3 Trends in Insurance Technology Training

As with any other IT investment, insurance technology executives need to maximize the value – in terms of time and resources, as well as expenditures for every employee training investment. However, it’s often difficult to know where training will yield the biggest bang for the buck, as well as to determine the most effective ways to deliver training. Here are some strategies CIOs should keep in mind.

2 of 3

2. More Than Pure Tech Training is Required

Margaret Resce Milkint (pictured at right), Managing Partner Jacobson Group (Chicago, Ill.)

A brilliant technical foundation is the point of entry in this arena, but business development training and communication training must augment this. We’ve seen many IT professionals say their MBA is very important in their career development, but actually being able to speak and present in the language of business is essential. The things that will set an IT professional apart are superior communication and verbal and written presentation skills and having a base of knowledge in their particular area. Training needs are around enterprise technologies but also insurance-specific systems. The tools being used today on some initiatives – especially on the infrastructure re-build we’re seeing throughout the industry – require some specific training.

CIOs must justify training costs because they need training to drive the engine they’ve been asked to fuel. You have to put the right ingredients in to get the right outcome. It is an investment and it will cost dollars. That’s where sponsorship from board of directors comes in.

If that board and that CEO are believers in the power of technology, then it’s a no-brainer – the investment must be made, not just in the tools themselves, but in the talent.

Peggy Bresnick Kendler has been a writer for 30 years. She has worked as an editor, publicist and school district technology coordinator. During the past decade, Bresnick Kendler has worked for UBM TechWeb on special financialservices technology-centered ... View Full Bio

2 of 3