It is becoming increasingly important for everyone in the insurance industry to take a hard look at our ability to attract new talent. Of the approximately 78 million Baby Boomers, about 8,000 turn 60 every day. The industry has a long way to go in order to attract and retain enough people to replace retiring Boomers.
An edited excerpt from a recent e-mail I received highlights at least part of the problem:
Dear Sir,
I found your article in the April edition of Rough Notes (Agency Marketing Technology column) of interest. I agree that the insurance industry has not embraced technology like it should… I joined the insurance industry in September 2006 and departed this past January. One reason I left was due to the lack of technology.
Most [insurance company] Web sites did not give good quotes. Or, two weeks after the sale, the company would terminate the sale. Needless to say, my clients were frustrated with me and the fact that their insurance rates kept changing. I found myself phoning underwriters on a regular basis with my clients sitting in my office reviewing quotes. Underwriters would then change and (for the most part) increase the rate, or tell me they wanted to pass on the sale. One company even had to approve all sales afterwards, again changing rates or canceling.
The agency owner didn’t want to invest in technology and didn’t see the need for basic items—such as a laser printer. Instead, my clients sat in my office while a multi-function copier/scanner/printer slowly printed documents. One client commented that his home printer worked faster than mine.
It was hard to find clients in our low-wage market who could afford insurance and deal with insurance company obstacles… I worked for $7 an hour while the agency owner spent the profits on herself.
You likely do a much better job of trying to provide the technology tools your staff needs to effectively “make the sale.” But don’t get too smug. The level and type of technology that a recent college graduate uses (dare I say expects?) is far above what exists in most agencies I have visited.
How many people who enter this industry end up leaving due to frustration with the antiquated ways we get our work done? The frustration that results from the cumbersome and time-consuming process of trying to obtain a bindable quote from an insurance company is only one example. How many more don’t we hear about?
Many who have been around for a while see that progress is being made— but are things changing for the better fast enough for the kids we need to hire? Or are they just going to give up and leave? Worse, maybe they’ll never come to work with us in the first place.
If you want to attract and retain the talent you need to be successful in the future, you have to be willing to invest in appropriate technology. There is no time like the present to begin exploring and experimenting.
You must be logged in to post a comment.