A new report has revealed a considerable struggle among businesses in the industry to hire and keep employees.
Insurance companies are facing a significant struggle in overcoming a “talent crisis” across the industry, says a new report.
Insurers are finding that they are required to be far more proactive and pay workers more.
The report stated that to hire and retain employees, insurance companies are required to be considerably more proactive and pay more than they have before. Increasing retirements and low unemployment rates have created an environment of high competition for the insurance industry. This, according to the report, the 2019 Talent Trends Guide, issued by the Jacobson Group in Chicago.
The analysis in the report indicated that insurers need to be prepared to hire candidates rapidly and pay more if they don’t want to lose that talent to the competition, explained a WGLT article. The research also indicated that providers should think about adding non-traditional candidates to their hiring lists or employ individuals who are not able to relocate, but who are willing to work remotely.
The report provided insurance companies with a number of recommendations to appeal to employees.
“Companies need to be transparent about what they’re doing and engaging employees on a regular basis about the reasons, needs, and impact of change,” said the report. This same research referred to the hiring situation in the industry as a “talent crisis.” Moreover, according to the co-CEO of the Jacobson group, Greg Jacobson, that label is not an exaggeration.
“There are insurance companies around the U.S. that are not able to meet the needs of their shareholders or meet their growth or profitability goals because they don’t have the talent in place to execute on their plans,” added Jacobson.
The Jacobson report stated that wages among insurance company employees have stayed essentially the same even as the unemployment rates have fallen. Because of this, said Jacobson, it has become a candidate’s market. The industry’s average hourly earnings increase from 2017 to 2018 was only about 22 cents. This was considerably lower than that of the general American economy, which saw an average hourly increase of 82 cents.