guaranteed bonus promises thrown around as well, which makes it expensive.

“Companies need to show people the money, ultimately, so it becomes a bit like Premier League footballers.”

The broking source agrees there needs to be “some financial advantage” for someone to move, and adds the big brokers are defending their positions by offering significantly improved deals to tie down their best people.

“No one’s ever moved for less money,” he said. “There are some who will demand sign-on bonuses. So, part of the deal might be, we’ll increase your salary by 5% or 10%, but then we’ll also give you $100,000 or whatever it might be.  

“In terms of retention, the brokers are offering huge long-term deals at the moment to keep hold of their most valuable staff.

“Some people are saying, ‘I want to leave, but they’ve just doubled my salary.’ It certainly does lead to a spiral in cost.”

 A major concern about the jobs merry-go-round is that it might be evidence of a serious scarcity of new talent coming through.

Mr Higgins says it’s a lack of people coming into the industry that forces CEOs to raid their old hunting grounds.

“It’s telling of the market if they can’t find the talent outside of the little black book,” he said. “I think we’re tending to cycle the same people because the pool is quite limited.”

Mr Higgins says it is not ideal for companies to approach recruitment this way, but many have little choice.

“I’m sure a lot of these CEOs don’t necessarily want to be bastardising their old teams. It’s not seen as the most ethical thing to do, and a lot of these people would have restrictions to a certain point.

“And there are implications for diversity of thinking, because if all the companies are just taking from each other and sourcing the same people, the same sort of knowledge, who's actually gaining a competitive edge and who’s actually thinking creatively?”

Fuse’s Ms Martin says a long-term view is needed, and not enough attention is being paid to junior candidates and talent pipelines that could ease the pressure as ageing specialists leave the workforce.

“The industry has been struggling with a talent scarcity for as long as we have been recruiting in this space,” she said. “Graduate recruitment is crucial in attracting young people to insurance and moulding the new generation of candidates to carry the industry forward.”

The senior broking source believes part of the issue is young staff have limited opportunity to prove they can become the leaders of the future.

He argues the big brokers are controlled by bosses in the UK or US, and entrepreneurial approaches are not encouraged.

“People aren’t given the freedom to try things,” he said. “I think a lot of the good people don’t have the opportunity to show how good they are.”

Mr Higgins says the rise of AI also has concerning implications for talent development.

“A lot of people start off in contact centres and work their way through. But if those companies are investing less in contact centres and replacing them with chatbots and AI, then what’s the entry point for people? It’s a real problem that someone needs to solve.”