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Sharon Emek

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Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, is founder and CEO of Work At Home Vintage Experts (WAHVE). WAHVE (www.wahve.com) is an innovative contract talent solution that matches retiring, experienced insurance, accounting and human resource career professionals with a company’s talent needs. WAHVE bridges the gap between an employer’s need for highly skilled professional talent and seasoned professionals desiring to extend their career working from home. From screening to placement, WAHVE is a comprehensive solution to qualifying, hiring, and managing experienced remote talent. Emek can be reached at WAHVE, 1180 N Town Center Drive #100, Las Vegas, NV 89144.  

Why Culture Matters

Sharon Emek
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Why Culture Matters

In today’s tight labor market, employees are opting for a better culture over more pay. Can your agency deliver?

There is little chance that anyone in the insurance industry hasn’t gotten the memo—hiring, which was already challenging for the last decade, has become even more so in 2022. Blame an ongoing pandemic and a collective desire from employees for a more rewarding work experience for the shift, but make no mistake. A shift has indeed occurred.

It is evident in the number of employees who joined The Great Resignation, which emerged in 2021 and as millions of workers in the US were quitting their jobs each month. A PwC Pulse Survey for 2021 found that 65 percent of employees were looking for a new job, and 88 percent of employers were seeing higher turnover than usual.1

It is also evident in the current number of job openings—Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that there were 280,000 job openings in finance and insurance in September 2022.2 That number shows a decrease in job openings in the sector overall but reveals an industry still struggling to attract and retain talent.

It’s a struggle that continues in 2022. A GreatInsuranceJobs.com survey asked 59 companies about the jobs picture at their organizations. A total of 12,524 job openings were reported with another 18,543 predicted by the end of 2022.3

There is good news, however. The unemployment rate in the insurance industry is 1.7 percent—the lowest since 2006, according to GreatInsuranceJobs.com data. The reasons point directly to a company’s culture. MetLife’s 2022 US Employee Benefits Trends study shows that employees are 1.8 times more likely to stay in a job that offers them flexibility and more work-life balance.4

What Employees Want
In fact, when asked in a Unum survey what mattered most to them, employees listed their top three job criteria as generous paid time off; flexible and remote work options; and, paid family leave.5 While pay is an important factor, it is not the top priority.

Also, workers want to feel connected to their workplace. The MetLife study found that employees are looking for purposeful work, career development and training, wellness programs, and a supportive work culture.

What they don’t want is to punch a clock: Many employees are also opting for outcome-based work models over the traditional presence- or output-based models. An outcome-based work environment focuses on results rather than hours present. For example, an employee may do their best work between the hours of 7:00 am and 10:00 am or 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm when distractions are minimal. Forcing the employee to work nine-to-five could be hampering their productivity and performance levels.

In fact, companies that make that shift away from a presence-based model to one that allows them the flexibility to work their best hours have seen a significant increase in worker productivity. A 2021 Gartner Digital Worker Experience Survey reveals that 43 percent of respondents said they were more productive when allowed to work flexible hours.6

That flexibility is also key to retaining employees. Those employees who are offered flexible work schedules, whether in-office or partially remote, are reporting an easier time balancing personal and professional priorities (55.8 percent), less stress (44.4 percent) and more productivity (39.4 percent), according to the latest World of Work survey conducted by Workable.7 Employers agree: 64 percent of global business leaders report that flexible work arrangements have positively impacted productivity according to a Condeco report.8

Measuring Cultural Health
Is your culture one that appeals to employees and job seekers? There are plenty of measures available that can give you insight into your agency’s cultural health. Look for the following indicators:

A clear purpose
Do your employees tend to work in silos or are they all working toward a common goal? Do they feel like they’re part of the solution, or are they performing tasks without understanding how they interconnect with the larger objective?

Mutual respect among all employees
A healthy culture needs to support all team members, not just management. Do you trust your employees to get the job done or is your management team micromanaging? Some great ways to show respect feeds right back into the wish list of today’s employee: Flexible work schedules, remote/hybrid work options, career development, and a focus on employee wellness.

Tools, training, and development
Do your employees have the right tools to get the job done? Are you making sure to continue training and career development to help your employees shine? Do you invest in employee advancement?

Motivated employees
Are your employees problem-solvers? Do they proactively look for solutions or regularly team with other employees to solve issues? Or do they wait for someone to tell them what to do? Do they feel able to bring issues to management? Is there a process for collaborating with colleagues and managers to overcome obstacles?

Supportive and caring managers
Do your managers have regularly scheduled check-in meetings with each of their employees to discuss how they are doing? Do they spend enough time making sure everyone is properly trained so that they can have great results? Do you train your managers on how to be supportive and inspire their team?

Strong company values
A company’s value system helps build a foundation for a healthy work culture. However, it has to be more than stated; it has to be embraced and practiced. Does every member of your staff—from management to admins—espouse the company’s values and act with those values at the forefront of each decision?

A healthy communication process
A company that communicates with every member of their team has more motivated, satisfied employees. Employees want to feel part of the process. They want to feel valued enough to be part of the larger corporate conversation.

Building a Better Culture
Even if you think your agency has a good culture that will attract future employees and help you retain current staff, you must always focus on it and not take your culture for granted. To maintain, improve or create a great culture, you need to always focus on four building blocks.

Focus on communication
The healthiest work culture is one in which every employee feels connected to the organization, its goals, and its management team. In fact, your managers should be spearheading daily communication with all employees. Establish daily one-on-one conversations, weekly team meetings, and monthly individual employee check-ins. Use those times to listen to issues, connect employees with resources or other team members, set employee goals, and talk about whatever is on the employee’s mind. The more open your communication, the better supported your team feels.

Invest in your team
That means invest in the IT or infrastructure or staffing support necessary to help them be more productive. Likewise, you should be investing in career development, training, and mentoring for your employees. The payoff: A more productive employee who can perform at a higher skill level.

Adopt flexible work models
Establish and promote both types of flexible work—remote/hybrid schedules and flexible hours worked. Shift your operations to an outcome-based model where employee productivity is measured by benchmarks met and goals achieved, not by hours clocked.

Learn to trust
Trust your employees to get the job done. Let them work the hours they need to in order to do so. Encourage them to work their best hours in their most favorable location. In an outcome-based model, you can still measure their performance—maybe easier than in a nine-to-five setting. Setting benchmarks gives you the chance to see progress along the way. If an employee is struggling, you can identify it quickly and get them the training or extra help they need to meet their goals.

Also, trust your employees enough to let them take time off when they need it. A healthy work-life balance is one that gives them the flexibility to address both work and personal life without feeling the pressure to be on the job all the time.

The Desirable Culture
No matter how you approach building a stronger, more attractive work culture, remember to fully embrace the changes. A strong culture is one you build with intention and nurture for the long term.

Employees have any number of choices in where they work. In a time where worker shortages are hampering business as usual, putting effort into building a more inclusive, employee-focused culture could be the game changer for your agency.

References:

  1. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/library/pulse-survey/future-of-work.html.
  2. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t01.htm.
  3. http://images.greatinsurancejobs.com/images/(GIJ)2022_Insurance_Industry_Employment_Report_Final.pdfutm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Employment+Outlook&utm_campaign=Employment+Outlook.
  4. https://www.metlife.com/employee-benefit-trends/2022-employee-benefit-trends/?cid=c1b9c&utm_id=c1b9c&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=g_ebts_2q22_MetLife&utm_content=all_taken+from+adwords&utm_term=General&promoid=c1b9c&&msclkid=b7fd7c12f07d1b8626131f7fee6b4fa1&gclid=b7fd7c12f07d1b8626131f7fee6b4fa1&gclsrc=3p.ds.
  5. https://www.unum.com/about/newsroom/2020/december/work-perks.
  6. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/digital-workers-say-flexibility-is-key-to-theirproductivity#:~:text=Flexible%20work%20hours%20is%20key,them%20to%20be%20more%20productive.
  7. https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/flexible-work-us#:~:text=The%20most%20popular%20benefit%20is%20that%20%E2%80%9Cit%E2%80%99s%20easier,are%20also%20popular%20benefits%20of%20flexible%20work%20schedules.
  8. https://www.condecosoftware.com/modern-workplace/research/modern-workplace-research-2018/.

The Essential Hybrid Culture

Sharon Emek
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The Essential Hybrid Culture

As millions of workers quit their jobs, what a company does next could be the difference between losing talent and attracting the best.

It started happening in early 2021. Employers were noticing an uptick in voluntary resignations in their employee populations. By March 2021, the quit rate as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) started climbing sharply. From a quit rate that never surpassed 2.4 percent to quit rates in various states that climbed as high as 2.9 percent, the writing was on the wall—American workers were tired and looking for change.

By the end of 2021 an average of 3.98 million people were leaving their jobs each month. Many were citing pay, but also citing the desire for benefits, job security and flexible work arrangements, says a Willis Towers Watson 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey.1 Exacerbating the issue, the factors leading up to the Great Resignation, some of which include feeling overworked, undervalued, and overwhelmed, has workers at all career levels rethinking their professional lives.

For the insurance industry, that’s unwelcome news to an industry already struggling to fill hundreds of thousands of openings. As the Baby Boomer generation began its exit, the labor shortage tightened in the industry with no end in sight.

What’s more, retirements have accelerated. Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) have sped up their exodus amid the pandemic. In the third quarter of 2020, 28.6 million left work behind, a 3.2 million increase over the same period in 2019, says data from the Pew Research Center.2

Younger generations of workers are not lining up to fill those positions. According to The 2015 Millennial Survey conducted by The Hartford, just four percent of millennials were willing to consider a career in the insurance industry. In the insurance sector there were approximately 304,000 openings in February 2022 as reported by the BLS.

Add a pandemic to the mix, and the labor market ratcheted down for the long haul. Employees were stressed and looking for more value and a better work-life balance. They weren’t willing to accept the same conditions they’d agreed to prior to the pandemic.

That includes starting up their commute again. A Beamery survey shows a surprising 42 percent of employees3 saying they want flexible work to continue beyond the pandemic. In fact, 37 percent say their work-life balance during the height of the pandemic was better than before. A global survey conducted by EY reveals that 87 percent and 88 percent of respondents cite workplace flexibility—where and when they work—as important factors.

That’s a must-have on many employee wish lists, says a recent Ceridian survey.4 (https://www.ceridian.com/blog/2022-poll-what-workers-want) Globally, 37 percent of employees want more emphasis on mental and physical health benefits, and 31 percent say that financial wellness should also be provided by employers.

They want a more inclusive, engaged culture, too. A recent Deloitte report5 shows that millennials in particular are 83 percent more engaged when they are working in an inclusive culture.

Why your organization should care: A 2021 EY Workplace Index6 found that 70 percent to 85 percent of respondents say their current work model is more effective than prior to the pandemic, with the most improved areas being productivity, culture, wellbeing, and operations. And surprisingly, 83 percent of organizations report that their culture has improved by having fewer than 50 percent of their staff full-time in the office.

Building a New Environment
That in itself should be enough reason for your organization to adopt a hybrid work model. Yet the questions loom: How can you marry remote and hybrid work into your business and keep your employees productive and happy?

Lose old habits
Start by eliminating antiquated management styles. As the world headed home to work, we learned to adjust to the needs of workers who had other obligations—children schooling from home, workers taking care of loved ones, and those dealing with illness or loss.

What we learned from that is that employees were more productive. A study by Stanford University and Ctrip7 found that productivity jumped the equivalent of a full day’s work. Early in the pandemic, a Boston Consulting Group survey8 found that 75 percent of employees believe they either maintained or improved their productivity since the pandemic onset.

Introduce productivity-based measures
What’s even more surprising is that when companies remove the required eight hour day, productivity still improves. Microsoft Japan9 implemented a four-day workweek in 2019. The result: Employee productivity shot up by 40 percent and sales climbed by 39.9 percent.

Instead, set performance benchmarks. If the work is being completed on time and accurately, the need to have an employee clocked in for eight hours makes little sense. So does the assumption that an employee’s best hours are between nine and five.

Put the emphasis on the employee
Removing those requirements can vastly improve a worker’s emotional wellbeing. So too can an additional focus by your organization on providing better access to mental and financial services. A worker struggling with financial issues is much less productive, says a PwC survey,10 which found that 45 percent of employees say their financial stress has become a workplace distraction. Employee wellness efforts should encompass financial matters as well.

Revamp communication
A sound hybrid work culture happens naturally if your organization focuses on communicating in a better way. Focus on building and maintaining relationships with each employee. We recommend a monthly one-on-one video chat with each employee. It’s a time to set goals, check on progress, and let your employee talk about whatever is on their minds. Learning to listen and respond with the right resources or tools can boost the success of your employee.

Another boost—holding weekly team meetings. Make them short, have a set agenda, and stick to it. At the end, allow for employees to bring up issues. Instead of hashing them out in the meeting, assign the issue to an employee. They will then report on the issue at the next meeting for closure or for further brainstorming.

This makes every employee feel part of the organization. Even when working in a hybrid office setting, employees can connect to your organization through a feeling of responsibility and inclusion in the success of the operation.

Finding New Talent
Even with your best culture in place and your retention improved, employees will leave. Finding qualified candidates needn’t be limited to your geographic region. Capitalize on the national talent pool by looking for remote workers who may not be based anywhere near your physical offices.

While that may seem counterproductive from a team standpoint, your new hybrid culture should be more than ready to welcome a remote worker onto the team. Doing so means you can get the right fit for the job without hiring someone and training them to fit the job. It reduces onboarding, training, and gets your new employee up and running quickly.

Also, look beyond current job seekers. Expand your search to include retiring or retired professionals. Many are looking to augment their retirement income or just remain engaged in the industry in a support role. Your organization can benefit from decades of experience.

Embracing a Changing Workforce
Whether your organization is considering adopting a fully remote workforce or is establishing a hybrid model, the flexible work culture has arrived. As employees exit their jobs in droves, employers are being pushed toward more flexible work arrangements and cultural changes that were long overdue.

Yet doing so now puts any organization at a competitive advantage. The more your organization can demonstrate its commitment to a hybrid culture that emphasizes employee wellbeing and measures success by how productive an employee is, the more attractive your team becomes to a job seeker. Embracing remote work and hiring without borders can help your organization find top talent and win the talent war.

References:

  1. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/17/2405430/0/en/Majority-of-U-S-employees-are-open-to-leaving-their-employers-WTW-survey-finds.html.
  2. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/09/the-pace-of-boomer-retirements-has-accelerated-in-the-past-year/.
  3. https://beamery.com/resources/latest-content/beamery-talent-index-usa.
  4. https://www.ceridian.com/blog/2022-poll-what-workers-want.
  5. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/Tax/us-tax-inclusive-mobility-mobilize-diverse-workforce-drive-business-performance.pdf.
  6. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/first-ey-future-workplace-index-proves-hybrid-is-here-to-stay-and-the-conventional-model-is-dead-1030894442.
  7. https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/a-2-year-stanford-study-shows-astonishing-productivity-boost-of-working-from-home.html.
  8. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/valuable-productivity-gains-covid-19.
  9. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/04/microsoft-japan-4-day-work-week-experiment-sees-productivity-jump-40percent.html.
  10. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/workforce-of-the-future/library/employee-financial-wellness-survey.html.

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