The news feed recently brought an interesting read titled 7 Questions for CPCU Society President-Elect Brett Clausen. The pertinent focus of the piece is on the focus of a professional organization. Intriguingly, the article makes no mention of what CPCU is. Many likely recognize the designation from repetition and exposure, but it is worth noting this is Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and is a notable achievement and honor in the field of risk management and insurance.
The goals expressed in this article are worthy of note. First, the CPCU Society is striving for international exposure and membership. This is a recognition of the increasingly interdependent nature of our global economies and the fundamentals of risk that are faced in any jurisdiction. Certainly, there are distinctions and idiosyncrasies, but risk and management are certainties everywhere. To address their desire for international exposure and membership, the vehicle is a "virtual chapter." This is likely to afford opportunities for collegiality and conversation across great distances and will bring diverse perspectives together. It is an admirable goal.
But, more important is the imperative of workers' compensation's greatest Achilles heal. The simple fact of the matter is that this community ("industry" if we must) is aging rapidly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that "over the next 15 years, 50% of the current insurance workforce will retire." Granted, there are some young, fresh faces in this space, but it is not what it once was in that regard. Workers' compensation was once a place where people gleaned experience and built foundations. A great many professionals have built careers in workers' compensation, and a great many more started here.
A million years ago (or so it seems), an eccentric candidate for U.S. President, H. Ross Perot, was striving to make us all understand the threats of government debt. The debt back then was a paltry $4 trillion. Chicken feed compared to where we are today. We have since had Presidents who presided over debt increases of more than that $4 trillion (George W. Bush $5.8 trillion, Barack Obama $8.6 trillion). But, I digress. In a television appearance, Mr. Perot noted of the debt:
“The debt is like a crazy aunt we keep down in the basement. All the neighbors know she’s there, but nobody wants to talk about her.”
If that was intended to resonate with us, perhaps it missed the mark. Colloquialisms are usually to bring commonality to an experience and to draw the listener/reader into a feeling of unity or at least community. Most (perhaps even all) of us simply do not have "a crazy aunt," and we are not keeping anyone in our basement? Be that as it may, the quote has had amazing staying power. Perhaps its absurdity makes it that memorable?
Well, today, the grey wave is a reality in workers' compensation, risk management, and the practice of workers' compensation law. There are a great many with whom I speak that talk of such concepts as retirement, grandkids, and travel. There is increasingly discussion of "the next generation," and the challenges of engaging the young to both enter and build in the workers' compensation community. Like that "crazy aunt," we all know the specter of a greying workforce is real in this community, and a (too) few are starting to talk about it. Those who are talking are mostly hand-wringing. Some are finding ways to weave it into their self-interested and preexisting narratives. But, why aren't we doing more about it?
The CPCU article is critical in that regard. First, the interview is highlighting the issue of building a bridge to the future. We should all be talking about that more. But, the Society has identified concrete plans to both engage and involve the "NextGen." No, it is not rolling out awards or recognitions (a tack that a few others have tried to bolster egos and motivate those young folks already in this space to stay). Instead, the CPCU is actually striving to attract more young folks to this community and industry.
As many have said, "its so crazy, it just might work."
What if we could educate young people about the importance of workers' compensation? What if we could show them a community in which they could contribute to a noble purpose? As one industry icon keeps saying, this is not about risk management, compensation, or medicine, "it is about restoring a human life." If that does not make us refocus, perhaps nothing will. This space is critical and demanding. But, it is also immensely rewarding and critically important.
The CPCU Society is taking specific and targeted steps. First is a "student member" category. I am sure that when we all went to college, "back in the day," we all dreamed of a career in risk management and workers' compensation. Right? Is anyone out there willing to admit they never heard of workers' compensation in college? Most of us ended up here by accident. Student membership is a way to engage and involve that "next generation" in an understanding of what a career here might mean. Are our various organizations focusing in any way on students? Do we invite students to events? Do we stage events for students? Do we promote student membership?
The second step the Society is pushing is affording those student members with unlimited access to webinars, industry journals, and other courses. This is critical. For someone to want to enter this community, they have to have the opportunity to understand who we are, and what we strive to do. This introduction seems to be designed for depth and breadth, and that will build understanding and more. With a space full of webinars and technology, who is offering that exposure to college students free of charge? But, as importantly, who is offering them a chance to shake hands, contribute, and grow?
The Society is involving those student members with more than virtual exposure, offering also access to "local chapter benefits," "special interest groups," a "career center," a "MentorMatch," and discounted access to industry events. Who among us is encouraging members to bring a college student to an event? Who is contacting the local business college about attending career events or speaking to classes there? Who has contacted a college dean to offer service as a mentor?
The Society plan is a buffet of opportunities that any business college student would do well to consider. Perhaps the risk management niche has not occurred to some. Perhaps the tasks and challenges of the occupations and professions are not known by students. Perhaps exposure and interaction can build interest, educate, and even inspire? The great leaders of tomorrow are out there, but somehow we are not connecting with them, inculcating them, or valuing them.
I recently wrote regarding professionalism. See What Have You Done Lately? (November 2022). Other than lament "these kids today" and fret over the grey wave, what have you done lately to find a chance to communicate with students? How can you engage in efforts like the Society's? What lessons could the workers' compensation world take from the actions and efforts of the CPCU Society to find, encourage, and embrace tomorrow's professionals? Or shall we just give someone else a plaque for their closet and hope for the best? No, we are better than that.
Do something today, make a plan for tomorrow, and communicate with others to build consensus for progress. Make concrete plans. Be bold. Be persistent. We need you.
