This piece is co-written by Tony Cañas, Client Advisor, and Sandy Zupancic, Vice President.

Insurers are facing a challenging recruiting climate, driven by mass Baby Boomer retirements, a low unemployment rate and continued job growth. There are currently about 250,000 open roles in finance and insurance alone, and not enough qualified individuals to fill them. Insurers that have been operating with lean workforces or tackling unforeseen workloads will likely feel the impact of this candidate-driven market at some point: overworked employees, lack of time for long-term projects and inadequate resources to modernize antiquated systems, to name a few.

The results from our most recent Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study are now available! The study, conducted by The Jacobson Group and Aon plc, uncovers revenue and hiring trends within the insurance industry. We are highlighting key data points from the Q3 2019 results, and you can download the full results summary, webinar and slide deck for additional insights and commentary.

As the insurance industry adopts new technologies and undergoes modernization efforts, accounting and finance departments have much to gain. Automation is allowing for reduced processing times, increased efficiency and higher service levels. More redundant tasks within bookkeeping and data entry are being taken over by artificial intelligence, and machine learning is identifying patterns and streamlining customer interactions.

The 2020 healthcare open enrollment period is nearly here, slated to run from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15, 2019, with Medicare open enrollment from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. As you know, with this seasonal spike in enrollment comes a much heavier workload. How can you best prepare for the influx to avoid staff burnout and increase productivity during this peak period?

The insurance talent landscape is shifting. Many senior-level employees are nearing retirement, Millennials and GenXers are moving into leadership positions, and members of Generation Z are securing their first jobs. Along with these demographic shifts, technology is redefining roles, making today’s desired leadership skills much different than those of even 10 years ago.