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© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
The Workforce Revolution
Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC
Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC20 Tower Lane, 3rf Fl
Avon, CT 06001www.wahve.com
646.807.4372
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
The Increasing Rate of Change
Agricultural Age 10,000 BC to 1700 AD
Information Age 1970 – 2010
This new virtual/connected/creative age will add to the challenges already being faced by insurance firms.
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
Changing Employee Dynamics
The aging of the baby boom generation along with declining fertility rates is changing America’s age structure. The number of people over age 65 will rise substantially beginning in 2011 as the oldest members of the babyboomer generation reach 651
About one in five Americans are age 55 or older and by 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older1
While the older population is increasing dramatically, America’s current young population has zero growth1
82% of the nation’s young population growth from 2005 to 2050 will come from new immigrants and their children1
The industry is predicting a 50% babyboomer retirement over next eight years
1 U.S. Census, Next Four Decades, May 2010
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
Challenges to Insurance Firms
36 % projected boomers population
with “zero” growth in young population
Generational work ethic differences
among Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennial
and future generations
Brain-drain of experienced,
educated and well-connected employees
Employers competing for the same labor pool &
lack of talent
Thousands of back-office processes completed by
highly paid staff
Challenges of a multi-cultural
workforce
Declining margins
Increasing staff costs
Constant new technology challenges
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
What does this mean for businesses?
This workforce revolution is challenging our current structure:• The way we view the workforce will have to change in dynamic ways –
from a closed, controlled community to an open, collaborative community and from production focused to creative focused
• The step-by-step, top-down command and control management methods we use to build monolithic firms will need to be re-thought focusing on creative output and relationships
• The linear fashion in which we design jobs will need to be transformed encompassing a variety of methodologies
• Once we adopt new technology, we never return to old technology and the impact that makes on:– the amount and type of workforce we need– how jobs should be done– who should do the job – where the job should be done
Management needs to see their world in 3D and focus on strategic workforce planning to optimize the value of their companies.
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
The Perfect Example of the Production ModelMost CSRs/AMs still spend a majority of their time on back office tasks.
Back Office Tasks 52%
Client Phone/Email Time 24%
Carrier Phone/Email
Time15%
Client Face to Face Time7%
CSR Time
Hig
h R
etur
n, H
igh
Val
ue
Low
Ret
urn,
Low
Val
ue
Rough Notes, “Foundations of Customer Service,” August 2005
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
How can insurance firms flourish in this new arena?
Need to re-define the work that needs to be done and the best methodology to get the work done
Need to consider a world with a combination of virtual and physical employees/offices
Need to identify the type of talent needed to do the work and provide the appropriate tools that will enable them
Need to maximize use of technological tools
Need to envision management styles, procedures and jobs that fit this new model, e.g., an open, collaborative
cultureNeed to create a sales model that maximizes the
virtual/social network world with the physical network world
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
How to Prepare• Parse out job descriptions based on high
value creative, customer contact and low value production work, not the position
• Re-name work positions to reflect this new approach, e.g. instead of producers use connectors, social networkers
• Re-assess your staff and align them with the appropriate type and level of work
• Effectively use technology, aligning it with human capital
• Enhance the quality and quantity of work by being open to flexible arrangements, e.g., job-sharing, telecommuting
• Consider firms that offer lower cost onshore, contract, knowledge workers and offshore process workers
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
The Right Job
The Right Skills
The Right Resources
The Right Moment
The Right Quantity
The Right People
The Right Price
How to Plan for the Staff You Need
Anywhere
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
Why is this different from what I do now?
Hir
ing
base
d o
n n
ew
para
dig
m
Hir
ing
base
d o
n o
ld p
ara
dig
m
• Stagnant Job descriptions
• Predominantly focused on process work
• Mostly present focused, not future focused
• Limited consideration for how to best utilize available talent
• Limited to local talent, which has been readily available
• Limited consideration for the streamlining capabilities of technology
• Production focused
• Dynamic, iterative job descriptions
• Focused on creative/relationship development
• Considers rapidly changing terminology
• Considers job sharing
• Considers insourcing & outsourcing
• Seeks talent wherever available at the right price
• Anticipates demographic changes
• Core staff combined with flexible staff
• Considers Generational and ethnic differences
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
What’s Available to Make This Model Work?
• Cost-effective and sophisticated remote/outsourced talent domestically and globally
• Productivity tracking software • Virtual training tools • Virtual meeting tools • VoIP / Internet phones• Dashboards with analytics and live chat• Exchange technology which simplifies client acquisition
and retention• Social networks/avatars• Smart phones, tablets, mobile applications
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
Overcoming the Fear of Outsourcing & Remote Workers
Drivers• Broader access to talent• Reduced cost• Increased flexibility• Moves account managers to front line• Shared risk• Increase resource availability• Greater efficiency/higher quality• Keeps business operating when disruptions• Maximum use of available technology
Inhibitors• Security & confidential
Information• Communication concerns• Fear of loss of control• Trust• Employee backlash• Loss of knowledge capital• Ability to physically supervise
Adapted from Gartner, IT Director’s Community of Practice, August 14, 2007
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
To Maximize the Use of Outsourcing & Remote Workers
Create a Paperless
environment
Employ Real time,
straight-through
technology.
Overcome fear of not seeing and managing staff in an
office
Trust that if the right
procedures &
technology are in place, people can
be managed anywhere any time
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
The value of any firm is in the Customer
• Firm’s resources should be set on “core competencies” where they can provide unique value for customers
• Think of what is not critical to insource & strategically outsource those activities
• Consider creating jobs/titles that match the generational and ethnic differences within the firm and with the customer
• Consider access to talent & consider offering talent the ability to work remotely if they need to
• Look to see where you have misemployed/misdeployed talent • Use technology to deploy the strategy
© 2011 Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC
The Insurance Office of the Future
Lean in-house
highly paid knowledge and client focused
staff
Less physical human interaction
but broader cultural interaction
Flexible Contract remote
knowledge workers
Progressive supervision
balanced with technology
Outsourced process workLess real estate & overhead
Technology that tracks all
insourced and
outsourced staff for quality control