Westfield’s Chimera: Compensation discussions have become 'more frank' than ever

By James Thaler

April 11 - (The Insurer) - The market for underwriting talent remains tight, with Gen Z placing a greater priority on joining firms with strong cultures, according to Westfield Specialty’s Tony Chimera and Anna Kodryanu, who also said discussions on remuneration are “more frank” than ever.

The pair of executives made those comments in an interview with The Insurer TV at last month’s WSIA Underwriting Summit in Phoenix, Arizona, where they discussed the growing trend of more open conversations regarding compensation, among colleagues and on social media.

Chimera, who has been Westfield Specialty’s chief talent officer since the business was launched four years ago and previously worked at Sompo International and Axis, said “you’d be foolish to think” staff aren’t discussing compensation more openly than prior generations.

“I've always told people (that) if you're sharing your pay with somebody or if somebody's sharing their pay with you, number one, they're probably attaching an inflationary number to that,” Chimera explained.

“So just be aware, you might not be getting the whole picture and, what's the endgame in that?” he added, saying that from his vantage point, he doesn’t have a problem with more open discussions on the topic.

“We're very transparent with our trainees; we tell them how they're going to progress, but after that, you get paid based on what you achieve here,” he explained.

“If you don't feel like you're getting paid enough, that's a discussion with your manager you should have, around what do I need to do to go to that level? But I do think, generationally, there is a difference,” he noted.

“And I think you're going to have a discussion, a real frank discussion, that maybe you couldn't have 20 years ago or 10 years ago, or even five years ago,” he commented.

Chimera said the talent market has “always been tight” and there continues to be shortages around the industry.

“It is absolutely competitive. I think just like with underwriting, speed to market is important, keeping your promises is important. You do that, you're in a pretty good position,” he explained.

Chimera said Westfield has made “a pretty heavy investment” in talent, with the firm having around 200 employees on staff, as well as around 20 trainees.

Chimera called the growing trend for staff to share compensation information on social media sites like Instagram “a bit concerning."

“My concern is the fact that you have to get to the point where you have to post something on Instagram to get attention,” he commented.

“My hope would be (that) we're evolving as an industry…Not to be premeditated, but if we have a shortage for talent, we should be having these discussions. We should have been having them all along,” he continued.

He also said it is important for management teams to be listening to the feedback they are getting from staff throughout their company.

“I think postings like that, it feels at times, a little Glass Door-ish to me, but we're also fortunate to work in a place where we can have those conversations,” he remarked.

“But the bottom line is, we should be having these discussions all the time anyway, not just because somebody's posting it,” he added.

Westfield Specialty's senior vice president of distribution Kodryanu said that while compensation packages are important to Gen Z colleagues, “culture is a key differentiator."

She commented that at Westfield “there's a higher chance of the ability to shine and to really get noticed,” and that “recognition” is important to the Gen Z workforce.

“They need that recognition, not in monetary form, but also in appreciation and accountability and just acknowledgment of the work that they're doing,” Kodryanu explained.

“And that's one of the things that I see Westfield Specialty really thrive at, compared to our competitors and some of the other shops, because of the fact that we have a scale that is still manageable,” she continued.

“We're very cautious with who we bring on and how we show them that path and have that discussion for their growth,” Kodryanu added.