It’s no secret that the pandemic has changed the way we work, both in the insurance industry and the corporate world.
From adapting to remote working, complying with evolving public health mandates, and managing complex mental health issues, we’ve had to redefine what it means to “come to work.”
Despite the challenges that this market poses for carriers, it also presents a tremendous opportunity to modernize the way firms recruit and retain talent.
What are the key factors holding carriers back from recruiting and retaining the right people?
The elusive quest for the work/life balance is a growing driver for many employees, who now seek a workplace that can fit around their life rather than the other way around.
As time passes, many carriers are looking to bring their teams back to the office while the workforce would prefer to keep working remotely. This tension increases the risk of carriers losing good people. Competition is fierce, and sought-after talent will not think twice about jumping ship to join a competitor who is willing to offer flexible working arrangements. In some respects, such as job loyalty, “time” has become more valuable than “money.”
Additionally, our aging population means that carriers are seeing long-term industry experts retire and take their valuable knowledge and skills with them. Finding relevant ways to incentivize our maturing workforce to stay with us and impart their skills to the next generation will help to ensure the sustainability of your business.
While the insurance industry remains one of the most resilient in today’s climate, there is a critical skills gap. From drone technology to chatbots and artificial intelligence, the new risks that come with emerging technologies are also shaping the insurance industry, making it more interesting, and thus more likely for new talent to join our industry while existing talent adapts.
Finally, it remains important to be committed to recognizing employees for a job well done. Extrinsic employee rewards (bonuses, promotions, and benefits) are considered by many businesses an obvious fast-track to securing satisfaction, engagement, and support. However, it is important to ensure your approach is rewarding and encouraging the right behavior, as well as delivering long-term results by offering something truly meaningful to the employee. This ability to recognize and celebrate the varied and meaningful career paths we can offer claims professionals is a critical factor in our ongoing commitment to the war for talent.
When it comes to managing these innovations, staying ahead of the curve is crucial to carriers’ survival, and retaining and upskilling the team to keep pace remains a challenge. Insurance teams, especially in the sales field, may also need to rely less on their interpersonal abilities and be skilled at using management tools such as CRM programs and interacting with claimants in a digital manner that removes most contextual markers.
How can our industry overcome these factors and build stronger talent retention processes?
The good news is that our industry can employ several strategies to ensure that they are attracting, motivating, and retaining the right people for the job.
Flexible working arrangements and processes that set people up for remote success are critical factors in becoming an employer of choice. Investing in the right cultural and administrative systems to enable convenient working from any location, along with online training, accessible support resources, and virtual collaboration will go a long way toward improving your business’s reputation.
In line with current and changing attitudes toward work, the more progressive firms are already doing this and proving they’re in touch with their employees. This includes flexible hours, contract, freelance, or remote work options, and job sharing to accommodate the changing lifestyle needs of employees who are parents with young children, caregivers, or maturing and transitioning to retirement.
To address the digital skills disparity in the insurance industry, investing in automation and associated training will help your business to deliver faster service to claimants while putting less pressure on your team. Developing talent, establishing systems to support emerging technologies, and creating an innovative culture within the team will ensure that your workplace is one where people want to be.
So, how can GB facilitate and support greater talent retention among its carrier partners?
We see these talent issues as a great opportunity to help our partners to expand their resources and transform the way they recruit and retain the talent they need in order to grow and prosper. Outsourcing these complex talent management tasks not only provides new opportunities for claims professionals to advance their careers or explore new paths within GB, but it also allows carriers to focus on profitably growing their core business.
We partner with insurers worldwide to deliver best-practice solutions for all lines of insurance. From directing new projects to supporting or managing portfolios weighed down by complex events, providing the right local team who understands your clients, your values, and your products is at the core of what we do.
Want to know more?
As a first step, you can connect with our team for a confidential discussion about your business objectives and discover how we can help you.
