It's no secret that most of the American the workforce is reaching retirement age, especially in the insurance industry. Millennials will soon take on more and more leadership roles in the business to fill the voids left by baby boomers. In the insurance industry, where a vast majority of employees are over the age of 40, this issue is even more pressing.
Whether retirement is coming tomorrow or in another 20 years, it is imperative that agents prepare their businesses for succession sooner rather than later. Passing on knowledge, strategies and insight to agents of the younger generation will help to ease the transition, benefitting both the new industry leaders and their clients.
Click through the following slides for articles on how to handle succession in order to ensure that your fellow employees and your trusted clients are left in capable hands.
Simplify Succession in 3 Steps
A strong plan for succession can help ease some of the challenges created by passing leadership roles onto employees of the next generation. An understanding of the differences in work strategies between millennials and baby boomers is integral in succession preparation.
Read Simplify Succession in 3 Steps for tips on how to streamline the process and combat some of the challenges presented by multigenerational differences in the industry.
Let's Talk Sex and Money
There are many women in the insurance industry, but few hold executive positions.
Read Laura Toops' Let's Talk Sex and Money to learn why women can be the ideal successor to lead the agency.
Successful Succession
With many agents reaching the age of retirement, it is important to insure that clients are left in capable hands.
In order to ease the transition, planning should begin early, even if retirement seems far down the road. Read Successful Succession to see how to begin the succession process by mentoring employees and passing on knowledge to ease the process.
Loosen the Family Ties
With many agencies being family-owned or operated, the question of succession can get more complicated when it comes time to leave the industry. Choosing certain family members (or even someone unrelated) over others to assume leadership positions can leave deep scars and damage relationships.
Contribution and overall skill are key traits to look for in any successor, but it can be difficult to determine in family-owned businesses. Read Loosen the Family Ties for tips on how to choose the right successor for the continued growth of your family business.
Perpetuation Cliff
Study results suggest that agencies need 10 years or more to get the right people in place for an effective succession. Read Perpetuation Cliff for insight on how to handle the challenges of planning for transition as well as managing the different values and expectations of the next generation in the workplace.
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