What will it take to keep young construction professionals in the industry? In this issue, Construction Claims interviews CLM members and fellows to find out. This article is a continuation of our previous issue’s cover feature, “Recruiting the Next Generation,” which focused on recruitment. Here, we examine retention by interviewing the very professionals the industry strives to keep.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working in construction claims? What has kept you working in the industry?
Brittney Aquino: I enjoy that the practice is rooted in solving complex puzzles. We are piecing together the factual background of the claim and investigating the impact of defects to quantify the value of the case and work toward resolution. I also appreciate the candor and collaboration among counsel to resolve cases, which is not always a luxury afforded in other areas of the legal field. There is also a good deal of collaboration among multiple fields.
Marshall Henson: I love the puzzle. Each case has its own truth that we have to find. The name of the game is understanding how damages occurred and why, and leveraging that information to work toward a resolution. At the start of my career, I found myself having preconceived notions of what most likely transpired. In time, I learned to be cognizant of my own bias and get rid of it—and even then, there are often other difficulties that arise. Perhaps the most culpable defendant in a construction-defect (CD) case has no insurance. This forces us to be creative, find a solution, and get others to buy in to our idea. This job requires skill, self-reflection, and resilience. What keeps me in the industry is the challenge, and the character [required] that continues to grow in me.
Q: What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered as a young professional working in the construction claims industry?
Brian Wilsher: I found the biggest challenge to be not having experience with the types of claims I was seeing. There is no easy way to gain knowledge and experience other than to do the work. I recall spending significant time researching construction methods, working with consultants and attorneys to understand liability issues, and digging into contracts to find the crucial pieces that allowed us to analyze risk transfer. I was extremely fortunate to work for leaders that placed enough trust in me to challenge me with work beyond my skillset and connect me with resources.
Aquino: Being a female in a primarily male-dominated industry can be an isolating experience. There are fewer female mentors. Women in particular are subject to biases, stereotypes, and microaggressions. Although the field has improved, there are still gender biases that significantly hinder project progress and professional development. I’ve also encountered more limited advancement opportunities, despite displaying consistent results, dedicated work ethic, competence, and the drive to advance my career, which disproportionately impacts young female professionals.
Q: What role has mentorship played in your professional development?
Henson: I started in personal lines bodily injury, and it was an internship program at that carrier which led me to the CD space. It was that program that sparked my interest in construction claims. Throughout my career, I had help from highly skilled adjusters, managers, and directors. Finally, when I took the leap into management, my former manager was there to guide me through it. I continue to learn from my peers who have been in this role for a longer period. This process takes two participants: someone willing to mentor, and a mentee committed to remaining teachable. Be a sponge.
Wilsher: Mentorship has been critical. I was extremely fortunate to begin my career with two great leaders who were also exceptional technical resources. Very early on, I also had the benefit of a formal training program that was designed for young professionals with limited insurance experience. When I moved into my first role handling CD claims, the team I joined was full of experienced adjusters who were happy to share their knowledge. I would not be where I am today without the people who shared their knowledge and shaped my approach to analyzing complex claims.
Q: What types of workplace cultures make young professionals feel most supported, engaged, and valued?
Henson: My personal view is that young professionals feel most valued when we place trust in them. Once they have their own sense of confidence, the next step is that leadership begins to have confidence in their skills and decision-making capabilities. It is at this point that young professionals feel most valued: when they are recognized for their skills and hard work by being trusted to handle matters of increasing complexity. I also encourage my people to trust their instincts and to challenge me.
Aquino: Workplaces that offer formal and informal education opportunities. Investing in useful tools and valuing employee input can make a huge difference in workplace satisfaction. Listening to feedback and addressing concerns is critical. When workplaces allow cliquish behavior, like gossiping, exclusion, or protection of people who perpetuate a toxic environment, it is impossible to have a healthy culture. Without trust and inclusivity, the possibility of building a solid culture is remote. Solid structural support, mentorship by people invested in career growth, clear metrics for growth, and equal application of those metrics are pillars of a healthy environment.
Q: What factors do you feel may drive a young professional to leave the construction claims industry?
Aquino: There is usually a mix of industry issues and personal career expectations that do not align. Work-life balance is an important consideration. Construction claims often mean long hours, tight deadlines, and reactive work when disputes escalate. Travel to job sites, last-minute expert reports, and inflexible litigation timelines can lead to burnout. Others struggle with the high-stress, adversarial landscape of construction claims. Coupled with delays, high costs, and complex liability disputes, this can discourage young professionals. Constantly operating in a defensive or combative manner can wear people down, particularly if they feel more comfortable with collaborative or creative work. Furthermore, there could be a perception that focusing on construction claims could limit their career path because they are not building the same skill sets required in project management, finance, or tech. Once professionals gain more experience, they may choose to pivot to another role within the construction field or leave the industry for something more in line with their needs and expectations.
Wilsher: Throughout my career, I’ve heard discussions about workload, flexible workplace arrangements, feeling valued, and professional advancement. All these things play a role, but these are likely not unique to construction claims. Ultimately, most young professionals are looking to grow in a place that values them and prepares them for their next step. This includes valuing their growing expertise with fair compensation, an approachable workload, and a tangible path to their desired professional outcome.
Q: How can industry leadership best support and retain young professionals in their organizations?
Wilsher: Leaders need to commit resources to developing the next generation of professionals. There are few organizations that are willing to invest in developing young professionals in a way that truly prepares them for a career. There are plenty of resources to train someone to do a specific task or to perform in a specific job role. The level of investment to grow and retain talent requires creating both the training resources for specific roles as well as the larger cultural framework to allow young professionals to grow and achieve their goals. This includes encouraging mentorship, being open to new ways of doing things, and allowing young professionals to try things outside of their current skillset or comfort level.
Henson: I would encourage leaders to lean into their role as a support for their construction claims folks. When we have difficult cases, my associates and I always work the problem together. The claims belong to the associates, and they are responsible for that work, but we are responsible for them and their development. It’s important to lean into your strengths as a leader. My style as a leader is supportive. My job is to teach them how to succeed, and I have done that by being present and engaged with the case at hand and knowing how to support each employee. They all require something different depending on where they are in their careers.
Q: How can organizations best support work-life balance and flexibility to retain young professionals?
Aquino: Employers must move beyond surface-level perks and redesign how work happens. Young professionals want genuine flexibility, meaning support of hybrid/remote options without penalties, flexible start and end times based on personal needs, and encouragement of output-based performance versus “face time” culture. Importantly, leadership should model this so that employees feel safe to mirror the behavior. This includes creating predictable “protected time,” including protected evenings and weekends except for true emergencies. Work-life balance is not about working less, but about working in a way that feels sustainable, assured, and predictable.
Henson: Companies that continue to offer flexible working arrangements are a great way to go in supporting worklife balance. However, another part of this is looking at workload. When young professionals are overloaded, the first sacrifice is always quality. But when you have an unmanageable caseload, quality is not the only casualty. Many people will work later into the night or sacrifice personal time and do what they can to try to catch up. Workload management is one of the most impactful tools for supporting quality work as well as a happier, less stressed, and more balanced associate.
Wilsher: Organizations must be open to new ways of working. This might take the form of using new technology or modernizing workflows, but it should also include flexible work arrangements. The last five to 10 years have brought several changes to the way we work, but we continue to see organizations push back toward the “traditional” models of work. We hear a lot of this discussion about working from an office versus working at home. Every organization needs to find a balance that works for them and the way their employees work. There are tangible benefits to working in a physical office alongside your colleagues, and at the same time, there are many examples of fully remote teams that have found new ways to communicate and thrive. Organizations need to keep an open mind and be willing to embrace flexibility that allows young professionals to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Angela Sabarese is associate editor of CLM. angela.sabarese@theclm.org.