Replacing an Aging Workforce

1. Replacing an Aging Workforce

2. InVEST Mission- improving insurance literacy of students and to attract new talent to the insurance industry. Personal Finance in high schools By learning insurance they also become exposed to career opportunities within the industry.

3. Internships Some say- jobs are scarce- now is not the time to try and educate youth about career opportunities within our industry yet….39% of Best Practice agencies who responded to InVEST’s survey have offered internships. In this tough economy with few jobs why do you offer internships?

4. Why offer internships? Give back to an industry that is wonderful to work in by helping students to understand how our industry works and the opportunities that do exist Current workforce needs “road test” for future employees Thinking of the future- upcoming aging workforce

5. Aging Workforce- Every day 10,000 baby boomers turns 65. • According to analysis by the St. John’s University School of Risk Management, within the next 15 years, 50% of the insurance industry will turn over. Half of our industry’s talent pool will be gone.

6. How does InVEST fit in with internships? InVEST is a high school/community college program that exposes insurance to students

8. InVEST Free classroom material for teachers Flexible program- two weeks to full semester Business teachers love the program Personal finance requirement in many states InVEST does teacher conferences and teachers sign-up- one of the biggest things teachers are looking for is industry involvement

9. InVEST Today 40 years since InVEST started- 1970 202 Schools 39 states and D.C. $434,000 in scholarships to 321 students since 1999

10. The InVEST Internship Program The intern program is a vital link in our mission to improve insurance literacy of students and attract new talent to the insurance industry. An Internship is a meaningful, structured work experience that relates directly to an intern’s career interests and goals. Can be after school, school holidays, or summer program Paid or unpaid- 85% of Best Practice agencies indicated they use paid internships Business students/college students often need internships to satisfy school requirements.

11. The Benefits of Hiring an Intern “Road testing” for future employees Using InVEST as your high school college recruiter New ideas- technology- work flow- social media Creating sections of your website or other marketing tools to appeal to younger audience Increase profile of your agency at high school/college level

12. Drew Zadrozny, recently hired as a full time employee at Travelers Insurance.  He’s an InVEST alum and former intern now pursuing his college degree.  Drew is at work reviewing flood insurance applications and reports.  “InVestshowed me how the insurance industry has endless opportunities with such a diverse job market. It really changed my life and opened my eyes to all the outlets the insurance industry has to offer. There are many different aspects to this industry that cross over to other job markets such as criminal justice, marketing, and accounting to just name a few.”

13. What did you have your interns do at your agency? • Best Practice InVESTsurvey • 38% customer service reps • 31% sales • 21% agency administration/back office • 10% multiple areas Internship offered in: • 27% commercial lines • 21% personal lines • 20% P&C combo • 11% employee benefits & P&C • 4% employee benefits • 17%- other including web design, marketing, IT, accounting, support functions, general office duties, blogging • Best Practice InVEST survey • 46% have hired 1-2 employees from their internship program, • 19% hired 3-4 employees • 4% have hired more than 5 employees • Study of InVEST interns of the 77 interns- 24 were offered full time jobs= 31% job offer rate • Interns coming from non-InVEST sources- 9% job offer rate

14. Carmen Cortes • “Project InVEST is what started my career in the insurance field 17yrs ago!! Glad to see that it's still going.” • InVEST is significantly more productive for recruiting than other types of internships • Combination of InVEST classroom training and student internships is the most productive combination of producing future insurance career employees. • 70% of Young Agents survey by Insurance Journal 2010 would recommend a career as an independent insurance agent to another young person.

15. Where do you find interns? Develop an intern Work- Experience Description form- post your internship on IIABA’s Insurance Career Center. www.insurancecareercenter.org Internship postings are free InVEST promotes the Insurance Career Center to InVEST schools and colleges with insurance programs in U.S. Colleges suggest posting in February for summer internships and in April for fall internships.

17. InVEST- College Partnership • InVEST works with colleges that have insurance programs (92 colleges) and Gamma Iota Sigma insurance fraternities to encourage students to pursue careers in insurance. • Many Big I states invite college students to their conferences especially Young Agent events. They work with Gamma Iota Sigma Chapters. Encourage networking and building of relationships. • Many Big I states have members attend career fairs at colleges encouraging them to consider the insurance industry

18. Use InVEST Internship Step by Step Guide as a resource • Checklist for employers- pg 11 • Sample job descriptions pg 13 • Sample internship agreement pg 15 • Sample intern orientation pg 18 • Suggested goals pg 19 • Timeline pg 20 • Orientation guide- pg 35 • Internships Do’s & Don’ts pg 41

19. New Student Websitewww.learninsurance.org • New Student Center for students to learn about careers in insurance- • 2,533 visits since May 2010

20. Manager’s Role • Introducing the intern to your agency staff. • Working closely with the intern in the development of goals/objectives he or she wishes to glean from this experience. • Assigning a mentor to work with the intern. • Completing a performance appraisal for the intern at the conclusion of the program. • Ensuring that the intern has time to attend any Internship program meetings and activities whenever possible.

21. Components of a successful InVEST Internship • Assignment of a Mentor • Individual Goal Setting for the Internship • Meetings with leaders • Job Shadowing Opportunities in other departments, careers, functions • Performance Evaluation and Feedback of the Intern Top Concerns of Intern • Real Work • Feedback • Included in meetings • Mentor

22. Selecting a Mentor • Ask yourself the following questions: • Has this person demonstrated the ability or the potential to develop people? • Will this person be able to regularly spend time with the intern? • Is this person willing to listen to suggestions and ideas? • Will this be a valuable development opportunity for this person?

23. Setting Goals for Your Intern The following are good questions to ask your intern in setting goals/objectives: • What do you want to learn about this organization? • What technology would be a benefit for you to learn? • What do you hope you will gain in regard to professional development? As the internship progresses and the student becomes acquainted with tasks an projects, encourage them to let you know: • What contributions can you make to current or new projects? • What research can you do that will increase your knowledge while supporting the needs of this organization? • Are there learning materials that would benefit you?

24. Performance Evaluation • Acknowledge the interns’ contributions • Provide feedback on how they can continue to develop to meet their goals. • Based on the goals/objectives that each intern and manager has set at the beginning of the internship • Some schools require an evaluation from supervisors in order to obtain school credits for their internships  • It can be as simple as asking: • What did I do well? Where could I improve

25. Final Presentation Work provided by interns should be significant and a real contribution to your agency/company Interns prepare a brief presentation to share at the conclusion of their internship. The presentation should be a brief summary of the work they performed, their achievements and what they learned from their experiences.

26. Intern (InVEST alum) Brandon Dombroski reviewing project findings with Bill Ryan, Vice President, Travelers Personal Lines.  “My internship has meant the ability to go to school to get an education, while still being able to gain real world experience. The knowledge I have gained through participating in my internship has helped me in my studies. By rotating departments, I am able to experience a new portion of the business and to network with individuals in numerous segments of the company.”

27. Opportunities in Other Departments InVEST Intern Jinelle McFarlane (right) and intern / InVEST Alum Victoria Edgar (left) review accuracy of the Travelers Logo on tote bags which will be distributed to all Legislative Conference & Convention attendees. Jinelle’squote: “The InVest Internship opened up many things to my eyes. I have learned so many things that I wasn’t familiar with before such as Excel, spreadsheets, FedExing and much more. This internship has taught me how to be a mature adult and how to work with business educated individuals and how to develop work skills and leadership. I have learned so much from my experience that I plan on taking with me in the near future.”

28. InVEST internship InVEST can help find new csr’s, administration workers, and can be a feeder system into colleges for producers. Volunteer in the classroom. Hire individuals with basic knowledge of insurance- when looking for interns or employees- think InVEST

29. www.facebook.com/NationalInVEST Student Center- www.learninsurance.org Career Center www.insurancecareercenter.org For more information, contact national staff at 1-800-221-7917 or info@investprogram.org www.investprogram.org