The pandemic has normalized many things the insurance industry believed it would never see. Fully remote workforces are commonplace. Plans for a return to the office, whenever that may be, appear to require insurers to consider hybrid approaches. COVID-19 continues to impact recruiting, hiring, and managing talent; employees and prospects may continue to prioritize communication, flexibility, and choice.
During last week’s Town Hall on evolving talent strategies, I was joined by Novarica VP Deb Zawisza and a panelist of insurance IT leaders, including Nestor Lopez of ProSight Specialty, Kelly Coomer of Sammons Financial Groups, and John Gilmore of Allstate Benefits.
Deb started us off by framing the discussion around the three foundational pillars of any successful talent strategy—people, process, and technology—and how to generate the best business value using a variety of perspectives. The panelist then began to answer questions from participants and discussed developing remote hiring practices, fighting fatigue, and encouraging engagement.
Developing Remote Hiring Practices
Many in the industry have been discussing how remote work could lead to a widening of the talent pool. Insurers are recognizing that physical proximity is far less important than it was a few months ago.
Our panelists had some interesting takes on this opportunity area. One noted that their company’s recruitment has made room for remote workers, but they are not yet distributing that option evenly or to everyone. The goal is still to hire someone that could potentially return to an office location because the company believes regular, in-person interaction is critical for collaboration and innovation. Certain roles, however, may represent a notable exception to this general trend.
Another pointed out that while their company is taking a similar stance, they have offered the “work-from-anywhere” remote option to high-value prospects and key roles that may be harder to recruit. Insurers have targeted coveted skills in IT, claims, and underwriting for remote work in the past. Our panelists agreed that the pandemic is likely to expand the range of options and the nature of roles that insurers can target for remote work in the future.
Our panelists noted some pleasant surprises, namely the positive business metrics surrounding roles once thought to require on-site work (e.g., claims handling, call center support). This positive trending is foundational for insurers considering new alternatives to recruitment programs. We polled the audience participants on this: 75% said they are already working on modifying recruiting practices or plan to.
One of our panelists noted that companies that are considering recruiting remote workers should also consider how remote on-boarding and company cultural integration will work. Careful planning in this space is critical.
Fighting Fatigue
The initial focus for insurers at the start of the pandemic was to get people up and running at home. The challenge now is maintaining the company’s most critical asset: talent. The novelty of working in one’s pajamas is wearing off, and work is no longer everyone’s go-to distraction. The increased productivity that insurers have enjoyed is not a guarantee in the future.
Insurers must now find ways to fight what many leaders agree is a growing sense of remote work fatigue. One panelist shared some sound points to add to the discussion. They described how their company now encourages shorter meetings where all participants are aware of the agenda beforehand. This organization is also rethinking what meetings require video and which ones don’t. It is also allowing some one-on-one, socially distant meetings to occur outdoors.
Respecting employees and prioritizing their safety in every move allows more leniency to adapt plans. The main takeaway was that the rules insurers etched out in the first months of the pandemic were not done so in stone. Insurers should consistently reevaluate the standards they are setting.
Encouraging Engagement
Our panelists closed the session by discussing employee engagement—something that goes hand in hand with fighting fatigue. One discussed how change drives engagement and how a hybrid work model may be the best approach in the future. Another shared some examples of ways their company is changing up the stereotypical virtual happy hour by creating optional events that range from “kids returning to school” to “starting a new instrument.”
A pre-pandemic Novarica study found that more than half of insurers said talent is a challenge, but only 3% ranked it as a top priority. This statistic may become more interesting as the pandemic continues, and, as recent summer storms have shown, there are many more potential challenges awaiting carriers in the near future.
This week, our Virtual Town Hall will provide an update on security. If you haven’t already, register here.
Add new comment