Category: Societal Trends

What if Some of Your Key Team Members are Invisible?‘

Helps Insurance Organizations Manage a Diverse Workforce

Now Available from Insurance Writer

July 26, 2010

Phoenix, Arizona

Release:  Immediate

Today’s workforce is increasingly diverse. Our increasingly lean organizations must utilize the unique talents of all their team members to effectively compete in today’s global marketplace. Microinequities, negative subtle messages we send to our coworkers, can restrain workplace productivity and ultimately drive talented employees out of your organization.

Today an organization’s brand is largely driven by social media. When employees feel disenfranchised, they frequently voice their complaints in cyberspace. Organizations without a diverse intellectual workforce cannot compete effectively in today’s global marketplace. And although companies support diversity, diversity does not always equal inclusion.

Nancy Germond, MA, SPHR, ARM, AIC, ITP, the president of Insurance Writer, a risk management and insurance consulting and training firm, developed a White Paper outlining steps organizations can take to avoid microinequities in the workplace. Ms. Germond’s White Paper, “Microinequities in the Workplace,” offers unique solutions to help companies strategically address the challenges inherent in today’s diverse workforce. For a copy of this informative paper, click here: https://insurancewriter.com/MicroIneq_Offer.htm.

For more information regarding presentations to your organization of this subject or other management topics, please contact Ms. Germond at (602) 870-3230. Ms. Germond develops marketing material, training curriculum and provides consulting services to insurance carriers, agents and insurance industry vendors. A skilled and perceptive presenter, her relaxed and humorous presentations focus on societal risks impacting today’s insurance professional as well as tips for tightening day-to-day claims operations.

You can contact me here.

I participated in a teleconference today sponsored by the Society of Insurance Trainers and Editors and hosted by the Insurance Institute. Much of what was discussed was the issue of training younger generations, who, as one participant put it, leave school in a state of “permanent partial attention.”

This is the first true television and Internet generation and they live, he remarked, in a state of perpetual multi-tasking. (He then joked that some of us on the teleconference were probably multi-tasking. Yes, I was guilty of it, I was checking my e-mail at the time.)

In addition, he believes some members of this generation learn only what they need to learn then discard the knowledge, bringing their test-cram college mentality into the workforce. What can trainers do to help Gen Xers and Ys retain knowledge? One good tip was to set some training ground rules. Insist students to turn off cell phones, PDAs, and yes, their laptops if they have access to wireless Internet.

Next, since class participants often leave classes using 25 percent of what they learn, one trainer asserted that you can improve that rate to 90 percent if you involve supervisors who will reinforce, coach, reward, and encourage trainees in their newly learned skills. Supervisors must reinforce what is taught in the classroom or, no matter how sophisticated the training, it will fail.

Training, they insisted, must come from trainers who understand the cultures, the practices, and the processes of the insurance industry. Real-world examples are critical to learners, because if they cannot contextualize what they hear, no matter how smartly packaged the information, it is virtually useless.

It’s also useful to provide access to experts in the subject whom students, post training, can email or call for additional help when they need it. This allows students to put their knowledge into practice with the help of an expert mentor and without fear of ridicule for asking questions.

Finally, they believe, you must instill in insurance students that their insurance education is lifelong to ensure their success. I know when I earned my professional designations I was making a statement: That insurance wasn’t my job, it was my career.

An interesting editorial in Business’ Insurance’s April Industry Focus touched on an issue I’d blogged about a few weeks ago. Big changes are heading our way as Generation Ys enter the workforce.

Editor Ronn Zolkos (he’s obviously a Gen Xer; notice the spelling of his first name!) commented on a problem discussed at the Finance and Insurance Workforce Summit recently in Chicago. That problem is the poor writing ability of Gen Ys.

Apparently, constant instant messaging and e-mailing has enabled a generation to skip grammar almost entirely. Although highly competent technically, members of this generation may lack even rudimentary writing skills.

Zolkos recommends hiring writing coaches for the Yers who struggle with writing’ write. He called hiring a writing coach a “perk.” Others managers may, as they struggle with this critical issue, call it a “necessity.”

I spoke last month at the Arizona Insurance Claims Association, the premier (albeit only!) organization in Arizona dedicated to the property/casualty claims adjuster. When I last spoke there, I talked about the brain drain carriers and agents are experiencing and how Gen Xs and Ys could leverage this exodus to their advantage, but I wasn’t sure diversity would go over too well. One of my blog readers asked how it went. Frankly, I was surprised by how interested the audience was in this topic.

To remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing and global market, the insurance industry, like any other industry, must have top intellectual talent. And that talent lies in diversity, not just of race and gender, but in diversity of thought.

Studies have repeatedly shown that diverse groups perform better and that a certain amount of healthy conflict must occur before groups arrive at superior decisions. And because the insurance industry is becoming more and more team-driven, the need for training in areas of diversity becomes even more critical. Studies repeatedly show that diverse teams make better decisions.

If your organization would like to explore diversity or inter-generational issues, I present in these critical areas. As an instructor for Insurance Journal’s Academy, you are invited to take part in my upcoming seminars or purchase my earlier seminars for your organization.

The link to the Academy is here.

Have a great, productive week.