Is employee education worth the investment?
As the industry changes, roles change — often faster than job descriptions can be updated. New hires who do not receive the training necessary to understand how their role fits into the bigger company picture can contribute to higher turnover rates.
According to The Jacobson Group’s Q3 2023 Insurance Labor Market Study, 63% of property and casualty companies, life and health insurance carriers, and reinsurers plan to increase staff during the next 12 months. In the insurance industry, the roles expected to have the greatest growth are technology, claims, and underwriting roles.
Companies are also finding it difficult to retain talent right now. New and early-career employees can be particularly quick to leave, making it hard for organizations to benefit from fresh talent. Although much of this is beyond company control, professional development and industry education can be a powerful tool to help attract employees and encourage them to stay. Offering professional development and learning opportunities can be a benefit for both employees and employers hoping to fill open positions.
As the industry changes, roles change — often faster than job descriptions can be updated. Such conditions can make employees feel uncertain about their expertise. New hires who do not receive the training necessary to understand how their role fits into the bigger company picture can contribute to higher turnover rates. The cost of turnover is significant: employers could pay 50% of an entry-level employee’s salary just to replace that employee with a new hire.
In a recent study by LIMRA and EY, more than half of employers (57%) said that career development would be an important benefit five years from now. And employees agree. More than 3 in 10 employees cited career development as an important benefit. This is especially true for younger generations, with 38% of Gen Z workers rating career development as critical and almost half of millennials citing it as an important benefit over the next five years.
We find this same sentiment among people who have completed our Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) designation. The program is a 10-course professional development program that provides an industry-specific business education in the context of the insurance and financial services industry. The FLMI program teaches advanced insurance and financial concepts to build a deeper understanding of the insurance business.
When asked, 85% of FLMI designees said they believe the knowledge gained enhanced their industry acumen and gave them greater confidence to do their jobs.
This is also true for other LOMA courses and designations. In a recent member survey, 95% said they find LOMA designations valuable or very valuable. In addition, over 99% of learners would recommend LOMA professional development.
Earning a college degree is often the first step toward getting a professional job, but taking industry-specific courses can help propel your career forward. My college degrees in English and professional writing provided me with an educational foundation, but I credit my FLMI designation, as well as LOMA’s Associate, Customer Service (ACS); Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance (AIRC); and Associate, Reinsurance Administration (ARA) designations with helping me to advance in my knowledge and build a lasting career in the industry.
While it can be difficult to juggle a career with family and continuing education, the payoffs are real. According to the SHRM’s 2023 Employee Benefits survey, approximately 8 in 10 employers provide formal training or education for upskilling/reskilling employees (79%) and for keeping skills current (82%). The large majority also cover costs for professional memberships (87%), certification/recertification (78%) and professional licenses (77%). In 2023, these percentages all reached their highest point over the past five years.
In a recent LIMRA survey of financial services human resource executives, the majority reported increased difficulty recruiting for entry-level roles. Companies likely will need to fill vacancies across all functional roles, as well as add new roles in key growth areas such as technology. Giving employees professional development opportunities can help with not only filling open entry-level positions, but also in retaining the staff that is most valuable to moving the organization forward.
Carie Crane is vice president of professional development at LIMRA and LOMA.