Health Insurers face a challenging tech talent environment – but innovative solutions have arrived. Health insurers today face new pressures. They must enhance their delivery model and customer engagement in an industry that has historically been at odds with customer service. Peppers & Rogers Group, a consumer trends think-tank, outlines five challenges facing health insurers today2:
Developing actionable insight from customer data
Managing customer interactions
Accessing external consumer information
Communicating complex messages
Being accountable to customers
When it comes to the above challenges, health insurers and providers have much in common. The good news is that insurers can address these problems with a multifaceted IT strategy. And, the bad news? Well, both industries are victims to the quagmire of COVID’s long-lasting effects, the “Great Resignation” paired with a shrinking talent pool, outdated HR processes, and a rapidly changing consumer landscape. So, in short, the problems are easy to identify but challenging to resolve.
In 2020, Optimum introduced Optimum CareerPath (OCP) as an innovative program to recruit, train, and place high-aptitude, entry-level IT staff. The model includes a 12-week training program, that introduces candidates to IT, healthcare delivery, and insurance concepts, and provides in-demand technology certifications.
The program has had exceptional success among candidates and clients. OCP solves basic IT hiring problems such as hard-to-find talent, lack of industry knowledge, diversity and locality of employees, and retention.
The health insurer space continues to grow more competitive, especially with an inevitable emergence of full-stack tech insurers in the Life & Health space1 (i.e., Lemonade).
Samantha Chow is a global market lead for Life, Annuity, and Health at EIS, an insurance software company that “operates like a tech company: fast, simple, agile.” Chow suggests that health insurers in 2022 will need to rapidly innovate to remain competitive and relevant. She argues, “Those insurers that successfully navigate the transition to digital ecosystems will be the ones that will remain competitive in this new normal.”1
Navigating that transition requires a trained, diverse, and tech-savvy workforce. Optimum can provide custom recruited and trained staff through the CareerPath model, ensuing insurance companies are able to adapt. OCP provides an industry-focused boot camp, certification for specific technologies, and a farther-reaching strategy to improve the diversity and locality of consultants. Geoff Blanding, Executive Vice President of Optimum CareerPath & Implementation services elaborates:
“Health insurers face IT staffing challenges, especially in the business intelligence and cybersecurity space. With a contingent labor model, insurers tend to lack the long-term employee strategies that will make them successful. OCP bridges that gap and reduces the risk for entry-level hires.”
Optimum bears the upfront recruiting and training costs, so insurers can benefit from OCP with little risk. The retention rate for OCP consultants after two years is expected to be higher than 80%, which is significantly below rates for Gen Z and millennials across all industries3. Additionally, the OCP mentorship program pairs candidates with experienced Optimum staff and ongoing training opportunities. Candidates are supported well past the end of the 12-week program, and organizations continue to reap the benefits.
So, are you an insurer, and are you ready to de-risk your IT hiring, reduce HR costs, and source your organization with skilled, ready employees? Talk to your Optimum Client Services rep today about how Optimum CareerPath can impact your organization, or click here to contact us.
