ACE Leadership Forum & Expo: Here's what you missed on Day 2
Yesterday's keynote was delivered by David DeLong, author and president, David DeLong & Associates.
When a particular subject is covered for an extensive amount of time, some readers will naturally become fatigued by the ongoing coverage. Despite the various implications COVID-19 has — especially in regard to the economy and state of all industries — it is no exception.
But because there are so many moving pieces regarding COVID-19, it is essential to continue to be tuned in. As the pandemic forces companies and businesses to redesign their operations, adopt new technology, and, unfortunately, furlough employees or shut down indefinitely, knowing how to navigate through the current state of affairs is essential.
Fortunately, Day 2 of America’s Claims Executive (ACE) Virtual Leadership Forum & Expo did just that and kept the ball rolling with another day filled with a keynote, fireside chats, networking time and more. Yesterday’s keynote was delivered by David DeLong, author and president, David DeLong & Associates.
Day 2 takeaways
One question many companies are thinking about is how to create the workforce needed to build a business during the age of COVID-19. Even before the pandemic, recruiting, developing and retaining young talent was a major problem across many industries, especially insurance, says DeLong.
Solving recruitment efforts alone, however, will not be enough in our current world. DeLong says companies must consider additional challenges such as developing future workforce skills, especially as reliance on technology increases in the claims industry, the aging workforce that is set to retire in the next few years, and how to transform an organization’s culture and structure to align with the aforementioned challenges, especially if the future of work includes a more virtual/hybrid structure.
For businesses operating in the insurance industry and beyond, coming out on the other side of this pandemic will require a new way of thinking to attract new talent and close the skills gap. DeLong outlined the following five-step framework to do just that:
- Diagnose the skills at work in order to know what capabilities an organization struggling to develop and retain the most.
- Reduce staffing uncertainty around new artificial intelligence technologies.
- Experiment continually with new recruiting tactics.
- Employee retention must be made a priority.
- Accelerate knowledge transfer so, for example, if an employee with an extensive amount of institutional knowledge retires, the organization is not caught flat-footed.
Albert Einstein said, “The problems that exist in the world today are not going to be solved by the level of thinking that created them.” In other words, top executives can no longer be complacent when it comes to recruiting, developing and retaining high potential employees and future leaders.
There’s still time to participate and learn at the ACE Leadership Forum & Expo, which runs from July 13-15. For more information and to register, click here.
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