More and more experienced insurance professionals are reaching retirement age.
Attracting recent college graduates to the profession is a challenge.
A recent study showed that 29% of employees in the financial services sector are over 55 years of age. Recent estimates show there are over 400,000 insurance industry employees at or nearing retirement age. The COVID-19 pandemic likely accelerated their transitions as indicated by thirty million ‘Baby Boomers’ retired during the third quarter of 2020 alone. At the same time, research indicates that only about 4% of ‘Millennials’ show interest in pursuing careers in the insurance industry.
All this is making insurance talent increasingly scarce.
The solution lies in companies like VIVA Virtual Assistants Services.
In addition to solving workforce gaps, virtual assistants relieve insurance agency human resources challenges. Many agency owners now feel like they’re selling insurance only in their ‘spare’ time – between the recruiting, hiring, onboarding and retaining of employees and complying with regulatory requirements.
A number of insurance agencies are finding success using virtual assistants to solve their workflow challenges. Joe Kampert, Vice President of Sales, Redwood Agency Group, located in (city), Texas, began using VIVA Virtual Assistants to issue 1,000 homeowners insurance quotes in the first quarter of 2022. Kampert feels the outsourcing approach has enabled his agency to re-focus on the insurance business. “With the current job market, says Kampert, “VIVA has allowed us to scale our agency versus having to find the ‘diamond in the rough’ that may not even work out.”
Another VIVA client, Christian Moore of the Real Good Group, located in Kentucky, has found it to be a very cost-effective way to fill necessary roles within the agency, particularly in the area of data management.
Some agency principals may feel uneasy about hiring remote employees who speak with foreign accents.
“There’s a concern that,” Moore acknowledged, “If somebody hears an accent, they’re going to assume that you’re giving less care to that individual because they’re not here locally.”
He advises agents to get over that mindset and says, “Assume the best of our client base.”
Moore continues that ideally, an agency will have a hybrid workforce of local staff and outsourced employees. He cautions that agencies cannot expect virtual assistants to hit the ground running. He advises that a local team member spend a lot of time at the beginning of the relationship to get the VA acclimated.
“One person in the agency has to own the relationship,” Moore says, “and that person should be on a video call with the VA one to two times a day.”
The time investment should diminish as the relationship continues, and the initial VA trains other VAs to become more adept in managing the agency’s processes.
Moore cautions that outsourcing is not a magic pill that will immediately solve the agency’s problems. He stresses that insurance agencies with definable systems and processes on which a VA can be trained are more likely to be successful.
He advises agencies to start slow.
“Don’t give the VA a hundred things to do at once. Give them one thing to do and let them be really good at it, set a timeline of a week or two, and once they achieve that, improve the responsibility,” he adds.
Insurance agencies that choose outsourcing have plenty of company. Some of the largest corporations in the U.S. now outsource at least part of their staffing. The stigma once attached to employing a foreign customer service workforce is fading as consumers grow increasingly used to being served by them.
VIVA Virtual Assistant Services can help you build your insurance agency.
If your agency is struggling to find qualified people, consider the outsourced staffing approach. Be prepared, with realistic expectations, and it will be successful.
One call to us will get you the seamless support you need in those critical business areas so you can focus on growth and profitably.
You’ll save time, administrative costs, and get to spend more personal time with your family and friends!
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832-990-VIVA (8482)
