The talent market is tough right now. According to recent statistics, there are two job vacancies for every unemployed person in the US. So, employees are in control, and if they’re unhappy at an organization, they’ll quickly move on. But through all of this, they’re still seeking career growth, stability and professional development – the latter being particularly true for your millennial employees. So how can insurance firms better meet the rising demands of employees? By focusing on learning, of course.
4 Ways L&D Can Boost Career Growth In Insurance Firms
1. Provide Flexible, Ready-Start Learning Opportunities
Ready-start learning is a great way to educate and empower employees. This method of online training allows your people to access content easily, quickly and in their own time. With employees increasingly reporting that time is a barrier to learning, online offerings are a great solution for professional development.
Plus, ready-start learning is a great time-saver for L&D professionals too. Buying learning content from subject matter experts is a great way to upskill your team with little to no time investment. And there are ready-start courses available on a multitude of topics in the insurance space, including coverage fundamentals, business skills and errors and omissions.
2. Recognize Achievements and Growth Within Your Team
One of the best ways you can encourage employee growth is through a healthy learning culture. And providing praise and recognition of learning development is a great way to do just that. Your people are looking for career growth – whether internally at your organization, or elsewhere. Giving praise for a job well done inspires employees to work harder, makes them feel appreciated and helps retain top talent.
However, many leaders overlook praise and feedback. In fact, many think it just happens in the flow of day-to-day work. But unfortunately, that’s not the case. Instead, you need to consciously encourage your leaders to provide feedback and praise to their teams. When giving praise, you should speak up early and tailor the compliment to the recipient. And when giving feedback, use this formula: Feedback = Situation + Behavior + Impact + Next Steps.
3. Look Beyond Formal Learning, And Think About Application
Learning and development professionals spend a lot of time and effort creating or curating fantastic learning experiences. But they often overlook the next step: encouraging learners to apply what they’ve learned to their day job. In fact, it’s estimated that only 10-22% of learning is transferred to the workplace. So if you want to help your employees accelerate their career development, it’s time to think about learning transfer.
Learning transfer can be achieved in numerous ways, including:
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- Identifying goals and outcomes at the beginning of learning experiences
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- Using real-world examples in training
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- Instigating post-training follow up and support to check in on your delegates – and whether they’re applying the learning
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- Providing psychologically safe work environments so people are not afraid to try their newly acquired skills
4. Using Networking To Grow Skills
It is widely agreed that social learning is a fantastic way to boost skills. In fact, social learning theory emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling and imitating the behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others. So, if you want to encourage a learning culture and promote career growth amongst your employees, ensure you’re integrating group exercises and networking into your strategy.
Social experiences are not only great for learning but they also promote learner engagement and a culture of knowledge sharing within your organization. And studies show that this culture of knowledge sharing will boost creativity and performance within your teams too! What more could you want?
The insurance industry – like many other industries – is facing an uncertain future. The macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape has made business resilience a top priority for insurance firms. And retaining top talent is fundamental to that goal. By following these four tips, you will certainly boost your employees happiness and commitment to your organization – ultimately improving employee resilience once and for all.