What is the most effective means by which to cultivate talent? How does University of Farmers embody this ideal?

Selecting the right people with the aptitude for specific work and the desire to be in our industry is a great starting point. We make it clear in our newly-designed recruiting communications just who we are, what we do, and what norms and values drive our organizational culture. Prospective employees have a solid idea of the kind of company they'll be joining and the kind of work they'll be doing beforehand.

Clearly laying out career paths and identifying the competencies that individual employees need to perform their jobs well is crucial. We offer multiple opportunities for career growth by allowing employees to set their own career paths. This enables them to go and grow where they feel they can be of greatest value to the organization — and can find the greatest personal satisfaction in the process.

Do you encourage garnering certifications or more hands-on experience?

Both. Hands-on experience is one of the best ways to develop competencies, and we incorporate that component quite extensively in new-hire curricula. At the same time, all of our programs have a certification component in which individuals are measured and evaluated on their job performance. We religiously look at new hires' performance 30, 60, 90, and 180 days post-hire to measure the impact of training on business performance. Claim representatives must also certify upon promotion to the next salary grade.

What does the industry need to embrace as a whole to ensure the future of accurate, efficient claim handling?

If education and training in our industry are going to do the job they're expected to do — develop teams that excel at accurate, efficient and customer-focused claim handling — there are certain concepts that we must forcefully advocate. For starters, education and training cannot be an afterthought. It must be recognized as fundamental force that drives success. It is foolish to cut training and development when the economy gets soft. That's akin to cutting off a foot when you're getting ready to run a marathon. If, as Thomas Jefferson declared, education is the most critical element in the development of a great society — taking nations out of the darkness and into the light…serving as the source upon which great nations are built — the same is true for our industry.

Too many training professionals labor under the misguided notion that they have no way to measure the impact of their training activities. I couldn't disagree more. I am convinced that they can't measure the effectiveness of their training because they haven't observed basic instructional design principles in driving the educational process. If we are to ensure sound business practices and excellent individual and organizational performance, it all starts there.