Anyone hiring in the insurance industry right now understands the challenge of finding qualified talent. According to The Hartford, just 4 percent of millennials surveyed in 2015 showed interest in working in the insurance industry. Not a lot has changed since that time: Idex Consulting, a business growth consultancy for insurance and other financial services, reported in January this year that while 76 percent of employers planned to hire in the next 12 months, 52 percent said their biggest challenge was a shortage of suitable applicants.

The shortage of talent is real.

Organizations are looking for solutions. Many are turning to automation and artificial intelligence to help improve the productivity of their existing workforce while others are looking for more nontraditional avenues for filling empty positions.

The AI Bridge

Technology is one tool to help improve productivity and get the job done. AI is being utilized more to not just augment staff but in some cases to operate as staff. According to a McKinsey survey of C-level executives across various industries in late 2024, over the next three years 92 percent of companies plan to increase their AI investments.

It makes sense. AI can be used to improve recruitment and hiring results, to parse through data quickly, and to perform some of the more rudimentary tasks that are taking up much of your employees’ time and focus. AI can automate processes, improve search results, conduct complex calculations, and predict likely outcomes like supply chain disruption or customer dissatisfaction.

AI’s real power is in how it can improve decision-making. From better hiring to improved business decisions, AI can parse data and narrow down options that best suit the situation, the job and the bottom line. Risk management decisions are more transparent. Productivity improves and regulatory compliance is much easier to attain.

Many insurance organizations now use AI to streamline their claims processes, improve underwriting accuracy and build better predictive modeling methodologies. AI can also be used to suggest process improvements that can save money and time.

At WAHVE, we use AI to improve hiring outcomes. Using a combination of AI and human expertise, we designed a talent acquisition process that improves the language in job postings, which helps remove unconscious bias. In that way, AI applied to your hiring process can quickly screen applicants, select the best-fit candidates and give deeper insights into each candidate.

Yet the power of AI, while great, comes with plenty of drawbacks, especially if used improperly. No technology can be effective without human oversight and the nuances that experience brings. AI in the wrong hands can put your organization in peril. One disturbing trend that is emerging is how employees are misusing AI—38 percent in one survey said they have submitted sensitive work-related information into an AI tool without employer knowledge. There are also issues of data privacy, copyright infringement and lack of transparency, to name a few.

The Retiree Solution

There’s another solution: hire retired workers in work-from-home positions.

Depending on who you listen to, rehiring a retired worker is either the smartest move you could make or a terrible mistake. Know this: Engaging any worker who willingly opts to work is rarely a mistake.

And retired job seekers are engaged. Surprisingly, 57 percent of retired workers want to return to work in some form, according to T. Rowe Price, and 20 percent do continue to work part- or full-time jobs after their traditional career ends. Many feel they need to work for financial reasons (48 percent), possibly due to new pressures on their finances. Still others say they miss the socialization (45 percent), while others simply want to delay collecting Social Security benefits as a way to maximize their benefit.

They want to work but perhaps not at the same level they once did. Retired workers in general want to avoid a commute, office politics, and the stress and burnout that comes with a higher-level career.

What your organization can gain:

• Workers with decades of experience
• Soft skills
• A broad network of professional contacts
• Mentorship potential

A retired worker makes a great addition to your staff. Not only do they bring a wealth of expertise, but they can help your newer employees learn those on-the-job skills and learn how to think critically in troubleshooting situations.

The retired worker’s skills can become your strength. Many retired workers are performing those back-office tasks that your workforce simply cannot get to. That frees up your team to focus on business growth and customer satisfaction initiatives. Likewise, retired workers can bring their strengths to your workload.

Best of Both Worlds

Ideally, both AI tools and human expertise can work in concert to improve productivity and the bottom line. People are the lifeblood of your organization. Talent cannot be replaced solely through technology. Customers need real contact and connection. AI will never replace the critical need for human interaction.

It is also critical to apply human logic to understand the nuances of data and of situations. In my view, technology cannot apply soft skills—brainstorming, troubleshooting, flexibility and compassion among them. Your customers need to feel listened to, cared about and communicated with. While AI can get you the facts needed to make better decisions for your customers, it cannot fact-check itself or know if the solutions are a good fit for the situation.

For that reason, no one solution alone will solve all staffing problems. AI and advanced technology can help, but organizations still need a compassionate, experienced worker to interact with customers and bring clarity to the data.

That means filling your open positions requires looking into nontraditional segments of the population. Retired professionals have the advantage of decades of experience and a willingness to return to work and contribute to the success of your organization. They also have the ability to get the job done accurately and efficiently no matter where they’re working, giving your organization an advantage in a tight labor market.