S4 EP50: Renovating and redefining a high-performance insurance culture - Lisa Pariot, Chief People Officer, AXIS Capital

The Insurance Coffee House

“We’ve got to deliver financial results and profitability, but you’ve got to be thinking about the way you can do that most efficiently too”, says Lisa, describing what a high performance culture means to her.

“High performance is people being clear on what's expected of them, delivering that and then some, because they want to. It’s constantly improving and trying to do better.

We make mistakes sometimes too and that’s ok. Let’s learn from it. It's about a learning mindset.”

On the podcast this week, Lisa talks about transitioning from a 17-year career at Morgan Stanley to joining AXIS Capital 8 years ago as Head of Rewards.

Now Chief People Officer, Lisa highlights the changes in the business over the past year.

“We're excited about where AXIS is headed. We're certainly transforming as a company. We've got a new CEO in the past year. He's brought in some new leaders and we're really trying to refocus what HR is focused on to drive business results.”

Lisa discusses the type of talent AXIS is looking to attract.

“We want to attract people that are excited to help shift the company's evolution. People who bring their expertise and skills, new insights and ways of working.

Our world is changing every minute. Things are evolving and changing. AI is on the horizon; digital focus is on the horizon.

We certainly still need specialty insurance expertise. That never really goes away. But how we work and the systems that we have access to, that's all shifting. You need people that can see a future vision.”

Lisa emphasizes some of the initiatives at AXIS to support the growth of high-performance culture.

“Clarity around goals and what's expected. Our goal setting process for 2024, we spent a lot of time really reinforcing what ‘good’ looks like, the role managers play in setting clear goals with their employees so that we're all marching towards the same outcome.

And we’re going to do a body of work around culture and renovating our culture.

We’ve got new leaders around the table. Bringing that group together to redefine what AXIS wants to be known for. What are our values as we move forward? What do those leadership behaviors look like?

What do we want to reinforce within our organization, model for the rest of the organization and hold people accountable for.

There’s an energy around the organization, you can just feel it. People are excited about what we can deliver on.

We've got great talent here. It's unlocking the best in what people can do and bringing that to life.”

Lisa clarifies what she looks for in insurance leaders coming for interview at AXIS.

“Be your authentic self. Ask a lot of questions. Be curious, be open minded. Don't make assumptions. Understand the organization and what got us to where we are.”

Looking to her insurance industry peers, Lisa believes the best way to hire top insurance talent is to look at skills sets and experiences, mindset and the ability to learn.

“Things are always changing. If you're too fixed on what's gotten you to be successful, it may prevent you from thinking about what it looks like as you move forward.

Skills are really critical. When you are looking for skills, you do tap into broader talent markets.

When working with an external insurance executive search partner, Lisa highlights the importance of how they represent AXIS and the level of diversity in their candidate slates.

“I also want to look at the percentage of searches they’ve filled for areas of where we're trying to build expertise. What's their experience like in those areas?”

Lisa discusses some of the tech tools AXIS are using to support insurance talent attraction.

Revealing the one lesson her career has taught her she wants everyone to know, Lisa encourages us to listen more and talk less.

She concludes by encouraging us to stay curious.

“Raise your hand to take on a project or get involved. Just get in the game. Make that personal contact, have a conversation over coffee, just get to know people. We're in a relationship business. We're humans, we need that interaction.

Connect with Lisa Pariot on LinkedIn or find out more about AXIS Capital

The Insurance Coffee House Podcast is hosted by Nick Hoadley, CEO of Insurance Search.

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