Attracting Talent In Tough Times

To address the dearth of qualified insurance professionals, the industry has to take steps beyond traditional recruitment, training and retention strategies, said Andy Liakopoulos, a senior manager of human capital at Deloitte Consulting. While, for example, computer-based and instructor-led training are useful in rapidly imparting skills to new recruits, they contribute less to producers' long-term success.

Among the recommended measures: identifying "critical workforce segments," (i.e., individuals who contribute disproportionately to an organization's value). Companies then can "create a pipeline of critical talent," in part by using "human capital programs" that connect producers to more experienced colleagues.

"Learning is social in nature," says Liakopoulos. "[Producers] learn more when they're collaborating with their peers and, in particular, more senior people. They're also more committed to the learning when they're tested in ways that matter."

One avenue for life insurers to explore, he added, is to reintegrate semi-retired insurance professionals into their workforces, linking them with younger colleagues to provide on-the-job training and mentoring. To attract these semi-retirees, Liakopoulos suggested companies offer flexible work hours and, depending on the job requirements, the option of working from home, equipping them with remote office IT solutions, performance measures and an organizational structure that will permit them to work productively.

By collaborating on client cases with semi-retirees and other colleagues well positioned to mentor, producers gain valuable lessons that can't be had through conventional training. They also, said Liakopoulos, come to "feel like they're part of the fabric of the organization" and participating in a supportive "social network."

Insurers, he added, also should develop an online knowledge base (data archive) for storing insights that successful producers have acquired on the job, thus rendering this information easily accessible to less experienced colleagues.

He noted also that insurers can enlarge their pool of applicants by more aggressively advertising to ethnic groups that are underrepresented within their field forces and to talented college graduates who, in recent years, have been drawn to fields perceived as more sexy and lucrative, such as high tech.

"Insurance is a well established, very conservative industry," said Evangelides. "To the extent that insurers are competing against high-tech firms for talent, they need to think about how they can differentiate themselves to become more attractive to graduates."

'Learning is social in nature. Producers learn more when they're collaborating with their peers. They're also more committed to the learning when they're tested in ways that matter.'