Healthcare professionals and their patients are retiring at an alarming rate. In fact, there will be more than one million openings for registered nurses by 2024 - twice the rate seen in previous shortages. Meanwhile, there will be a 55 percent increase in number of Americans aged 65 and older who seek additional care over the next two years. However, nursing school enrollment is not increasing fast enough to meet this projected demand and lack of nursing school faculty is preventing larger program enrollments.

The talent market within the industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Insurance organizations face an increasingly challenging labor market, a growing talent shortage and rising turnover rates. Is your company prepared?

It is my pleasure to introduce a guest blogger for this latest post. My brother and co-chief executive officer Greg is head of The Jacobson Group’s executive search team. His insights into evaluating executive candidates are worth a read. Enjoy…

Does your organization have a positive public persona, or does your company’s image fall short? In today’s increasingly competitive labor market, having a strong, public brand is critical to attracting young professionals. In fact, 75 percent of job seekers consider a company’s brand before they even submit an application. Conversely, 72 percent of recruiting leaders view branding as a critical driver of their ability to attract and hire top talent.

We’ve heard it all—a slide to travel between floors, encouraging employees to use skates to move around the office and game rooms filled with arcade classics. Faced with an increasingly competitive labor market, businesses are going to extreme lengths to better attract and retain young talent.

Your company is only as strong as its employees. For insurance organizations in particular, engaging the next generation is critical to ensuring future success. Before organizations can effectively recruit and retain these individuals, they must truly understand what motivates and drives them. Despite speculation and numerous reports, today’s young professionals are not all that different from the generations of individuals preceding them. So what exactly do today’s young professionals really want in an employer? How can insurers effectively engage this next generation?