Insurance firms can win the talent war by boosting retention, capturing tribal knowledge, and using automation to support staff and improve workflows.
The insurance industry is facing a talent shortage. Many of the sector’s stalwarts are nearing the end of their careers, and it appears unlikely that the incoming generation of insurance professionals is large enough to fill the gap.
According to research, almost two-thirds of brokers (64%) say recruiting young talent is a strategic challenge for their business. At the other end of the spectrum, it’s estimated that 25% of the sector’s workers are due to retire within the next decade.
To avoid becoming victims of a talent shortfall, insurance firms must begin the succession planning process with haste, ensuring they appeal to the incoming wave of employees while considering how technology can support incumbent staff.
Focus on employee experience
A progressive, positive company culture is integral to securing insurance firms’ long-term futures. Creating an environment where brokers or underwriters are given access to the right training, feel they are being invested in, and have a clear progression roadmap will support retention.
Additionally, if a company can streamline its internal processes, employee experience will improve, which leads to staff staying longer. Connecting disparate systems and providing access to a centralised store of information is one way of achieving this, helping brokers, underwriters, and claim managers avoid low value repetitive work so they can focus on more satisfying high value tasks.
Ultimately, if employees feel they are valued and their employer genuinely considers their individual needs when making decisions, they are more likely to express loyalty to their firm.
Adapting to an ageing workforce
Firms can do everything right to try and build a culture of retention, but there’s little they can do to halt retirements. The statistics paint an alarming picture and it’s highly likely that retirements within the insurance space will spike within the next ten years.
Nevertheless, devoting equal attention to outgoing employees is essential. This will encourage staff to commit fully to the company until their last day, training and nurturing the development of junior staff until their exit. If they continue to feel valued, staff will also leave positive reviews of their time at the firm on online forums, enhancing its reputation for prospective staff researching the company.
Additionally, it’s important that insurers appeal to the younger generation to fill vacancies. However, organisations will face significant competition to attract top talent as rivals implement strategies to rejuvenate their respective workforces.
Typically, these workers want an employer that will match their ambition and give them access to the cutting-edge tools that enable their continued growth. Embedding AI across processes will create an innovative, dynamic environment that is more likely to secure the interest of young insurance professionals.
It’s important to note that technological exploration should be highly targeted, as the novelty of AI tools will quickly wear off if new staff cannot effectively use them in their everyday roles. It is effective integration, backed by clear use cases, that will create a tech-centric environment staff will remain committed to in the long run.
Unlocking the value of tribal knowledge
Firms must ensure they take action to minimise the loss of skills that occurs when insurance professionals retire or leave the workforce without disseminating their knowledge. This concept is known as tribal knowledge, and refers to undocumented, unwritten, and informal expertise within an organisation that is not widely shared across the company.
The challenge for firms is identifying ways to ensure employees’ skillsets and experience are accessible to all staff to learn from. The simplest way to achieve this is to create a knowledge-sharing culture where open communication is encouraged, which could take the form of mentorship programmes, workshops, and training sessions led by experts.
Establishing a policy of continuous learning and development starts with a firm’s senior leaders, with both their knowledge and behaviour filtering through the organisation and changing habits at all levels.
Technology can also play a vital role here, with knowledge management systems and AI-powered search tools useful for organising tribal knowledge and making certain it is easily accessible.
Once this industry understanding has been passed down, junior staff will have a broader recognition of the skills and expertise required to be successful in the insurance space, equipping them to work on higher value tasks and activities. Attracting young talent is just the first stage: recognising how circulating tribal knowledge can aid their development is a foundational pillar of a successful organisation.
Automate to ensure continuity
A level of acceptance that there’s an employment shortfall is the pragmatic approach firms must take, but what’s crucial is that they then adapt to the new normal. To streamline this transition, insurers need to show agility by considering how technology can support incumbent staff and help them do their jobs more efficiently.
Businesses must automate wherever possible to reduce the administrative burden on employees. AI systems that automate processes such as assigning access permissions to confidential files or categorising inbound documents can save significant amounts of time insurers can then dedicate to work that adds value.
Contrary to the beliefs of many, the bulk of AI use cases will not replace workers but instead relieve the administrative burdens that they face in their day-to-day roles. This will prevent insurance professionals from facing escalating workloads if firms see their workforces shrink, as automation can relieve some of the pressure.
Instead, it is the firms that neglect AI who will be replaced by those that achieve successful integration. Insurers that balance the human touch of an experienced workforce with the benefits that accompany effective automation will better adapt to the demands of the current business landscape, building competitive advantage over rivals.
Cover all the bases
Building a future-proof firm that attracts, and crucially keeps hold of, the best talent in insurance is contingent on two factors: technological advocacy and an inclusive culture. Delivering on both these fronts will set firms apart from competitors, while driving improvements in business-wide efficiency.
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