How Temporary Employees Are Changing the Modern Insurance Workforce

March 30, 2017 by Brad Whatley

The insurance industry’s talent landscape is experiencing a rapid evolution. The industry workplace of recent years is being quickly replaced by a new “blended” reality. The modern workforce is now being shaped by an emerging, unique combination of full-time, permanent employees working side-by-side with temporary professionals.Executive SummaryThe insurance industry must learn to embrace the new “blended” workforce—full-time, permanent employees working side-by-side with temporary professionals, says The Jacobson Group’s Brad Whatley. Here, he discusses the benefits of contingent workers, as well as some strategies for integrating them into your organization.

Executive Summary

The insurance industry must learn to embrace the new "blended" workforce—full-time, permanent employees working side-by-side with temporary professionals, says The Jacobson Group's Brad Whatley. Here, he discusses the benefits of contingent workers, as well as some strategies for integrating them into your organization.

This breakneck pace of change is being driven by the recent economic recession and its resulting “doing more with less” mentality. Industry organizations are embracing a “run lean” staffing strategy, focused on maintaining low headcounts and streamlined teams. However, this streamlined employment strategy can be a challenge for organizations facing a high level of work or a sudden need, such as catastrophe season or annual health care enrollment. In order to address these potential staffing shortfalls, insurers are actively seeking cost-effective, proven solutions that will enable them to bring on organizational support on an as-needed basis. The result is an industrywide embrace of temporary staffing. This unique model is allowing insurers to respond efficiently and rapidly to the industry’s increasingly shifting staffing needs.