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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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Taking the PULSE of the Insurance Labor Market

The latest edition of PULSE, the monthly supplement to our quarterly Compass newsletter, is out! According to the latest BLS Employment Situation report, insurance unemployment is down. Following a slight increase at the beginning of the year, the unemployment rate for the industry was back down to 2.0 percent for the month of May. This decrease was aided by the addition of 1,800 jobs. This trend of low unemployment and job growth is expected to continue throughout 2017. For an insider’s look at this and other key industry labor statistics, download our latest issue of PULSE.

Do You Have the Technology to Attract Talent?

The insurance industry’s “war for talent” continues to heat up. No longer just a long-range concern, insurance organizations are now face-to-face with a perfect storm of labor market challenges—from an aging workforce and impending wave of retirements to an increasingly shallow talent pool. In fact, recent estimates show that the insurance industry will need to add 400,000 open positions to its bench by 2020 in order to remain fully staffed. Yet, graduates from risk and insurance programs only meet 10 to 15 percent of this growing need. In addition, many young professionals find insurance “boring” and “behind the times.” Today’s organizations are looking for solutions to combat this emerging talent gap—and the industry’s rapidly evolving technology may be the key. Considered some of the greatest change agents since the introduction of the internet, emerging technologies are impacting the industry at a breakneck pace. From artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) to big data and analytics, today’s cutting-edge advancements are providing insurance organizations with a unique opportunity to reinvent themselves and promote their “cool factor.” With today’s young professionals wanting to work for innovative organizations that stand on the forefront of new technological breakthroughs, the industry needs to embrace and publicize their work with these hot button trends and initiatives. Taking advantage of the opportunities provided by today’s technology and promoting organizational involvement with cutting-edge trends may be the key to turning insurance into the next generation industry of choice.

Are Rotational Programs Headed for the C-Suite?

The actuarial profession faces a growing talent conundrum. Despite an abundance of entry-level talent, today’s insurance organizations are seeing an increased tightness within the mid-career actuarial market. Insurers struggle to fill these mid-level roles with skilled and qualified candidates. With a leadership skills gap on the horizon, this narrowing within the mid-level market is even more troublesome. Many organizations are now concerned that the lack of mid-level talent will result in an inability to fill the senior actuarial positions being left by retiring professionals. Faced with a narrowing market and increased demand, what can insurance companies do? How can organizations combat this talent gap? Rotational programs may be the answer. Long-used as a recruitment strategy for young professionals and emerging talent, rotational programs may be the key to combatting the mid-level and executive talent gap. In fact, many organizations are now elevating their student actuarial programs and implementing a rotation for their experienced employees. Designed to develop high-potential employees into well-rounded leaders, these mid-level rotational programs provide actuaries with broad job experiences and trainings. They enable high-performers with a few years of industry experience to gain knowledge outside their current roles and further develop their skills. These individuals are then able to seamlessly move into the high-demand mid-level roles organizations are looking to fill. Some programs go one step further and rotate employees across different functions and even departments. This helps to better promote cross-functional skills and to provide a more holistic understanding of the organization. These programs are a unique solution to ensuring employees are able to develop and hone their leadership, managerial and communication skills. As such, rotational programs may be one of the most powerful tools that organizations can use to drive employee development and grow the next generation of leaders. So now what? It is important to link your rotational program to the organization’s overall business plan. What critical positions or functions need talent and what experiences are necessary to fill these roles? Are there areas of future organizational growth to which participants should be exposed? What succession planning vulnerabilities should the program address? The most effective rotational programs are designed to address an organization’s specific talent needs. This can determine what areas or roles to include in the rotation, as well as the number of participants to include. Make sure you consider your rotational timeline. Some organizations rotate their talent annually. Others are implementing longer timeframes, including two to four years. This is particularly true of organizations using rotational programs at a more executive level. This expanded timeframe is less disruptive and provides more business stability. In addition, it allows for a much deeper dive into each specific area—which is important when developing the next generation of insurance executives. Enlist the support of organizational leadership and encourage these individuals to provide their time, perspectives and feedback to rotational participants. These leaders are able to share insights into the various roles and departments within the organization. Mentoring can also be critical to supporting participants and providing additional value to the program. Mentors are able to provide regular feedback and coaching on participant’s strengths and areas of opportunity. Regardless of the format, utilizing rotational programs as a key professional development process is a win-win for both employees and their organizations. Not only do they build an individual’s skills and fulfill employees’ desires for career advancement, but they provide a breadth and depth of knowledge needed to meet the very real mid-level and leadership resourcing needs of today’s insurers.

Care Management Goes High Tech with these 5 Emerging Trends

This is the age of business technology. Widespread technological advancements continue to revolutionize the way organizations do business. Care management is no exception. More than ever before, new technology solutions are allowing patients and consumers to more effectively and efficiently interact and engage with their medical providers.  What key tech trends are impacting care management? Here are the five emerging technologies changing the field: Digital Checkups: Patients are now able to complete checkups via text message. Healthcare practitioners are able to review responses and identify actions for patients to take. This can include monitoring vitals, adjusting dietary requirements and changing medications. Wearable Monitoring: Nearly 70 million people in the U.S. are using wearable tracking devices. Healthcare providers are turning to these wearables as a solution to better monitoring patient vitals and other key metrics. Based on the data gathered, care managers are able to make adjustments and recommendations to their patients’ current courses of treatment. Virtual Appointments: Using platforms such as Skype, patients are now able to connect with their providers via video conference. They are able to share symptoms or provide updates on continuing medical conditions and immediately receive diagnoses and treatment recommendations. Symptom Apps: A number of medical apps are emerging that allow patients to enter symptoms and gain information on potential diagnoses. These “triage” apps help consumers to better understand and evaluate their symptoms and determine an appropriate course of action—stay home from work, go to the ER or make an appointment with their physicians. Some apps are going one step further and connecting directly to care organizations and allowing patients to stay connected with their network providers and access their health information from their mobile devices. Electronic Health Records (EHR): Utilizing EHR, healthcare providers, ancillary staff and health information staff are able to simultaneously access the same piece of health information. By allowing multi-user access, healthcare providers can visualize patient data from all areas of a facility including medical imaging, pathology, laboratories and more in real-time fashion. In today’s highly-connected world, consumers have become accustomed to accessing and sharing information on all types of devices. Health providers are taking advantage of this digital mindset to change the way patients interact with their providers. More and more, the consumer-focused market is pushing care management into the high-tech arena.

Retaining Top Talent: Engagement Strategies in a Competitive Market

What factors are critical for business success? Financial acumen? Business savvy? Public awareness? While these all provide useful contributions to an organization’s staying power, their impact is eclipsed by one thing—human capital. Employees are the most vital aspect of an organization and its future success. In today’s candidate-driven labor market, the development of a leadership pipeline and the continued retention of key employees is a major business concern. In fact, 39 percent of organizations are worried that they will lose top talent in the coming year—and they have cause to be concerned. In our latest edition of Compass, Jacobson’s JoJo Harris, senior vice president, shares her unique insights into best practices and strategies for developing an impactful and effective retention and engagement strategy for your organization’s top performers. For an insider’s look at retention and engagement best practices along with an update on the insurance industry's talent market, download Compass.

RPO Myths Debunked

The true underdog of recruiting is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)—a powerful tool that is under-utilized and overlooked despite the industry-wide talent crisis. Some organizations ignore RPO’s robust benefits due to a fear of the unknown or a perceived loss of control. Others are unnecessarily anxious that an RPO partner could fail to fully understand their needs or would be more expensive than keeping recruiting in-house. These myths surrounding RPO are clouding many insurance organizations’ judgement and may end up costing them significant time and money. In fact, 88 percent of hiring managers report satisfaction with the results of outsourcing some or all of their recruiting functions. Today, we’re answering some of your most pressing questions and debunking the common myths that surround RPO. How exactly does RPO work? RPO is a form of business process outsourcing in which an organization transfers all or part of its recruiting process to an external partner. The process typically starts with designing a program blueprint. This blueprint will define the scope and desired outcomes of the recruitment project. Once in place, your RPO partner will use this blueprint to support your recruitment needs. This can include thoroughly sourcing the market, screening and assessing potential candidates, and/or interviewing qualified professionals. The relationship between your organization and your RPO partner can continue through coordinating hiring, onboarding candidates and executing an ongoing reporting process. Essentially, RPO provides you with any component of a hands-on, effective hiring process that your organization needs.  Is RPO right for my organization? First, ask yourself this question: what problems am I trying to solve? If you are looking to decrease cost, improve candidate quality and recruit more efficiently, RPO may be the solution. An anticipated increase in hiring, a short-staffed internal HR department or a desire to cut costs can all be important factors in your decision. Whether you need to streamline internal processes or have urgent recruitment needs, bringing in an RPO partner can help efficiently and successfully marry quality candidates with open positions. As an additional benefit, RPO users typically see a reduction in recruitment costs by an average of 45 percent. Outsourcing recruitment has proven to lower costs for organizations in need of a talent solution. Remember that partnering with an RPO provider doesn’t necessarily mean transferring all of your recruitment processes. In some cases, outsourcing just one aspect of hiring can streamline the process and provide significant benefits. Finding a consultative partner to handle your recruitment advertising, sourcing, interview coordinating or onboarding may make the task of filling your next open position faster and more efficient. We’ve decided to outsource – what’s next? Choose an RPO partner who understands what success means to you. Ask them the questions that are most important in maintaining your alignment: How can your organization customize the RPO process to best fit our needs? In what ways can you improve the consistency of our hiring process? What reporting and analytics can you provide to help us track our progress? What experience do you have recruiting for our industry or these specific types of roles? Together, set goals for what your project should look like in 10 days, 30 days and 60 days. Make sure to measure and track quality and efficiency using hiring manager surveys and new hire surveys. In any RPO program, metrics should be progressive. As the program gains momentum and continuity, raise the bar. This will help you continue to become more effective in recruiting top talent. Now that you’ve turned to RPO to help with your recruitment efforts, the next step in talent management is maintaining efficient employee retention practices. Once you’ve recruited the best, remember that happy, engaged employees are the key to a successful workforce.  If you would like to learn more about Jacobson’s capabilities as a proven RPO partner, find our full process here.

Compass 10.2: Retaining Top Talent: Engagement Strategies in a Competitive Market

In today's increasingly competitive labor market, keeping key talent is vital to future success. JoJo Harris, senior vice president with Jacobson, shares her unique insights into the best practices for developing an impactful retention and engagement strategy for your organization.This edition also includes our regular overview of the industry's current labor market and recent executive-level job changes.

6 Things Your Candidates May Be Thinking, But Won’t Tell You

The hiring process is a two-way interaction. Knowing and understanding how to best anticipate your candidates’ not-always-transparent thoughts can help give your organization the upper hand when securing the best talent. In order to create long-standing, genuine relationships with candidates, it is extremely important to put yourself in their shoes. Take a look at your hiring process through your candidates’ eyes. This will allow you to better address their concerns before they are brought up. In order to gain insights into these situations, I have polled a number of Jacobson’s tenured recruiting professionals for an insider’s perspective. Here are six things your candidates may be thinking but not telling you, and some strategies for responding to their concerns. Candidates are motivated by a positive interview experience. According to a recent Montage study of 200 active job candidates, 75 percent indicated that the experience they have when interviewing for a job “matters a lot” in their decision about where to work. Just as it is important for candidates, your organization should focus on making a good first impression. Consider providing a tour of the office environment and introducing top candidates to potential teammates. Make sure that the interview process is as seamless as possible. Be conscious of time and try and avoid keeping your candidates waiting. Some may be utilizing their lunch breaks to conduct interviews. This mindfulness will go a long way in shining a positive light on your company. Lateral movements are not compelling reasons to change positions. Today’s competitive labor reality has created a candidates’ market. Many industry professionals are relatively happy with their current roles and, as a result, are passive in their career search. Lateral movements will no longer be attractive enough for these individuals to consider a possible career move. Organizations looking for talent should make sure to provide offers that include enhanced benefits. This goes beyond compensation and to additional job responsibilities and even the potential for increased career visibility. Understanding what will motivate top talent to make a move will be key in competing in today’s market. Passive job candidates may still be interested in career opportunities. According to Rosemary Young, Assistant Vice President with our professional recruiting arm, passive candidates are not always completely happy with their current roles. While some engaged employees are less likely to enlist a recruiter, others are open and interested in learning about new, compelling opportunities. It is important to understand that many candidates don’t want recruiters to feel that they have negative feelings about their current employers. However, they may still be looking for opportunities to advance their careers. The key is to focus on how the opportunity that provides the candidate with a positive move forward. Skype interviews can be a challenge. In today’s increasingly tech savvy and connected business era, interviews are going high-tech. More and more, organizations are utilizing technology, such as Skype, to conduct introductory level interviews. However, in a recent study of 200 active job seekers, only 24 percent of candidates felt that using Skype was a simple, convenient way to conduct an interview. Despite the prevalence of technology, not all candidates may have the equipment or environment necessary to conduct interviews via Skype. In addition, some candidates are just more comfortable with face-to-face interactions. Recruiters should keep this in mind when scheduling interviews. If a Skype interview cannot be avoided, make sure you are providing your candidates with the instructions and tips necessary to use the application with ease. Consideration goes a long way in the application process. Just as organizations don’t want to invest time in candidates who are applying for the sole purpose of gathering competitive market insights or to leverage a counteroffer, job seekers are hesitant to spend time interviewing for a company that is not fully considering them for a role. Organizations should avoid conducting conversations for the sole purpose of comparing external candidates to internal ones or to fulfill an interview quota. Candidates don’t want to be taken for granted and used as a comparison to the candidate of choice. In fact, this practice can be damaging for organizations—particularly in today’s socially connected world were reputations can be made or broken with a single post. The key is to be honest and promote open interactions. Extended hiring processes can be a big turn-off. According to Diana Shay, an Assistant Vice President also within our insurance recruitment practice, securing the best talent for the job can be a time-consuming process. Meeting all company and candidate needs involves a lot of back and forth communication, which can be drawn out over a long period due to busy schedules. However, in today’s increasingly competitive labor market, protracted hiring decisions can be fatal. When the process drags on, candidates are often left asking what’s taking so long and wondering if the company is actually interested in them as a potential employee. As a result, organizations can potentially lose out on great talent. You can put candidates’ thoughts at ease by keeping them in the loop and providing timely feedback. Giving updates before prompted will establish a solid repertoire and leave the relationship on good terms even if the candidate was not the right fit. Now more than ever, skilled individuals hold much of the power during the hiring process. It is important to adjust with this shift in balance and proceed wisely when seeking candidates. While it is not necessary to be a mind reader in order to secure talent, it is helpful to anticipate what they may be thinking and know how to address their concerns before beginning your search.

Continued Staffing Growth Accelerates the Search for New Talent Solutions

The results from our latest Semi-Annual Insurance Industry Labor Market Study are in! Since the first survey in 2009, this study has become an accurate predictor of the industry’s staffing outlook. Read on to gain insight into the projected talent market for this year or download the full results. Slowed Revenue Growth Projections Both property and casualty and life/health companies expect revenue growth in 2017—with 70 percent of insurance companies surveyed expecting to increase revenue. The anticipated growth is primarily being driven by changes in market share. This increasing market share will likely stem from organic growth in organizations’ current footprints, as well as expansion into new states. While these projections are certainly well above the lows that followed the Great Recession, this is the lowest growth expectation since our January 2012 survey. Despite decreased growth forecasts, only two percent of companies are actually anticipating a decline in revenue. Historically, the insurance industry has seen a significant gap between the growth rates in revenue and in staffing—with revenue far outpacing staffing projections. However, while the number of insurers expecting increased revenue has slowed, plans to increase staffing over the next year have remained steady. This continued focus on growing staff has greatly reduced the revenue-staffing gap, bringing them within five points of each other. Continued Staffing Growth If the insurance industry follows through on current plans, we will see a 1.56 percent increase in industry employment this year. This projected growth will help to create new jobs within insurance. According to the survey, 65 percent of companies intend to increase staff in 2017—driven by near-record-high numbers of personal and commercial lines property and casualty organizations. Of companies who plan to add staff, 82 percent expect an increase in revenue, with 53 percent responding that this will be caused by a change in market share. Small companies (fewer than 300 employees) report the highest expectations for growth in staff, as more than 77 percent expect to hire new employees. In contrast, large companies (more than 1,000 employees) project the greatest decrease in staff, with 12 percent anticipating a reduction in force. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of job openings in finance and insurance continues to rise. The current 262,000 job openings is the highest number since the inception of our study in 2009. This continued upward trend indicates that openings are taking longer to fill now than in the past—a growing concern that insurance organizations are working to address. Labor Market Challenges The insurance industry remains focused on combatting the growing talent gap and increasing demands for staff. Virtually non-existent industry unemployment—currently 3.3 percent—has resulted in a shallow talent pool, accentuating the challenging recruiting environment. Actuarial, analytics and technology roles remain the most difficult-to-fill positions. As a result of the tight labor market, many companies are turning to contract professionals to fill challenging positions. Some of the waning in job growth over the next several years may, in fact, be a result of organizations turning to temporary talent as part of their staffing strategies. Filling Gaps with Temporary Staff Since 2009, the use of temporary staff has been on a rapid growth trend. Already, interim employment is up by more than 70,000 jobs since July 2016. During the next six months, 81 percent of companies expect to maintain their current number of temporary employees. Meanwhile, 11 percent anticipate an increase—the highest expected increase in temporary staff usage since January 2014. Clearly, temporary and interim talent are set to have an immense impact on the future of the insurance industry. The impending management challenge will be in effectively integrating rising numbers of contract workers into a workplace previously dominated by full-time, permanent employees. Though the insurance industry continues to enjoy growth; continued staffing demands amid today’s shallowing hiring pool are accelerating the need for new talent solutions. For further insights into the industry’s 2017 labor outlook, download the full results of the study.

Regulatory Update: Does Your Talent Provider Have Your Back?

We stand amidst a contract-focused business reality. In today’s marketplace, it is vital that organizations are aware of contract standards when engaging with a staffing firm. Nearly four years ago, we delved into the importance of contract compliance. As we mentioned in that previous post, a contract without a strong process to ensure the clauses are clearly understood, tracked, implemented and audited, as they say, isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. At The Jacobson Group, we understand that each client has its own unique requirements that must be met. Keeping on top of all these variables—from education and employment verification to drug screens and MCR checks — is a time-consuming task. To that end, Jacobson has begun implementing a number of innovative technology solutions to help manage this complex process. These systems are allowing us to improve our compliance efforts and increase efficiency. Unfortunately, not all staffing firms are up to the challenge. In order to ensure your staffing partner is above board, organizations should pay careful attention to their responses to the contract discussion.  Do they simply accept all of your language as-is? Red flag! Compliance is costly and a firm that simply rolls over during contract negotiations may not intend to comply. This can result in steep costs to your organization including liability fines and penalties. Are they an encyclopedia of employment knowledge? Your staffing partner should be an expert on employment laws, regulations and standards. Do they know how background checks differ in each state? Do they have insights into the thousands of federal, state and municipal employment regulations? This is increasingly important as we continue to see a marked increase in the number of cities, municipalities and states enacting employment regulations and legislation. At Jacobson, we monitor for regulatory updates; and, when a new requirement is enacted, go directly to the source to read the actual regulation or legislation. Compliance options are then discussed and implemented to ensure we are adequately mitigating risk for ourselves and our clients. Are they open to audits? Most contracts call for audit rights for the client organization. Yet, clients often don’t use this right unless an issue arises. Verifying contract compliance on behalf of your staffing partner is important. Have they updated for any recently introduced regulations? Are they complying with all necessary legislation? At Jacobson, we welcome the client audit—something we feel differentiates us from other firms. The feedback we receive is vital to helping us grow and improve as an organization. In an industry where the rules and regulations are being regularly updated, ensuring your staffing firm is on top of the changes is key to a successful partnership and to mitigating your own risks.

Today’s Evolving Talent Reality: Finding Success in a “Blended” Workforce

Today’s talent reality is shifting at a breakneck pace. This rapid evolution is bringing about an unprecedented movement away from the traditional workplace of recent years. Today’s modern workforce is increasingly “blended”—creating a unique combination of full-time, permanent employees working side-by-side with temporary professionals. Already, the inclusion of contract professionals is becoming the industry norm. However, 93 percent of organizations identify this widely growing “blended” workforce as a business concern. As more and more organizations incorporate temporary employees into their staffing strategies, the challenge of effectively integrating these individuals is becoming a hot-button topic. Addressing this situation is vital to effectively developing a “blended” workforce. In our latest edition of Compass,  we share insights into the growth of temporary staffing within the industry and best practices and strategies for integrating contract professionals into an organization. For an insider’s look at the rise of the “blended” workforce along with an update on the insurance industry's talent market, download Compass.

Compass 10.1: Today’S Evolving Talent Reality – Finding Success In A “Blended” Workforce

Faced with a rapidly shifting labor market, more and more organizations are utilizing temporary employees as part of their revamped staffing strategies. Jacobson shares insights into the growth of temporary staffing within the industry and best practices and strategies for integrating contract professionals into your organization. This edition also includes our regular overview of the industry's current labor market and recent executive-level job changes.