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Latest Insurance Talent Perspectives

Building and Maintaining a Strong Employer Brand

In today’s competitive labor market, a strong employer brand is a key differentiator in recruiting top talent, reducing costs, enhancing the candidate pool, and retaining high performers by instilling pride in their roles and company. 

View our latest white paper for tips to ensure your company represents itself as an employer of choice.

Q3 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study Results

The Jacobson Group and Aon conduct a Semi-Annual Insurance Labor Market Study to examine industry hiring and revenue trends and projections. The findings of our Q3 2024 iteration reflect a relatively stable labor market, with modest job growth.

Download the results to explore 2024’s staffing forecasts and hiring plans for the insurance industry.

Combatting the Finance and Accounting Talent Shortage

Faced with a shallowing pool of emerging talent and a workforce nearing retirement, finding qualified accounting and finance professionals has been an intensifying challenge for the industry. A comprehensive multi-prong approach is necessary to cultivate a workforce that can meet evolving demands and ensure operational continuity.

Read our blog post for insights on staying ahead of the growing finance and accounting talent crisis.

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Reinsurance Adjusting Program Gives Mutuals a Leg Up

Published in Grinnell Mutual Even after a year of record unemployment, the supply of professional claims adjusters cannot meet the needs of the industry, and claims talent remains difficult to recruit. Grinnell Mutual examines claims trends from The Jacobson Group and Aon plc's Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Study.

Recruiter Report: Candidate Expectations and COVID-19

Our professional recruiting team speaks with clients and candidates every day, uncovering insights and themes around hiring trends, recruiting challenges and best practices. In this new quarterly blog series, Recruiter Report, we aim to provide a pulse on the issues and questions hiring managers are exploring and share our perspective and insight. For the first article of this series, we’re highlighting a question that has become even more common in the past few months: What are candidates currently looking for in a new role? In light of COVID-19, many professionals are reevaluating their priorities. Offices are remote; relocation has become less common; and school, work and home life all take place under the same roof. In our conversations with candidates, we’ve noticed a few key themes insurers should consider when putting together their recruiting strategies. Competitive Salary and BenefitsThe insurance industry currently has a 2.2% unemployment rate and has added more than 47,000 jobs since February 2020. While it may seem like individuals would be willing to take less pay given the state of the economy, that is not the case within insurance. The BLS reports overall industry wages have risen by more than 5% in the past year. Make sure you’re offering a competitive base salary and bonus structure. It’s not likely candidates will accept a salary that doesn’t reflect their worth, especially if it’s a lateral move. FlexibilityWhile monetary compensation will always be a foundational element for attracting top candidates, flexibility has become increasingly important. Professionals have been working from home for more than a year. Many of these individuals prefer to use the time they once spent commuting to the office to be with family or continue working. Additionally, many candidates are acting as primary caregivers, facilitating virtual school and caring for parents or other family members. In our recent Q1 2021 Insurance Labor Outlook Study, we found 95% of insurers plan to adjust their expectations around employee schedules when they return to the office. Seventy-seven percent plan to offer occasional remote work, while more than half plan to provide full-time remote work options. Flexibility has become more of a non-negotiable with candidates of all levels, but especially those in mid- to management-level roles. Be upfront with candidates about where your organization and team stand as far as flexibility in hours and location. Would they be able to work from home full-time on a long-term basis or will they eventually be expected to return to the office? Are they able to do a hybrid model? How rigid are your office hours? Transparent conversations around flexibility are crucial for ensuring a long-term fit. Career Development OpportunitiesFor many organizations, career development was put on the back burner in 2020, as insurers focused on immediate business priorities and effectively operating in the remote environment. Many professionals also pivoted, focusing on how to be productive and build relationships remotely, while balancing personal responsibilities with work projects and deadlines. In an environment plagued with uncertainty, candidates were opting to stay put rather than make a move. Now, individuals are ready to take risks and move forward in their careers, more so than they were even six months ago. Professional development and advancement opportunities are high on many candidates’ must-have lists. Motivation to Leave Their Current RoleIf you’re recruiting a passive candidate, it’s vital to uncover their motivators and provide a lucrative reason for leaving their current position. While individuals actively seeking new roles typically know what is driving them, you may have to work with passive candidates to uncover what will inspire them to make a move. This could be a title change, increased responsibilities, enhanced advancement opportunities, more money or an array of other factors. Once you’ve uncovered their unique motivators, focus on how you might be able to best meet those needs. It’s still a candidate-driven market in the insurance industry. The pandemic has shifted how many individuals approach work-life balance and influenced what is most important to them in a role. By offering competitive compensation, uncovering individual needs around hours and location, and emphasizing professional development, your team will be primed to attract top industry talent.

5 Questions to Ask When Crafting Your CAT Season Talent Plan

With catastrophe season looming, it’s time to start strategizing your talent plan for both the expected and unexpected events this year will bring. Last year saw record-setting tropical storms and wildfires. While tornado activity was below average in 2020, 2021 is predicted to have above average activity, due to La Niña. No matter what this year’s CAT season has in store, having a strategic talent plan in place is undoubtedly key to ensuring your policyholders are best taken care of in their times of need. How has your approach to customer experience changed? The pandemic has shifted customer expectations in all areas of business. Has your claims process evolved along with these changing needs? Today’s consumers expect immediate responses, frequent and clear communication, and high-quality interactions. Human skills such as emotional intelligence, empathy and problem-solving are all vital in creating positive connections with policyholders. If your claims adjusters are primarily relying on digital and online platforms, how is a sense of affinity and understanding being conveyed? Face-to-face interactions are less frequent; however, the need for a human touch remains. What will you do if there’s an influx of work?As evidenced in 2020, multiple disasters may occur around the same time. Is your core team prepared to tackle an increased workload smoothly and accurately? By partnering with a staffing firm early on, you can increase your flexibility, ensuring you’re able to bring in additional trained claims adjusters and customer service representatives almost immediately. You may also consider cross-training teams, so individuals can step in and shift priorities when needed. Is your team trained on new technologies and processes?If your company is going through IT migrations or technological transformations, make sure these projects are not inhibiting a seamless claims process. Consider bringing in trained professionals on a project basis to maintain productivity while your core staff ramps up on new systems. Additionally, contracted experts can assist with implementation and training, ensuring your core team is able to efficiently leverage new technology. Does your team have autonomy to make decisions?As you focus on the customer experience, remove layers and barriers to streamline your claims process. Are your agents able to handle inquiries and issues on their own? Do they have a clear understanding of when an issue may need to be escalated? Provide parameters that enable individuals to make decisions, granting them a sense of autonomy and empowerment while better serving your customers. Are there any potential scenarios you have not planned for?By its nature, CAT season is unpredictable. However, thinking through various scenarios ahead of time can keep your claims department functioning smoothly. Develop contingency plans if remote employees lose their internet connections or power. You may also want to consider what will happen if key team members or their family members become ill or have to quarantine. Along with preparing for an influx of work, uncover other factors that might influence your talent strategy and ways to mitigate their potential for disruption. By thinking through your talent plan early on, your team will be well-prepared for the unexpected. For more insight on ensuring a smooth CAT season, view our recent article on managing hybrid teams.

Boardroom View 3.1: Managing High Stake Discussions in the Boardroom

As you work to resolve difficult issues, focusing on commonalities and approaching topics through a new lens can have a great impact. Explore important considerations for effectively addressing and resolving issues in the boardroom.

Insurance Pay Bumps Expected “Far in Excess of CPI”

Published in Business America Insurance: Business America examines compensation trends from The Jacobson Group and Aon plc's Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Study and webinar.

Remote Onboarding: A Checklist

As we hit the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s likely your employees are accustomed to working remotely. While video calls and group chats have become the norm for communication, the remote environment can present challenges for effective onboarding. As new employees join your team, it’s important to make them feel welcome from day one, while providing the tools and resources to do their jobs well. Whether you are onboarding a new team member remotely for the first time, leveraging contract workers, or looking to strengthen your existing remote onboarding strategy, here is a checklist to help ensure success: Meet their technology needs. Connect new employees with your IT team early on, and ensure they receive any necessary equipment prior to their first day. This will help them hit the ground running and avoid stressful delays. Provide a direct line to your IT team in case individuals run into any technology issues as they set up and log on to their computer and company systems for the first time. Provide a comprehensive onboarding schedule. Starting a new job or project in the virtual environment can feel daunting. Provide a detailed schedule outlining what individuals can expect throughout their first several days or weeks, as well as your expectations for them. Creating this alignment up front can help alleviate any uncertainties and help individuals feel confident about their purpose and progress. Introduce them to members of the team. Especially in the remote environment, it’s necessary to proactively facilitate connections and start introducing new employees to their teammates on their first day. Depending on your team size and dynamics, this could mean taking a shared lunch break over a video call, or asking team members to reach out directly throughout the day. These initial meetings can help build the foundation for strong working relationships and help new employees begin to feel like a part of the organization right away. Facilitate introductions to others within the company. Whether an individual has been hired full-time or on a project basis, help them feel like a valued member of your company. Connect them with colleagues from around the organization who they will be working with closely or who can provide relevant insights. Depending on your organization’s size and culture, you may even consider sending out an introduction via a company-wide email or instant message, or posting a welcome message on your intranet. Train them on team tools and processes. Remember that although you may know your department processes well, it’s possible your new employee has used different platforms for project management, time tracking, video conferencing and more in their past roles. Schedule time for them to be trained on these tools and company-specific processes to avoid unnecessary confusion and missteps. Check in frequently. During an individual’s first week, check in at least daily to see how they’re doing. Are there any questions they have about their work? What barriers can you help remove? Do they need additional training or information on any areas? Ask for their feedback to get a general idea of how they’re feeling and to influence your approach to communication and management moving forward. Ensure they know where to go with questions. Provide contact information for the individuals they may need to connect with outside your department. This could be individuals from employee services, finance, operations or other relevant areas. You may also consider assigning a peer within their own department to help with day-to-day questions as they ramp up in their new position. A strategic and intentional onboarding process can set the tone for an individual’s entire tenure with your company. Remember they may have never entered your physical office building, will not run into individuals in the hallway and are reliant on technology to help prove themselves. By creating a thorough training schedule, welcoming questions and proactively making introductions, you can help new employees feel like a part of the team from day one.  

A Renewed Focus on Personal Leadership Development

The remote environment has brought on many unique challenges for leaders. Guiding teams, leaning into professional development and actively growing in your career all require a renewed focus and intentional approach to be effective. The Jacobson Group was proud to recently partner with Insurance Careers Month (ICM) to share how leaders can continue to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Judy Busby, senior vice president of executive search and corporate strategy at Jacobson, joined Marguerite Tortorello, managing director of ICM, on LinkedIn Live to discuss how leaders of all experience levels can develop their skills and rise to the challenges of today’s evolving work environment. The session provided a number of actionable takeaways and best practices for ongoing growth. Here are a few highlights: Maintain a growth mindset. Focus on how to continually grow yourself in a way that differentiates your personal brand. Determine the capabilities and skills you need to develop to effectively move forward in your career, pinpoint areas for growth, and strategically define your next steps. This could be as simple as reading a new business book, listening to a relevant podcast or taking online assessments. It could also mean enrolling in classes or seeking new certifications. Invest in your long-term success. Most workdays are filled with an abundance of meetings, project deadlines and new requests. However, by setting aside 30 minutes a day for yourself, you’ll create the time to ensure your larger professional goals remain a priority. Use this uninterrupted time to think, take a walk or meditate. Emerge refreshed, focused and with a clear mind ready to tackle your daily and long-term projects more effectively. “Investing in yourself is one of the most important things I’ve learned in my career,” said Judy. “Whatever it is that feeds you, find it and do it in that 30 minutes.” Be proactive. Actively create opportunities and facilitate conversations that will help you grow as a leader. What information would help you do your job better? Who can answer those questions and provide the insight necessary to help you advance? Especially if you’re in middle management, initiate conversations that can help broaden your perspective and develop your network. Invite leaders to share insight with you and your team on different areas of the business, the general marketplace and your customers. Most professionals are more than willing to spend 15 minutes sharing their expertise and perspective. These brief conversations can make an impact on future success, while also sparking professional relationships. Focus on three to five things you want to accomplish. Determine the three to five things you want to accomplish each quarter and build a strategy for reaching those goals. A clear roadmap will keep you focused and help eliminate distractions. Revisit these goals frequently to monitor your progress and adjust your plan as needed. Be mindful of others. While you’re likely having work-related discussions with your employees on a regular basis, also make time for more personal conversations that don’t happen as naturally in a remote setting. Prioritize time to see how your employees are doing on a personal and emotional level. How can you best support them as they juggle new challenges at home and work? “As managers, we have to be more intentional than we’ve ever been,” Judy advised. While everyone is navigating the remote environment differently, there’s still vast opportunity for growth. Be intentional and mindful with your actions, block 30 minutes a day to focus on yourself, and be strategic with your time and energy. For more insight on how leaders can focus on growth and development, view the full livestream here. You may also be interested in our recent posts on creating an effective personal brand and building relationships in the virtual world.

Staffing Considerations for Your Risk Adjustment Strategy

The health insurance landscape continues to rapidly evolve, presenting new regulations, challenges and opportunities. One of the areas many health plans are continuing to refine is their approach to risk adjustment. While risk adjustment is commonly viewed from the perspective of compliance and cost savings, a well-defined strategy, fine-tuned structure and function-specific expertise can evolve it into a revenue generating area within your organization. As you work to most effectively meet the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements and optimize your models, there are several staffing considerations to take into account. Here are a few key areas to explore and questions to ask as part of a comprehensive risk adjustment strategy. Have you made risk adjustment a priority?No matter where risk adjustment sits within your organizational structure, recognizing and leveraging its potential impact on numerous functional areas can help guide your decisions and better define your staffing needs. A comprehensive risk adjustment program helps ensure more accurate reimbursements and forecasting, while also impacting revenue cycle management, quality assurance, care management and more. The information derived from risk adjustment may also influence member program development and community partnerships, as well as contribute to a high Medicare Star Rating. Strategically investing in risk adjustment positively affects many departments, while maximizing revenue and leading to improved outcomes for members. Are you able to collaborate effectively across your health system?Alignment across your health system is key for ensuring consistent and accurate information. Make sure everyone understands your organization’s goals and standards for data collection and interpretation. Especially with the transition to value-based care, hierarchical condition category coding awareness and compliance can have a notable impact on the accuracy of your submissions. Consider employing coding experts who can train your HCC coding teams and educate partner clinicians and physicians. It may also be necessary to reevaluate or consolidate your core claims systems and data processing tools to ensure information can be entered and extracted in an accurate and efficient way. Experienced consultants can help guide these decisions and implementations, while skilled temporary employees are available to maintain your team’s day-to-day workloads during times of transition. How are you balancing time, accuracy and cost?There’s a fine balance involved with using readily available data and maximizing a model’s predictive accuracy, while also ensuring the method can be implemented at a reasonable cost. How can you best work toward clean and complete data to inform your models? How can you close any gaps in processes or communication to work most efficiently? Think long term by bringing in risk adjustment actuaries who can create flexible models to forecast payments for future risk adjustment, while providing details on how a model works, its process flow and how it can be updated moving forward. Do you have a scalable audit process?Most payers use a variety of third-party solutions. Are you holding these companies accountable and ensuring their work meets your organization’s internal standards? By bringing in knowledgeable professionals to provide audit consultations and insight, you’re able to identify gaps and build an automated and replicable audit process. Periodic audits can ensure claims are being interpreted accurately and maximize your reimbursements. Who is leading the charge?As risk adjustment becomes a more high-profile program across health plans, it may be necessary to enhance your leadership team’s expertise in this area. Many plans are beginning to build out this space by hiring executives who can develop, oversee and evolve long-term risk adjustment strategies and operations. These individuals can also help identify and address vulnerabilities within your program. Along with most accurately meeting CMS requirements, an investment in risk adjustment has the potential to impact a number of areas within your health system. By focusing on your risk adjustment strategy, creating a holistic structure and identifying the individuals who can help achieve your goals, you’ll be prepared to not only meet regulatory requirements and maximize profits, but also provide the best care to those most in need.

March 2021: Labor Market Pulse

The insurance industry saw unemployment hold steady at 2.2% in February. However, the industry also experienced its second consecutive month of job losses since recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic began. The majority of losses appear to be in life/health and claims roles. In our Q1 2021 Insurance Labor Outlook Study, conducted in partnership with Aon plc, 14% of life/health insurers shared they were planning to decrease staff in the next 12 months. However, it’s likely this decline is temporary, as 43% of life/health insurers reported plans to increase staff in the same time period. Claims roles also saw a notable decrease, with a 9.5% decline in employment in January* 2021. As companies enter a steadier state, we’re seeing increased activity and a focus on moving forward. Overall, 56% of insurers plan to increase staff in 2021. The greater U.S. economy is also seeing growth, with an increase of 379,000 positions in February and a slight drop in unemployment. AT-A-GLANCE NUMBERS Unemployment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector remained unchanged at 2.2% in February.  The insurance carriers and related activities sector lost 2,900 jobs in February. The U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 6.2% in February with the addition of 379,000 jobs. At roughly 2.9 million jobs, industry employment increased by approximately 47,200 jobs compared to February 2020.   INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS On a year-to-year basis, January* insurance industry employment saw job increases in title (up 8%), property and casualty (up 2.2%), agents/brokers (up 1.6%) and life/health (up 1.1%). Meanwhile, job decreases were seen for reinsurance (down 4.9%), TPAs (down 3.6%) and claims (down 1.1%). On a year-to-year basis, January* marked the seventh consecutive month of wage increases for reinsurance (up 21.5%), property and casualty (up 7.6%), title (up 4.7%), life/health (up 5.4%), agents/brokers (up 4.1%) and TPAs (up 0.8%). Meanwhile, wage decreases were seen for claims (down 3.4%).      BLS Reported Adjustments: Adjusted employment numbers for January show the industry saw a decrease of 8,900 jobs, compared to the previous reported decrease of 9,300 jobs. *The BLS reports on wages and employment for the industry category are only available for two months prior. The source for the data represented in PULSE is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Insurance data is derived from the insurance carriers and related activities sector.

Jacobson Employee Spotlight – Q1 2021

At Jacobson, we believe every employee’s contributions matter and impact the success of our organization, clients and candidates. In celebration of Employee Appreciation Day, we’re shining the spotlight on three featured employees. To all of our amazing team members, we want to say thank you for your hard work and dedication throughout the year! Learn about more of our Jacobson colleagues by viewing past editions of our Employee Spotlight here. For monthly Employee Spotlights, follow our Facebook page. BRITTNI SMITH P&C Client Advisor, 1 year at Jacobson Hometown: Valparaiso, Indiana Alma Mater: Indiana University Describe Your Role: As a property and casualty client advisor, I build and maintain relationships with clients. I take the time to listen to their needs and provide experienced insurance professionals on a temporary basis. Jacobson in Three Words: Teamwork, Unique, Relationships Favorite Band: My favorite DJ is Kaskade. He is always on repeat on my Spotify. Ideal Lunch Break: Stuffing my face with food while catching up on Netflix Bucket List Item: I want to finally make it to Bali! WHITNEY STEPHENS Content Lead, 5 years, 7 months at Jacobson Hometown: Winter Garden, Florida Alma Mater: DePaul University Describe Your Role: I’m on the marketing team and lead Jacobson’s content strategy and development. I work with our thought leaders to share valuable insights and best practices with the industry through white papers, articles and speaking engagements. I also manage media relations and oversee our two blogs: The Jacobson Journal and The Career Catalyst. Jacobson in Three Words: Supportive, Caring, Fun Favorite Dessert: Salted caramel chocolate Ideal Lunch Break: Someone else planning and making lunch, then eating and reading outside Weekend Plans: Watching my kids’ soccer games, sitting by the pool and spending time with friends SARAH KARVEL Engagement Manager, 1 year at Jacobson Hometown: Buffalo Grove, Illinois Alma Mater: Kaplan University Describe Your Role: I contribute as both a recruiter and engagement director based on the needs of the executive search team. It keeps me on my toes and allows me to exercise familiar skills while honing new ones. Jacobson in Three Words: Proficient, Respected, Warm Favorite Movie: Shawshank Redemption Ideal Lunch Break: Grabbing a quick bite with my sister somewhere in the Chicago Loop Bucket List Item: To watch the sun set on every continent Looking to join these employees? View our corporate careers page here.

The Insurance Industry’s Hiring Outlook Remains Strong

The past year has brought on many unknowns for job seekers. Adapting to virtual interviews, starting new positions in remote office environments and building connections over video calls are only a few of the ways most professionals have had to step out of their comfort zones. However, despite the pandemic, the insurance industry remains strong. Our recent Q1 2021 Insurance Labor Market Study, conducted in partnership with Aon plc, found that overall, insurers are more optimistic than six months ago. In fact, respondents indicated staffing and revenue plans that are not drastically different from January 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty-seven percent of respondents plan to grow revenue in the next year, up 9 percentage points from July 2020. Ninety-one percent plan to maintain or increase staff in the same time period, up 8 percentage points from July and just 1 percentage point lower than one year ago. Unlike many industries, insurance has not experienced extensive layoffs in the past year. As we near the pandemic’s one-year mark, anticipated staffing reductions are down 8 percentage points from six months ago. And, of the insurers planning to reduce staff, fewer than 3% report the reduction will be by 2% or more. The most common driver for expected decreases is reorganization, while areas currently understaffed is the most common reason provided for anticipated increases. Insurance carriers have seen steady employment growth during the pandemic, adding nearly 20,000 positions since March 2020. As organizations move forward with modernization initiatives and focus on creating more relevant customer experiences, there’s a continued need to bring in tech-savvy individuals. Technology and analytics roles are in the highest demand, according to the study. With an industry unemployment rate of just 2.2%, the recruiting climate remains challenging and open roles in most insurance functions are at least moderately difficult to fill. Analytics roles are the most challenging, followed by actuarial and technology. The study also found virtual work options and flexible schedules are here to stay, even as physical offices reopen. More than a quarter of insurers plan to provide occasional work-from-home opportunities and nearly half will offer flexible hours. Fifty-six percent plan to offer full-time remote work, up from 48% in the July study. The Q1 2021 study ran from January 12 through February 5, 2021, and attracted participation from insurance carriers across all sectors of the industry. View the full report or results infographic for more insights.

Insurance Industry Adds Nearly 20K Jobs During Pandemic

Published in Carrier Management: Carrier Management takes a look at highlights from The Jacobson Group and Aon's Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Study and webinar.