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The Human Element of AI Transformation

Discover ways to effectively navigate through AI transformation. Only 4% of companies say they’re creating real value from their AI investments. The key differentiator is how well organizations manage the human side of implementation. 

Download the white paper to explore best practices for taking a human-focused approach as you lead through change.

Recruiter Report: Find the “Perfect” Candidate

Finding top talent remains difficult in today’s labor market. However, holding out for the “perfect” candidate may mean losing out on high-potential individuals that would thrive in the role.

Read our blog post gain insights on redefining what the ideal candidate looks like and share how to take a realistic and future-focused approach to making the right hire.

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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.

Insurance Labor Study Results: Employment Outlook Remains Strong

While the past year has brought on challenges for all industries, insurance has remained relatively stable. Our recent Q1 2021 Insurance Labor Market Study, conducted in partnership with Aon plc, uncovered a hiring environment not drastically different from January 2020. The semi-annual study examines data collected on insurance industry hiring, as well as revenue trends and projections. Now in its 13th year, the Q1 2021 study ran from January 12 through February 5, 2021, and attracted participation from insurance carriers across all sectors of the industry. Highlights from the study’s findings are below. View the full report here. Ninety-one percent of respondents plan to maintain or increase their headcounts in the next 12 months: 56% percent intend to add staff and 35% plan to maintain staff size. Nine percent anticipate a decrease in staff, which is down 8 percentage points from 17% six months ago. Of those expecting to reduce staff, fewer than 3% report the reduction will be by 2% or more. The most common driver for anticipated staffing reductions is reorganization, while areas currently understaffed is the most common reason provided for anticipated increases. Given modernization initiatives, an increased focus on automation and AI, and the transition to remote and socially-distanced work environments, it’s not surprising technology and analytics roles are anticipated to be in the highest demand. The study found a notable increase in the demand for operations roles as well, which is also the function most in need of entry-level employees. Steady employment growth and the need for experienced staff will continue to propel a challenging recruiting environment. Roles in the majority of insurance functions continue to be difficult to fill and seven of the 11 functions surveyed have seen recruitment difficulty increase in the past year. Analytics roles are the most challenging to fill, followed by actuarial and technology. In regard to revenue, 67% of companies plan to grow revenue in the next 12 months, up from 58% in July. Less than 3% of insurers anticipate a decrease in revenue. Shifts in revenue are expected to be primarily driven by a change in market share. As the pandemic continues, the industry is becoming more comfortable with non-traditional work environments and schedules. Nearly all respondents (95%) indicated shifting expectations around employee schedules and hours when physical offices reopen. Fifty-six percent plan to offer full-time remote work, a slight increase from the July 2020 study. Seventy-seven percent will provide occasional work-from-home opportunities and 47% will offer flexible hours. For more results and analysis, view the full results summary and listen to the webinar recording. You may also find our recent articles on leading through change and managing in the remote environment to be of value.

Evolving Compensation Practices to Meet Changing Employee Needs

Published in Insurance Journal: From adapting interview processes to confidently making a final offer to someone they've never met, hiring managers have risen to the challenge and expanded their comfort zones. In order to attract and retain top employees in the evolving environment, organizations should also be taking a fresh look at how they approach compensation.

Open Enrollment: Lessons Learned for Success

Although next year’s open enrollment and annual enrollment periods are still several months away and 2021’s OEP has been extended, it’s not too early to plan. As you determine your staffing strategy for OEP/AEP, there are several considerations to keep in mind. We reached out to a few health plans to hear firsthand how they’ll be approaching enrollment and the tips they’ve uncovered for success. Plan ahead. Don’t wait until the summer to plan for OEP/AEP. Consider your internal team’s bandwidth and areas where you may require additional support. Think about potential workload fluctuations and contingency plans for various scenarios. Often, top talent is contracted several months before OEP begins, and acquiring appropriate licensures can slow the process even further. Having the right team in place is key. “Choosing the right people to be on your team from day one is crucial. You need to have folks who embody your company’s values and believe in your products,” shared a health plan based in the Northeast. Be strategic with your resources.Will your internal staff be stretched too thin during OEP? Are there ways interim resources could help them remain productive and avoid burnout? A regional health plan shared the following about last year’s experience when interim support was finally brought in to help, "Our internal staff said it was one of the best years they can recall: a smooth process, great staff and wonderful communication meant our team could focus on the tasks at hand. Previous years were more demanding; even executives were asked to step in and take calls on occasion, since they could not find the right local support.” Work with a knowledgeable staffing partner.Whether or not you have partnered with a staffing firm in the past, take a fresh look at the firm’s breadth and depth of experience. Firms that are well-networked within the industry and truly understand your business and the unique challenges being faced during OEP/AEP will be more likely to provide the right talent when you need it. As a field marketing organization shared about their experience, “The greatest value add was finding a significant number of skilled agents in a short amount of time to fill our needs.” Proactively seek areas of improvement.As you make your plans for next year’s enrollment periods, talk with your team about what could be done to increase efficiency. Are there any potential lapses in processes or communication? “We could improve by getting a better understanding of the implications of agents being previously contracted with other carriers and how easy it will or won’t be to obtain a release,” shared the field marketing organization. The Northeastern health plan shared the following advice, “Having one electronic source of truth that houses all of the resources your team will need through OEP will keep everyone on the same page, and allow them to be feel empowered to help themselves and their teammates.” Stay ahead of industry best practices.In addition to providing qualified talent, the right staffing firm can help you understand how other companies are handling similar experiences. For instance, if forecasting is a concern due to the pandemic, your staffing firm can help you better understand how other companies are responding and the tactics that are and are not working. Address onboarding needs early on.Successful onboarding takes time and consideration. Prior to this year’s OEP, reflect on what has been successful in past years and how you may be able to smooth any potential bumps. For instance, onboarding forms may need to go through an agency and be reviewed by legal and human resources, in addition to being signed and returned by the employee. Gain an understanding of employees’ past and current licensure to ensure they’re able to be productive right away. From a technology standpoint, and especially in today’s remote environment, equipment will need to be purchased, prepared and often shipped. Consider the specific systems employees will need to access and ensure they are up and running prior to an employee’s start date. Consider using incentives.During times of heavy workloads, it’s even more important to build a sense of camaraderie and energy among employees, no matter their employment status. Build opportunities for recognition into your team culture and encourage healthy competition. “Sharing weekly enrollment updates and ‘top sellers’ among your team sparks healthy competition through OEP, and helps sales agents hold themselves more accountable,” shared the Northeastern health plan. There are several considerations to take into account as you prepare for 2022’s OEP/AEP. By identifying your staffing needs, reaching out to the right partner, and working through licensures and other potential hurdles early on, you’ll be prepared to best service your members this fall.

Q1 2021 Labor Market Study Results Infographic

The results of the first quarter iteration of the 2021 U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study are now available. The study, led by The Jacobson Group and Aon, examines insurance industry labor and hiring trends. View this infographic for the highlights.