The Insurance Industry is going through an innovation and transformation process that has a lot of impact on the workforce. Focusing on client centricity, continuous improvements, using new technologies to increase employee productivity, all influence the way of working and the required skills that are needed to build and maintain a high-performance insurance organization. In the light of this transformation, the talent shortage in the insurance industry is a big concern.

According to The Wall Street Journal, insurance ranks 97th out of the 100 least-attractive industries for college graduates to enter. In addition, 50 percent of the current workforce will retire in the next ten years and retention rates are about 15 percent after four years. This implies that the pool of current college graduates can only replace half of the workforce set to retire. Therefore, insurers must transform their human capital strategy  to be able to achieve high performance in this challenging environment. Three aspects of the human capital strategy are critical in facing this challenge: retaining top performers, recruiting top talent, and providing an operating model in which talent can thrive.

Retaining the best
Keeping the best members of the workforce requires a transformation in how insurers manage ability, motivation, processes and tools. Insurers must ensure that employees have the right skills and knowledge to be effective, and are rewarded for their high performance.  They must develop talent and learning programs that are targeted to individual needs. One size fits all is no longer effective to retain the best performers.  Simply stated, educating, motivating and supporting the workforce can help insurers retain the competencies that drive business results.

Recruiting the most promising
Insurers need to attract talent that can build relationships, solve problems, cooperate with others, and deliver differentiated services. This requires clear, consistent communication about the employment opportunities that resonate with their potential pool of recruits. For instance, to recruit Millennials communication should include information related to their preferences for the use of cutting-edge technologies and flexible work schedules. And insurers need to tailor these messages for each recruiting channel they utilize, whether it is professional recruiters or campus recruiting.

Creating structures where talent can thrive
Leading insurance companies increasingly realize that they must integrate their people, processes, information and technology to create more effective operating models. To unlock human value in today’s insurance industry they must provide hard-won employees with an environment in which they can thrive. Unfortunately, insurers’ predominant organizational structures often are insufficient to achieve this goal.

New technologies are making it possible for insurers to truly transform sales, and many are making technology investments in their distribution models. Insurers also can, for instance, benefit from consolidating and facilitating easier access to enterprise data, and using analytics to manage their business more effectively.  New workload balance models and operations management can support an excellent execution. The ultimate goal is to enable the workforce to deliver optimal business value.

By developing a human capital strategy that is firing on all cylinders through viable retention tactics, enhancing recruiting practices and creating efficient operating models, insurers can position their organization for success and for gains in market share when the economy improves. By investing in these three critical aspects around their workforces, today’s insurers can power through the gathering talent storm and make solid headway toward high performance.