This trend reflects that people with a background in customer care and consulting experience are looking for ways to increase service value in the long term, while diversifying income sources in the context of a volatile economy.
As customer interest expands
Nearly 10 years working as a consultant in the high-end real estate sector in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Pham Thanh Tung (42 years old, Co Giang ward) said that he has begun to look for new directions to expand his career.
According to him, when a consultant is "mature in profession", accumulates enough experience and has a stable customer base, if only consulting in one field, it will not be able to meet the increasingly diverse needs of customers, and may even limit the value of consulting.
Having been attached to the high-end segment for many years, especially during the market stagnation period, I realized that customers' cash flow is shifting in a more cautious direction. They prioritize keeping cash and are particularly concerned about risks. In the past two years, I have learned more about insurance to be able to advise on more asset protection solutions, instead of just closing a project sale and then leaving," Mr. Tung said.
Similarly, Ms. Thanh Van (34 years old), a priority customer specialist at a commercial bank in Hanoi, said that after a long time working with a group of mid- and high-end customers, she also realized that their needs are no longer limited to traditional banking products.
According to her, about 7 out of 10 customers actively ask about issues related to protection and investment, of which insurance is one of the frequently mentioned topics.
Customers are increasingly interested in safety and stability. They focus on big and long-term plans for the family. That makes me see insurance as a necessary part of the consulting process," Ms. Van shared.
In a broader picture, this also makes consultants in fields such as real estate, banking, or high-end services... see career development in the insurance industry as a direction to expand value to serve customers, instead of just a separate career choice.
The potential of the profession from long-term security and financial planning needs
Explaining the trend of human resources in the real estate and long-term banking industries... shifting to insurance consulting, Mr. Ngo Trung Dung, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Insurance Association, said that this is not simply a career "turn", but a natural expansion of the consulting role based on experience and existing customer networks.
This team of personnel has an advantage in consulting experience and building customer relationships. As the consulting role gradually expands according to the needs shifting to the long-term goals of customers, insurance also becomes a natural part of the consulting scope, helping consultants accompany customers more deeply," Mr. Dung said.
According to Mr. Dung, the reason why long-time consultants choose to "encroach" on insurance is because this is one of the solutions that both meets the protection needs and can be integrated into customers' long-term financial plans.
According to statistics, the total size of the insurance market is equivalent to about 3% of GDP, much lower than the global average of 6.7%.
This disparity shows that the career development room is still large for insurance consultants in Vietnam, and also explains why many experts in other fields are starting to see this as a reasonable and long-term career expansion direction.
Having experience but still having formal training
The insurance industry brings many development opportunities, but also sets specific professional requirements for those who want to "turn around". Newcomers need to re-learn basic knowledge about insurance such as products, legal regulations, risk management... In addition, building trust with customers requires perseverance and long-term companionship, not just stopping at product consulting.
Mr. Ngo Trung Dung said that the fact that experienced personnel "outside the industry" become insurance consultants is both a positive resource for the development of the industry, but also sets clearer requirements for professional standards and consulting quality.
Although they have advantages in skills and financial knowledge, when switching to the insurance sector, they still need to be systematically trained to improve the quality of consulting, helping customers understand the true value of insurance and accompany customers for a long time," Mr. Dung emphasized.
In fact, many large insurance companies such as Bao Viet, Manulife... have also been and are implementing in-depth training and development programs for people "outside the industry", to support them to gradually adapt to the requirements of this field and become professional and comprehensive consultants. The trend of attracting experienced personnel from related fields is also being promoted by many businesses, in the context of increasing demand for financial consulting and planning.
