Nearly four million Baby Boomers nationwide are retiring each year, and they are leaving behind a growing executive skills gap that must be bridged. Luckily, today’s young professionals are poised to meet this impending need. How can the insurance industry adapt their current workforce culture to embrace and encourage this new generation of leaders?
In recent years, insurance organizations have renewed their focus on engaging young professionals. They have rethought recruitment practices and strategies, revitalized company cultures, and instituted company-wide policy changes in order to attract Millennials. As Kylee Lacson, a Millennial professional and National Territory Manager at The Jacobson Group, discussed in our latest edition of Compass, the industry must now shift their focus to transitioning their Millennial employees into the executives of tomorrow.
Fortunately, one million Millennials are entering the U.S. workforce annually and are ready to take on a leadership role. In fact, 91 percent of Millennials aspire to be a leader. Unfortunately, organizations are learning that supporting these professionals requires a new way of doing business.
These achievement-oriented, passionate and energetic professionals are re-thinking the traditional corporate ladder. With Millennials focused on carving out their own career path, cultivating this generation of leaders means redefining leadership itself. A career lattice focused on horizontal, vertical and diagonal developmental paths will allow more collaborative and customizable ways for today’s young professionals to structure work and build careers.
Organizations must move past their dated development programs and incorporate more targeted, personalized training programs. Dynamic, “assignment-based” career training programs may be the key to helping young professionals improve their skills and take charge. Only by embracing change and engaging today’s Millennial professionals, can insurance organizations successfully build the leaders of tomorrow.
For insights on the importance of Millennial leadership along with an update on the insurance industry's talent market, download Compass.
