S4 EP22: Elevating unique potential & wanting the great ones - with Amanda Vander Ley, VP Human Resources, Holmes Murphy & Associates

"We've spent some time over the years trying to put words to it", says Amanda as she describes the unique culture at Holmes Murphy. "We really try to take a well rounded approach in recognizing that we're people first and then how we provide opportunities in a growing organization for people to accelerate and leverage their strengths."Amanda shares her 20 year HR journey and the business' growth to $280m revenue and 1100 employees. She attributes this success to starting with the executive leadership team and providing a clear career path. “In coming through the past three years, people are doing a lot of self reflection around their purpose around where they want to spend time, energy and talent.So we are just doubling down our efforts to not only create opportunity, being clear about career paths, but the development to support that”Amanda highlights how Holmes Murphy are building the next generation of talent through internship and college graduate development programmes. “We've really hinged ourselves on thinking about the big picture and playing the long game. The next generation is looking for more than a job more than a place to come to work every day.”She emphasizes the power of people being together, intentional connections and creating an environment where people want to come together.As a VP of HR, Amanda believes it’s critical that the key to attracting A-player talent is ensuring the recruitment process and candidate experience reflects that actual day-to-day culture. “It's really important that our outside matches our inside. One of our focus areas is to make sure that the experience matches what we've sold on the outside.”Amanda also shares the need for the insurance industry to collaborate and connect to address talent gaps and skills shortages. For those looking to join a dynamic, growing insurance business, Amanda encourages people to demonstrate new thoughts, ideas, concepts and challenge the status quo.“Reflective of the talent we need on our bench, we need game changers. We want the great ones.”Connect with Amanda Vander Ley on LinkedIn or find out more about Holmes Murphy. The Insurance Coffee House Podcast is hosted by Nick Hoadley, CEO, Insurance Search, the Executive Search Consultancy for growing Insurance and Insurtech businesses around the globe.To discuss identifying & attracting the very best talent to your team or being a podcast guest, reach out to Nick via [email protected] Copyright Insurance Search 2023 – All Rights Reserved.